Margaret Eldridge

How to Break into Writing - field15 Breaking into writing used to mean finding a job at a newspaper. Now? You need to be a one-person media empire. Margaret Eldridge reflects on how the writing profession has evolved and why today's wri...

I started my career in writing and publishing 30 years ago. Here's a light-hearted take on what young writers face in comparison:

field15.com/how-to-break...

#writing #publishing #ai #socialmedia #humor #friday

Your Most Important Job - field15 "We have met the enemy and it's our own face we see staring back." In software and beyond, the real bottleneck isn't technology—it's our ability to explain what we know. Russ Olsen makes the case that...

Long-time author Russ Olsen is sharing a series of 4 guest posts on the field15 blog about non-fiction writing. The first is about your most important job: explaining. Stay tuned for more wisdom.

field15.com/your-most-im...

#writing #nonfiction #publishing #insight

Pitching Your Idea to a Publisher - field15 Publishing can feel opaque and intimidating—especially at the proposal stage. Margaret Eldridge draws on her years in tech publishing to share what editors actually look for, how to research the compe...

A post about pitching a non-fiction book proposal. Enjoy!

field15.com/pitching-you...

#publishing #books #proposal #writing #authors

Curiosity, Critical Reading, and Learning to Question Everything - field15 Critical thinking isn't about "just asking questions"—it's about nurturing genuine curiosity. Editor Adaobi Obi Tulton explores how asking purposeful questions (Who says this? What proof supports it? ...

Not nosy. Curious.

Adaobi Obi Tulton brings decades of editorial expertise at top publishers like Wiley and Hachette to her exploration of curiosity and critical reading in this post: field15.com/curiosity-cr...
#criticalthinking #medialiteracy #reading #writing #lifelonglearning

Shape, Strengthen, Shine - field15 Weak verbs drain energy from your nonfiction. Strong verbs bring it to life. Margaret Eldridge shares a multi-pass editing technique to replace passive, abstract verb phrases with active, observable v...

New blog post. I think I finally nailed a title, subtitle combo that works well w/ this layout.
Your turn: use strong verbs. Make your voice heard.

field15.com/shape-streng...

#writing #nonfiction #publishing #revision #verbs

While independent bookstores are giving out free whistles, hosting protest sign making events, and donating proceeds to mutual aid, Amazon is *checks notes* providing technology that assists ICE in their terrorizing of communities.

Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.

Your Book as a Product - field15 Thinking of your book as a product may seem cold, but it's essential for success. Historian Don Hagist explains how studying comparable books helps you identify the right publishers, set realistic par...

Guest post live on field15 from Don Hagist, American Revolution historian, book author, editor, and advisor for Ken Burns' The American Revolution on PBS.
field15.com/your-book-as...

#americanrevolution #historywriting #nonfiction #pbs

Collaborative Learning on a Human Scale - field15 Join Dave Rankin for a free 30-minute seminar on field15's new virtual learning series for nonfiction writers. Learn how to become a speaker, discover the compensation model, and find out what makes o...

Working with field15, creating online events for nonfiction writers, editors, and publishers. We would love you to attend and give feedback. Two free February sessions:

field15.com/collaborativ...

field15.com/writing-a-wi...

#nonfiction #writing #publishing

From Paine to AI: The Quest for Trust - field15 From Walter Cronkite to AI hallucinations—how did we get here? Explore the evolution of public trust in information, from Thomas Paine's partisan pamphlets to today's overwhelming content landscape. L...

My latest blog post is live on field15. This January marks the 250th anniversary of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Good moment to ponder ideas like trust, persuasion, and how we got here.
field15.com/from-paine-t...

#nonfiction #writinglife #trust

I've been quiet while figuring out what's next (after saying goodbye to PragProg). But now things are seriously brewing. As a sneak peek, here are some blog posts about non-fiction writing with Dave R.'s company, field15: field15.com/strategy-ins...

Reach out to me at margaret @ field15. com.

Book cover featuring white puzzle pieces floating on water

Celebrating Haskell Brain Teasers by Rebecca Skinner, now in beta!

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/46RxiJ9

📘 ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...

#haskell #functionalprogramming #pragprog #books

Book cover featuring a chewed yellow pencil.

Celebrating the audiobook release of The Stress Equation by Marcus Lagré.

🔗 read more: bit.ly/4gPJQVO

📘 audiobook: pragprog.com/titles/...

📘 ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...

#stress #burnout #productivity #pragprog #books

Book cover featuring colorful topographic map in neon lines on a black background, with grid lines and numbers suggesting data and AI search

Celebrating Vector Search with JavaScript: Build Intelligent Search Systems with AI by Ben Greenberg, now in print!

🔗 Read more: medium.com/pragmatic...

📘 ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...

📘 print: tinyurl.com/javascri...

#javascript #vectorsearch #ai #pragprog

Hey @joemasilotti.com, it's here! Congrats on the physical release, and again, well done on the book. It's a good one!

A lovely gathering of #ElixirLang devs in Chattanooga as part of the Global Elixir Meetup week! We ate and chatted about Elixir, Ham radios, best bike trails, repair projects and in general strengthened our community ties.

Check out all the other ones here - globalelixirmeetups.com

I enjoyed reading about Goatmire this morning. It was an Elixir event in Sweden put on by @lawik.bsky.social. Many PragProg authors were there. What fun! This is how you build a dev community. underjord.io/confere... And my gods, the outfits--love it.

Book cover featuring a swirling pattern of luminous dots

Celebrating A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms, Python Edition, Volume II by Jay Wengrow, now in print!

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/3ImpgzP

📘 ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...

📘 print: tinyurl.com/jwpython2

#python #algorithms #datastructures

Time's almost up!
Grab 45% off all PragProg titles (except The Pragmatic Programmer).
Use code: flashsale
Sale ends tomorrow, Sept 22 at 9:00 CDT -> pragprog.com

Our mistake is your bonus. We left out a URL, so you get extra time to save!
45% off PragProg books (except The Pragmatic Programmer)
Code: flashsale
Ends Sept 22, 9:00 CDT -> pragprog.com

Good news! Our flash sale is extended.
45% off all PragProg titles (except The Pragmatic Programmer)
Promo code: flashsale
Ends Sept 22, 9:00 CDT -> pragprog.com

Book cover featuring a maze with a lightbulb at the center

Celebrating Kotlin Brain Teasers by Sam Cooper, now in print!

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/3K7PUwM
📘 ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...
📘 print: bookshop.org/a/2696/...

#kotlin #android #programming #puzzles #pragprog

Celebrating the beta release of Brian Hogan's latest book, Write Better with Vale!

📘Read more: bit.ly/42k8act

🔗ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...

#technicalwriting #documentation #valelinter #projectmanagment #pragprog #books

Celebrating Risk-First Software Development, Second Edition by Rob Moffat, now in beta!

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/4gp6eFC

📘 ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...

#projectmanagement #risk #softwaredev #programming #pragprog #books

So cool that the book club coincides with the book being out of beta and available (soon) in print.

Celebrating Ash Framework by Rebecca Le and Zach Daniel, now in print!

🔗 Read more: bit.ly/4mVClik
🔗 Book club: elixirbookclub.githu...
📘 ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...
📘 print: tinyurl.com/ashframe...

#AshFramework #Elixir #WebDev #FunctionalProgramming

Celebrating Android Studio Narwhal Essentials, Java Edition by Neil Smyth, now available from PragProg.

🔗Read more: medium.com/pragmatic...

📔ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...

#Android #androideStudio #Narwhal #Java #mobile #programmming #pragprog

covers of 2 books on A/B testing by Leemay Nassery featuring contrasting red and yellow images of leaves and birds

Celebrating author Leemay Nassery, in the spotlight on DevTalk now through end of October. Stop by and ask her a qq for a chance to win one of her two A/B Testing books:

forum.devtalk.com/t/...

covers for books on open source by VM Brasseur featuring blacksmithing images on dark backgrounds

From Project Gutenberg to boardrooms, the illustrious @vmbrasseur shares her journey in open source on #CHAOSScast:

podcast.chaoss.commu...

VMB's books: pragprog.com/search/...

#opensource #authorinterview #pragprog @macdonaldeditorial @pragmaticandy

Keep an eye out. Jay Wengrow, author of our Data Structures and Algorithms book, is working on a new practical guide to AI engineering. His first post about it: tinyurl.com/wengrowaibook
#ai #aiengineering #algorithms #datastructures #pragprog #books

Celebrating Network Programming in Elixir and Erlang by Andrea Leopardi, now in print!

🔗 Read more: medium.com/pragmatic...

📘 ebook: pragprog.com/titles/...

#Elixir #Erlang #networking #WeBEAMTogether #programming #pragprog