Books for Developers to Improve Their Writing Skills
by Brian
Categories:
Tech Lead,
Star Engineer,
New Engineer
Summary
I believe that clear writing indicates clear thinking.
So when I interview software engineering candidates, writing skills is one of the most important areas that I assess. I check their cover letter, resume, code samples, website, and emails for signs of clear writing.
Fortunately, you can improve your writing skills with deliberate practice. These books will help software engineers overcome their fears around writing and communicating, teaching courage, technique, and strategy.
On Writing Well
The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
by William Zinsser
Recommended: 9 / 10
On Writing Well is an amazing book with practical techniques and tangible examples to improve the clarity of your writing. The lessons taught in this book become particularly important for developers aspiring to lead technical teams or manage people.
Show Your Work
10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered
by Auston Kleon, Author of Steal Like an Artist
Recommended: 7 / 10
Show Your Work is about overcoming the fears that hold us back from writing. Although more broadly about creative endeavors, everything in this book applies to writing and especially writing the first draft of anything.
Persuasive Copywriting
Cut Through the Noise and Communicate With Impact
by Andy Maslen
Recommended: 8 / 10
Being a strong coder isn’t enough. If you want to achieve leverage in your software engineering career, you’ll need to extend your reach through clear, convincing, and persuasive communication.
Persuasive Copywriting teaches you how to craft a compelling narrative from research through written delivery.
