Acknowledgments

Writing a book about writing makes one feel especially vulnerable. I couldn’t have done it without the skillful guidance, warm encouragement, and A+ edits that Lisa Maria Martin and Katel LeDû provided throughout this process. Thank you Jeffrey Zeldman, Jason Santa Maria, and everyone else at A Book Apart for creating a world where this book can exist alongside so many great titles I rely on in my own work.

I’m honored and grateful to have Dan Brown’s name on my cover. He gives generously to the design community in myriad ways and I’ve grown so much from following his work. I personally recommend reading anything and everything he writes.

To my family, especially Mom, Dad, Aunt Vandie, Uncle George, Jake, and Rob, thank you for your love, and for supporting my early interest in computers and the web, even if you didn’t always understand what I was going on about. Thanks Mom and Dad for all the books, all the trips to the library, and for making sure we had a home computer and internet access long before either was common in rural Nebraska.

Many ideas in this book were first developed for a conference talk and workshop. To everyone who shared their time with me in those sessions, asked challenging questions, and provided feedback, thank you.

I’m grateful to everyone who was ever patient with me while I fumbled about trying to figure out my career, especially Fritz Jünker, Amedeo Rossi, Ryan Patrick, Keri Thien, Cat Rocketship, Kathy Landin Hellstern, Neil Roberts, Igor Dobrosavljević, Amanda Morrow, Dan Newman, Agnieszka Skuczynska, and Sara Briddell. I’m still not sure what I want to do when I grow up, but I’m closer thanks to all of you.

To Michael Metts, thank you for your friendship, your encouragement on this project, and for indulging me in various schemes over the years.

Part of everything good I’ve ever done is for Soro and Gweedo. I miss you both.

Finally, to Kristina Halvorson and my Brain Traffic and Confab family, thank you for making a place for me. I literally and figuratively do not know where I would be without you.