Okay, that’s not entirely true. I know some things. I’ve spent six years as a product manager, which means I’ve written more PRDs than I can count, facilitated hundreds of user story mapping sessions, and sat in enough sprint planning meetings to last a lifetime. I know how to take a product from idea to launch.
What I’ve never done is build something that’s mine.
Until now.
Meet Next Chapter
Next Chapter is a reading app I’m building from scratch. Not another Goodreads clone (though I love Goodreads for what it is). Not a social media platform for book lovers. It’s a personal reading companion, something that helps you track what you’ve read, discover what to read next, and actually see your reading life in a way that feels meaningful.
The idea came from my own frustration. I read a lot. I always have. But I could never find an app that captured the way I actually engage with books. I don’t just want to rate things on a five-star scale. I want to remember why a book mattered to me. I want to see patterns in my reading. Am I gravitating toward certain themes? Have I been stuck in a genre rut? When was the last time I read something that really challenged me?
So I decided to build the thing I couldn’t find.
The Product Manager’s Curse (and Gift)
Here’s the funny thing about being a PM who’s building their own product: you can’t turn off the PM brain. Every feature idea immediately spawns a mental backlog. Every design decision triggers a debate about scope, timeline, and trade-offs.
I’ve caught myself writing PRDs for features that are three versions away from maturity. I’ve spent entire evenings mapping out an onboarding flow that won’t exist until I have, you know, an actual app to onboard people into.
But it’s also been a gift. I know how to break an overwhelming vision into small, shippable pieces. I know that the first version should be embarrassingly simple. I know that the hardest part isn’t building. It’s deciding what not to build.
Right now, I’m focused on the core reading log and the import experience. If you’re switching from another platform, the last thing you want is to manually re-enter hundreds of books. Getting that import flow right is critical, and it’s where I’m spending most of my design energy.
Why I’m Doing This
Honestly? Because I need something that’s mine.
At my day job, I spend my working hours building products for someone else’s vision, solving someone else’s problems, optimizing someone else’s metrics. It’s good work and I’m good at it, but it doesn’t feed the part of me that wants to create.
Next Chapter is my creative project. It’s the thing I think about when I’m in the shower, the thing I sketch out ideas for while I’m hanging out on Sundays, the thing that makes me excited!
It’s also a bet on myself. Can I take everything I’ve learned as a product manager and apply it to something from zero? Can I wear all the hats (researcher, designer, product owner, project manager) and actually ship something?
I don’t know yet. But I’m going to find out.
What’s Next
I’m documenting the entire process here. The wins, the mistakes, the “what was I thinking?” moments, all of it. If you’ve ever thought about building something on the side, I hope my journey gives you permission to start.
Upcoming posts in this series will cover how I wrote my first PRD for a personal project, the tools I’m using to design and organize everything (spoiler: Notion is doing heavy lifting), and the surprisingly emotional experience of building something you actually care about.
For now, I’m just getting started. And that’s the hardest, most exciting part.
Are you building something on the side? A project, a business, a creative experiment? I’d love to hear what you’re working on.
