My journey of writing a tech book
This blog will share my journey of writing my first book, AWS for System Administrators.
Today I received the printed copy of my book AWS for System Administrators
This is the moment I have been waiting for the last 6–7 months. Ebook/PDF version was out a few weeks ago, but nothing compares to holding the printed copy of the book and seeing the content you have been working on by turning pages back and forth. I know it’s an old-fashioned way, but I believe printed copy will have long-term memory, which helps you remember the contents better.
Start of Journey
This whole journey started when Packt, Acquisition Editor, contacted me on Linkedin to write a book on AWS. I was hesitant at first, but on the second thought, I decided to write the book as I felt that it’s the right time to share knowledge with the rest of the world. I am using AWS for the last eight years and have already achieved 4 AWS Certifications(Overall 19th technical certifications), so I felt the experience I have in this technology would benefit other users. At the same time, it helps me to get my name out there along with recognition.
Effort and Duration
As I have already been using AWS for the last eight years, I was aware of most of the topics. But Cloud/AWS world changes almost every day, so I had to buckle up and make sure that the writing content was not outdated. I revisited AWS Documentation and the AWS re: Invent videos to ensure the book’s high-quality content. Some of the research was done alongside the writing process. So overall, I would say it took me a month to prep up before starting to write.
Challenges
I have written 200+ blogs, and in the blog, I mostly follow free flow format, but I found writing a book is an entirely different ball game as you need to share your knowledge with the user in an easily digestible way. To overcome this issue, I read books from other authors and started jotting down points that I completely overshadowed in the past.
The second major challenge was a very tight schedule along with a full-time job. But the proper planning and time management are the key to overcome this hurdle.
Continuously changing technological world
AWS/DevOps/Cloud is a continually changing environment. So you need to keep up to the pace to learn whatever new technology is coming into the market, so be prepared to upgrade yourself. Rather than focusing on one technology, try to learn the concept behind it and see how you can utilize it in other technologies.
The second key point is to get your hand dirty; if you are running a command daily, ask yourself how to automate it. Automation is the key to your long-term success.
Wrap Up
The way you understand technology is different from how other people think and understand it. So get into their shoes and try to present things in a manner that everyone can understand. Try to give as many minute details as possible even if you think it’s too basic; trust me, it will help someone reading your book.
