Chris Childerhose is the author of Mastering Veeam Backup & Replication 10, we got the chance to sit down with him and find out more about his experience of writing with Packt.
Q: What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?
Chris: Virtualization, Storage, Backup & Replication, Infrastructure.
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
Chris: Someone at Packt reached out to me asking if I would be interested in writing a book on Veeam Backup & Replication v10. I was hesitant at first and decided it would be a good time in my career to try something which will allow me to get my name out there along with recognition. I already know Veeam extremely well being a Veeam Certified Architect and part of the Veeam Vanguard program the past three years so my knowledge would benefit users. I think we have created a book that will be bought by many to learn the more advanced concepts of Veeam.
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Chris: I conducted research for about a day before starting to write the book. There is not much out there in the Veeam book space so it was a fairly simple task to begin writing.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
Chris: I did not face any major challenges, but rather minor ones with scheduling and due dates. These were addressed by the great team at Packt and I was able to shift due dates for some chapters over the holidays and then was able to fast track the final two to get them in ahead of schedule.
Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Chris: Veeam is one of the best backup programs out there in the Virtual space. They have enhanced each version like version 10 and will continue to do so along with continued growth. I am sure version 11 will be very good as well which is due out this year.
Q: Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Chris: I think they should choose this book because I have the knowledge and experience which I have put in to the chapters. It is real world examples and has very easy to understand language along with diagrams. I think my book has an edge due to the technical content and diagrams. I also had a secret weapon and that was someone at Veeam reviewing every chapter for me before submission.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
Chris: Veeam is not a hard program to use. Follow the book and you will have a good understanding of the key concepts that it covers and by the end should be able to implement and use topics covered.
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
Chris: Read but more importantly get hands on with the technology. You can read as much as you want, which is a good thing but practical experience with installing, configuring, breaking and fixing is the best thing when learning tech.
Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?
Chris: Yes I do – https://just-virtualization.tech. It will be updated much more in 2021 and going forward.
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Chris:
Veeam Community – https://community.veeam.com/
Veeam Forum – https://forums.veeam.com/
Veeam Documentation – https://www.veeam.com/documentation-guides-datasheets.html
Veeam University – https://www.veeam.com/free-on-demand-trainings.html
Veeam Blog – https://www.veeam.com/blog/
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
Chris: It has been a challenging yet rewarding experience to write for Packt. I have a lot of traction with my new book already and it is not even published at the moment. The team has been great from the reviewers, project manager, etc. I highly recommend starting your writing career with Packt as a starting point.
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
Chris: Yes -Veeam Vanguards, VMware vExpert, VMUG Advantage, IT Central Station – Expert.
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Chris: I don’t have any favorites per se but do allot of reading on tech as well as hands on labs. I have a home lab and one at work which I play in daily to learn new things. My company also allows us to take training courses and pays for them including the exam when you pass.
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
Chris: It was a combined effort between myself and the Packt team. We discussed the book title, chapter titles, number of pages and then came up with a schedule which for some chapters was a few days late and many on time or early.
Q. What is that one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
Chris: Criticism is a good thing and helps you to improve your writing skills. I was apprehensive at first when thinking about the feedback I would receive but took it in stride as the team was great and the feedback was not as bad as you think.
You can find Chris’ book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here
