Richard is the author of Azure Stack Hub Demystified, 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)?
Richard: Azure, Azure Stack Hub, Azure Stack HCI, .Net Development, Consulting
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
Richard: I was approached via LinkedIn after posting a few webinars on Azure Stack in my role as a Principal Consultant for Lenovo. Once I was approached I was more than happy to get involved and try to expand beyond my webinars.
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Richard: I look at other books available in the space as well as reviewing material available from Microsoft. Even while I was writing the book I continued to research different parts of the subject to ensure I was as up to date as I could be.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
Richard: For me the hardest challenge with this book was ensuring that I was using the latest information available as Microsoft continue to update Azure Stack Hub and release new features. I spent a lot of time working through the Microsoft documentation to ensure I had the latest information.
Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Richard: Azure Stack Hub will continue to expand and new features will be added to bring it closer and closer to the public Azure cloud. Most cloud implementations include some type of on-premises notion for a true hybrid cloud. This is likely to extend further and further to the edge with greater processing done closer to users especially with the introduction of things like 5G.
Q: Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Richard: I have tried to go beyond what is available from Microsoft with regards to the management of Azure Stack Hub and approach it from a customer standpoint. I have bought to bear my years of experience working with Azure Stack Hub and the many implementations I have been involved in. I hope this is a more real-world view of Azure Stack Hub.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
Richard: I want readers to understand the true power of Azure Stack Hub and have an appreciation of what is involved in having a successful implementation of Azure Stack Hub. I hope it will be a book that the readers can return to as a reference when working with Azure Stack Hub in their own environment.
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
Richard: Research, research, research. Look at the official training etc. for the particular tech you are learning but also make use of blogs, forums and social media platforms.
Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?
Richard: richardayoung.wordpress.com
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Richard: Alongside docs.microsoft.com I would also recommend azurestack.blog
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
Richard: I have found the author journey with Packt an enjoyable one and would certainly recommend it to any aspiring authors. The team are very supportive and helpful especially to people new to writing books. I have written presentations and conducted webinars but never undertaken something like this before but was encouraged all the way by the Packt publishing team.
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
Richard: I belong to multiple groups in LinkedIn for tech and am also part of the Packt community.
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Richard: As I am predominately focused on Microsoft products then I tend to look at the things such as techcommunity.microsoft.com and docs.microsoft.com alongside azurestack.blog
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
Richard: I approached the book in the same manner I approached any work items I had to get completed. I set myself a target of how many pages I would write a night. I planned on how many chapters I would complete in a given time and allowed myself nights off while staying on target.
Q. What is that one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
Richard: For me it is all in the planning. Set yourself a realistic goal of a few pages a day and try not to be too hard on yourself.
You can find Richard’s book on Amazon by following this link
