RE: OT: Reasons to NOT write an Oracle book

From: Jeff Smith <jeff.d.smith_at_oracle.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 16:37:42 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <ec900475-bda8-4ca7-a3c6-1b95dd0c4da7_at_default>



I've also found you don't really realize just how much you don't know about something until you go to write the book...so if you're looking for an excuse to expand your knowledge, writing a book does much more than just reading one.

-----Original Message-----

From: Tim Hall [mailto:tim_at_oracle-base.com] Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2014 7:29 PM To: Oracle-L Freelists
Subject: Re: OT: Reasons to NOT write an Oracle book

Joined the chain of mails part way through, so sorry if this is a repeat of other answers, or off topic from the OP.

For people of my generation there is still a lot of prestige associated with writing a book. I've written two and know exactly what it has and has not done for me, yet when my colleague recently got a book published I was really impressed. I've not read it and never will because it is not from my subject area, but just seeing the book with his name on it impressed me. For all I know it could be rubbish... :)

If you come across employers from my generation, I would suspect they will have a similar reaction. I'm not sure what younger people think, who've grown up with self-publishing and eBooks as the norm. Their perception might be different...

Don't do it for the cash. Most people earn very little. Don't do it for the fame. There are loads of Oracle books out there and I couldn't tell you who half of the authors are. Do it for the challenge and to see if you enjoy the process. If you enjoy it, do it again. If you hate the process, don't write another. You will still have written 1 more book than most people. If something good comes out of it, that's great. If not, you've lost a few months of your time and you have something to show the grandchildren...

Good luck!

Cheers

Tim...
--

http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l

--

http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l Received on Fri Oct 17 2014 - 01:37:42 CEST

Original text of this message