For today’s entry (and after a brief side trip through my own experiences), I move just slightly out of the SQL realm to a Microsoft Clustering MVP. Ok, in reality he is very much a SQL Server expert\/guru (having taught for the SQL Server 2008 Microsoft Certified Masters courses), and has been for many years. He just spends more of his (at least public) time working on failover clustering than he does in the more general type of DBA\/TSQL\/Business Intelligence role tasks that most of the people I have interviewed so far have been involved with.<\/p>\n
I have known Allan for quite some time now, and while we may not share a ton professionally in common (other than a love for SQL Server), I talk to him often about one of my favorite hobbies, going broke at Disney Theme Parks. His twitter handle is @SQLHA<\/a>, and his website\/company website is http:\/\/www.sqlha.com\/<\/a>. <\/p>\n Allan is a prolific writer, having written several books for Apress<\/a>, including Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering<\/a> and Pro SQL Server 2005 High Availability<\/a>, and most recently a very soon to be out, self published book called Mission Critical SQL Server<\/a>. His blog has a very steady stream of on average 4 or 5 entries a month that are very interesting and useful to read. Today, I ask Allan to answer my questions about why he writes to continue my quest to find out why other people are writing.<\/p>\n ———————————— <\/p>\n 1. There was a point in time when you didn’t have a blog, didn’t tweet, and had no public presence whatsoever. And then, one day, you made the decision to put yourself out there. What prompted you to get started writing, and what was the first public work you produced?<\/b><\/p>\n I can\u2019t ever remember not writing or doing something like drawing (little known fact: I designed the CD covers for all three of the CDs I\u2019ve released to date). I\u2019m inherently a creative type and very verbose. I\u2019ve never loved writing fictional things, though, so I won\u2019t be the next Clive Cussler or even Mark Russinovich. I\u2019ve always liked more factual-based writing. <\/p>\n Speaking to the public presence thing, it\u2019s always been part of who I am. I think I had one going back to when I was a kid. Even prior to starting to play bass in third grade with performing publicly and getting attention that way (I was already playing with high school kids I think less than a year after starting to play), I participated in services at our synagogue doing one thing or another (leading part of the service, reading Torah\/Haftorah, whatever). In fact, during high school, when the rabbi went away sometimes either myself or another friend of mine would lead the Friday night or Saturday service from time to time. So \u201cbeing out there\u201d and doing public speaking\/appearances has always been a part of my oeuvre. I can remember one time where it was myself, my Mom, and a handful of other people in the synagogue. They were setting stuff up or cleaning something up. I went up to the bimah and started hamming it up over the microphone. I couldn\u2019t have been more than 5, if not younger. Funny how we remember things like that even later in life. <\/p>\n I can also remember in high school when our jazz band made the finals for the Berklee Jazz Festival in Boston, we played the Berklee Performance Center. It wasn\u2019t until years later when I went back and saw a concert there that I realized how big that place is. I would say my experiences with music and in synagogue have certainly benefitted me later in life.<\/p>\n What was the first public writing I\u2019ve done? That\u2019s a tough one. It depends what you define as public work, because it would probably go back to elementary school. I was underclass editor for the high school yearbook as a sophomore, and editor-in-chief as both a junior and senior. I was the co-editor of our bus\u2019 compendium for USY on Wheels (USY is a youth group). I have a very long history of doing things that paved the way to where I am today. I don\u2019t think anything I\u2019m doing today would be a complete surprise to those who knew me back then. <\/p>\n The writing I had the most fun with was in the 90s when I used to do a bit of music journalism. I got to interview some of my favorite artists, including members of Styx, Genesis, Geddy Lee of Rush, and Howard Jones. That really paid poorly (if it was paid), but it was a blast. A running theme you\u2019ll notice in this entire interview is I\u2019ve had a pretty good life to date and lots of luck. <\/p>\n Funny aside \u2013 even in elementary school I would be up at all hours of the night working on projects such as reports only to have to be up and out by 7AM or so. Not much has changed today.<\/p>\n With regards to blogging and tweeting, it\u2019s a matter of making sure you are putting yourself out there. I was very late to the club on both of these social media aspects. As an independent consultant and business owner, it\u2019d be just stupid not to have some sort of presence. I won\u2019t lie. But I tend to go into these things more reluctantly than people think since I\u2019m inherently a private person. I\u2019m a risk taker, but other things I\u2019m more conservative about. I\u2019m not about tweeting my life story, and I only blog when I\u2019m inspired \u2013 quality over quantity. I don\u2019t schedule tweets or blogs. No slam on those who do, by the way. It\u2019s a perfectly valid way of doing things, it\u2019s just not mine. <\/p>\n 2. We all have influencers that affect our trajectory as a writer. It may be a teacher who told you that you had great potential, or another writer who impressed you that you wanted to be like? Or perhaps on the other end of the spectrum it was a teacher who told you that you were too stupid to write well enough to spell your own name, much less have people one day impressed with your writing? Who were your influences that stand out as essential parts of your journey to the level of writer you have become? <\/b><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been tremendously lucky my entire life. Many people have championed me and pushed my potential along the way, and I\u2019m indebted to all of them. Those who have championed me have seen something in me going back to being a wee tot that they wanted to help foster. I have no idea what it is. If I did, I\u2019d sell it and retire. <\/p>\n I can remember being my usual precocious, outspoken self even in kindergarten. Here in the US, there\u2019s not too much deep learning going on in kindergarten \u2013 at least that\u2019s what I remember. I think one day I raised my hand and said I was bored. The exact circumstances of what happened next are a bit fuzzy since we\u2019re probably talking about 1976 or 77, but they put me in an advanced reading class by myself a few hours a week. I remember they had to throw my US History II midterm out of the grading curve since it covered more than we learned but I knew the answers anyway because I was a history buff. I\u2019ve been lucky like that my entire life; education was a positive, not a negative. This isn\u2019t meant to boast or sound cocky at all. Plenty of people know more than me. <\/p>\n It was unprecedented to be a junior and the editor-in-chief of the high school yearbook; I was the underclass editor the year before including doing all of the layout work. That particular English teacher who headed the yearbook, Mr. Schroyer who unfortunately passed away, was a great guy. All of my music teachers (Mr. Forte, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Schlenker, Mr. Peraino, Mr. Lesser, and a few others) in school really helped me out, too. I never took a formal paid lesson; I had whatever I got in band or the brief lessons in school itself. I never really practiced. When Mr. Cohen came into our third grade class to try to talk band up, I told him I wanted to play guitar. I was insistent. He took me in the hall and told me there was bass guitar, and the rest is history. I\u2019m not always good at being subtle or taking no for an answer. I was first chair trombone in high school my senior year, yet I only really played the thing in band class and only took it up in fifth grade because a) I couldn\u2019t be in band and play bass since marching band was a requirement b) I didn\u2019t want to learn a new clef. Mr. Lesser drove me to audition for being in the state high school jazz band. That was over and above. I can remember making the all South Jersey jazz band five years in a row (grades 8 \u2013 12). Mr. Lesser always helped me prepare. One year I beat someone more senior than me (I think I was in 9th<\/sup> grade at the time); the guy was pissed off and looked like he thought he deserved it because he was older. I never made state; whoever else auditioned was better than me. That\u2019s the way it works. I took it all In stride, but he never stopped believing in me or my talent. I remember those years very fondly.<\/p>\n It\u2019s one reason I take mentoring seriously; the right person\/people can really set you down the right path. A good mentor knows what buttons to push, and when to leave you alone \u2026 and possibly even let you fail. But they know you\u2019ll learn from the failure and be better for it. I think anyone who has had any kind of success also knows failure which makes you appreciate the success that much more.<\/p>\n Another influence on me was my manager at a company called PC Docs (later bought by Hummingbird), Bob Toth. I was the database and OS jack of all trades since our product needed to support Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, and for a time, Informix, on a variety of platforms including Windows NT, Solaris, HP-UX, and Netware. It was my job to be the first person to run our product on these platforms even before anyone else touched it. That meant I was figuring out how to get this stuff installed and working on the backend all the time. Sound familiar? When the NLM version of Oracle is your favorite of the Oracle flavors, you know you\u2019ve touched too much stuff. As part of this process, I realized there was no roadmap; I needed to figure things out and make it simple as well as repeatable. So it was at PC Docs I started doing full instruction guides for internal use for getting the platforms up, but at some point some of our public guides were not up to snuff. I remember contributing some of that content to them. From a database perspective, that was my first formal public appearance with writing. I also remember speaking with Bob at Docsummit in Florida (Orlando?) around 1997 or 1998, which I guess kicked off that aspect of my public speaking. Docs is also where I first saw Wolfpack, which later became the clustering we all know and love in Windows \u2013 failover clustering. Docs was my second job out of college and lasted for about 3 years, but it was arguably three of the most influential of my formative years in the working world. It set me up well for working at Microsoft, and as they say, the rest is history. <\/p>\n 3. What would you say has been your greatest success story as a writer, even if it was not a commercial success? And conversely, have there been any projects that were just complete disasters that you probably could have looked back and realized that before you got started?<\/b><\/p>\n I think my biggest success is reflected when people e-mail me, come up to me at a conference or talk, etc. who tell me that something I\u2019ve done has helped them or they like it. It\u2019s still odd to get comments on my 2008 book 4 years later! It shows all those hours put in were worth it even if others didn\u2019t agree with the vision. It\u2019s very humbling. Writing really isn\u2019t a vanity project for people just to recognize me since inherently I\u2019m a private guy who happens to wear things that are sometimes eye catching. (Wendy Pastrick<\/a> likes to remind me of the purple cords I wore at one Chicago SQL Saturday; I still have and wear them.) I mean, have you seen my mug? Modeling agencies won\u2019t be contacting me any time soon!<\/p>\n As far as writing disasters go, I can think of one nightmare whitepaper which has since been published (won\u2019t say which one it is) that was pure hell. The content owner had no clue what they wanted, but they did know it wasn\u2019t what I wrote. By the third complete rewrite (and we\u2019re talking a whitepaper of 50+ pages \u2013 not an insignificant amount of work!), I basically drew the line in the sand and said take it or leave it. Why hire a SME who knows the space if you don\u2019t either trust them or know what you want? That paper nearly ruined a vacation, too. My travel companion was not happy with me. In retrospect, I should have walked away. The situation got a bit ugly behind the scenes and its side effects lingered for quite some time.<\/p>\n 4. As I mentioned in the intro, you are a Disney fan. Does this or any pop culture affect your writing? I know I frequently want to infuse Monty Pythone-sque tidbits into my writing (even if the occasional editor strips it out as non-essential,) and my latest trend is to name my presentations like a Goofy cartoon, starting off all names with “How To”. <\/b><\/p>\n Ironically enough, I really don\u2019t use Disney in my examples. It\u2019s a bit too obvious. <\/p>\n I have a whole blog post (http:\/\/www.sqlha.com\/2011\/10\/19\/fun-with-naming-conventions\/<\/a>) which talks about how I use bands and musicians for things like server and instance names. It\u2019s in all of my books. Some people get it, others don\u2019t. After years of doing it, people have caught on. I like seeing the reaction of people when I\u2019m talking and say things like, \u201cSo when you join Dennis and Tommy to the Styx cluster \u2026\u201d. <\/p>\n Speaking to your Goofy \u201cHow To\u201d point, if people haven\u2019t seen the Goofy short made a few years back entitled \u201cHow to Hook Up Your Home Theater\u201d (http:\/\/video.disney.com\/watch\/how-to-hook-up-your-home-theater-4be387e52d43da0e1266b068<\/a>), go watch it. It\u2019s fun stuff and was great to see them take the classic Goofy themes and update them for modern times. I also like the just released Mickey Mouse short \u201cTokyo Go\u201d (http:\/\/video.disney.com\/watch\/disneychannel-tokyo-go-4e09ee61b04d034bc7bcceeb<\/a>). Since I love visiting Tokyo as well as like trains, that plus Mickey = winner. Nice nod to Walt at the end. I\u2019m glad they\u2019re reintroducing Mickey to a modern audience in a way that\u2019s not just for kids (i.e. Clubhouse) but in some ways, a bit more true to his early essence. \u201cRunaway Brain\u201d from 1995 was good, but nearly 20 years ago now! Nice seeing Mickey be more than just a character in a theme park since that\u2019s the way it used to be.<\/p>\n 5. And now for the silly question\u2026Assume a time machine has been created, and you are allowed to go back in time to speak to a group of potential writers, in which you and I are in attendance. What would be the most important point you want to make sure that we hear and follow up on? Do you think your advice would have help current you to do a better job? Or perhaps to do something els?<\/b><\/p>\n Write because you are passionate, not for the payday. Some things may be more lucrative than others, but if you factor in the time spent into writing something, you really don\u2019t make a lot when all is said and done. I love doing it, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t bother.<\/p>\n Worry about quality and staying true to yourself, even if it means walking away. Look at what I\u2019m doing with Mission Critical SQL Server<\/u>. This isn\u2019t some drama filled split with Apress; we just disagreed on what the book should look like so I\u2019m doing it the way I believe it needs to be done. Am I nuts for doing it? Ask me in a few months. It\u2019s certainly a lot of work and it\u2019s stressful, but also very exciting. <\/p>\n Ensure your personality shines through in your writing. For better or worse, people who know me say they can hear my \u201cvoice\u201d when they read what I write. In other words, I\u2019m no different no matter what I do. That has led to some problems along the way, since I write in a way people can read and try not to create a dry, boring document. Some have a vision that a whitepaper or book can\u2019t have any personality or must be formal 100% of the time; I disagree. Sometimes it\u2019s true, but most of the time there\u2019s some latitude.<\/p>\n IP ownership is a huge topic that every writer today needs to think about and deal with. Data is a company\u2019s IP, and what I generate in terms of writing is mine. I do scrutinize the IP clauses of any contracts we sign. A big part of what I do (and why I\u2019m an MVP) is about giving back; what I give freely I do so with no remorse. However, that doesn\u2019t mean I think everything I do should be free. This is the art vs. commerce argument. Since I\u2019m a musician, this topic of free vs. paid also hits home. How many people pay for music today? A topic for a different time, but relevant here. <\/p>\n My last book I know is up on torrent sites; I wish I could say it wasn\u2019t and people respected me not to do it. I really don\u2019t have that much spare time to write something as large as a book only for grins and yucks. I know some consultants who won\u2019t speak at a conference unless they are getting paid, let alone write a book! Despite what people may think, there\u2019s nothing wrong with that. Writing a book is a long, tedious, painful yet rewarding process those of us who write say we\u2019ll never do again, but we do it over and over. We must be masochists at heart. DRM isn\u2019t the answer to fight piracy \u2013 I wish it was; it\u2019s a gnat in the big picture. In theory DRM is good, but the practice causes other problems. I think I dealt with it in a decent way with Mission Critical SQL Server<\/u>. Time will tell.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think I would have done a better job since my experiences formed who I am today, but things like IP ownership are things I never thought about until later in life, whether you are monetizing your writing or not. Plagiarism where people steal whole blog posts and repost as their own is common; plenty of people have talked about their experiences. I wish someone had sat me down when I was younger about the business side of things. Writing is easy. Business, legal, and doing the right thing is apparently harder,<\/p>\n 6. Finally, beyond the “how” questions, now the big one that defines the interview series. Why do you do write? <\/b><\/p>\n I think I have a somewhat insatiable quest for knowledge and I like to share that if I can in some way. Paraphrasing someone I used to work with years ago when I worked at Microsoft: \u201cI came to Microsoft thinking I\u2019d find all the answers. Instead, I had to create them.\u201d I\u2019ve always been inquisitive. Most of what I do stems from wanting to truly understand what goes on as well as a frustration with most documentation and how poorly it is done. Given what people have said about my books, I seem to have a knack of taking concepts that are sometimes difficult and explaining them in a way that they understand them. Some say it\u2019s a gift. I don\u2019t know what \u201cit\u201d is, but I\u2019m glad I have whatever \u201cit\u201d is. <\/p>\n Earlier, I said I don\u2019t write fiction, but I do tell stories. That\u2019s the one things that frustrates me with most technical writing \u2013 people don\u2019t have a story they are trying to tell. There\u2019s no flow, no purpose, no beginning, middle, and end. The writer meanders with no thought, leaving you more confused than if you never read whatever it is you just digested. <\/p>\n I also hate really dry reading. Something you read may be factually correct, but it\u2019s impossible to get through because the author is a poor writer. I never want someone to label me in that way. I\u2019m continually trying to improve. I\u2019m never satisfied with \u2018good enough\u2019 if I can help it. And people wonder why I sleep very little \u2026<\/p>\n I think the bad writing out there fuels me a bit, too, truth be told. And for heaven\u2019s sake, the people who do text speak in writing drives me crazy. (\u201cWhere r u going 2?\u201d) I\u2019d like to think I\u2019m keeping real words alive somehow ha ha<\/p>\n Bonus Question: Are there any projects coming up that you would like to tell people about? <\/b><feel free to tell us about, or advertise anything, work, fun, speaking, writing, etc.><\/p>\n The pre-release content for the first edition of Mission Critical SQL Server<\/u> be starting to roll out soon (see the intro for link), and I hope to have it competed (fingers crossed) before the end of calendar year 2013. I like the subscription model I\u2019ve come up with for providing updated content, and I hope others do as well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.<\/p>\n I\u2019m starting to schedule a bunch of my 4-day mission critical class which has labs. I do it a lot privately, but I\u2019m getting more requests to do it publicly so I\u2019m dipping my toes in the water. I\u2019m going back down to Australia for two weeks to teach it at the end of October\/early November in Melbourne and Sydney, and have a Chicago class in December. Yes, Chicago in December. Buy a coat and show up! See http:\/\/www.sqlha.com<\/a> for more details on all of these and any other dates which may crop up. <\/p>\n