At the Chicago VMUG User Conference two months ago, I happened to tweet something during Nick Marshall’s morning keynote that was inferred as volunteering to write a book.

Oh yeah, here’s the tweet:

There needs to be a “Mastering Horizon Suite” book in the same vein as @scott_lowe and @nickmarshall9 “Mastering vSphere 5.5” book.

— Sean Massey (@seanpmassey) September 17, 2014

Although that project did not pass the spouse acceptance test, and other priorities prevent me from committing the time to take on a project of that magnitude, I have been thinking about smaller writing projects.  One of the questions that I’ve been trying to work through is do I pitch ideas to various tech book publishers, or do I publish the book myself using self-publishing options from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other companies?

There are benefits and drawbacks to each option.  Publishers have resources for editing, reviewing, and marketing books, but the schedules can be very tight to fit the deadlines.  Self-publishing provides more freedom to write on your own schedule, but the author is responsible for finding their own editor.

There is a financial component to this model as well.  A publisher may provide an advance, but it may be a while before you see any royalties, and that is only if the book makes a profit.  Self-publishing provides no money up front, but you get to keep everything you make from the sale of the book.

These aren’t the only items that need to be considered when choosing whether to work with a publisher or self-publish.  There are a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration.

What are your thoughts? Please share on Twitter by tweeting me at @seanpmassey.

Back in September 2013, the IEEE Spectrum published an article with a very interesting statistic: technical professionals need at least 10 hours of training each week just to keep current with the changing technology.  Although this was geared more towards programmers and electrical engineers, it can just as easily be applied to systems administrators and other IT fields.

Ten hours a week doesn’t sound like a lot at first.  That’s only two hours per weekday.  Early in a career it may be easy to set aside two hours per night or a large block of time on weekends, but as your life changes, other priorities start to require that time.

There are very few ways to get that time back, and it usually comes at the expense of sleep or other hobbies and interests.  I’ve heard more than one IT person say that they’ve given up on all non-work related hobbies because they don’t have time to meet their family commitments and keep up with technology.

I’m guilty of this myself.  I’ve set aside hobbies such as photography and reading and writing on non-technical subjects because there isn’t enough time for it.  I’ve traded sleep for lab time.

Doing this is a mistake.  Trading in hobbies and interests for career may benefit your career, but you’re stealing from yourself when you do it. 

One of my favorite pieces to listen to while coding or just needing to unwind a little is Bach’s Unaccompanied Cello Suite No.1.  It’s a very relaxing piece of music that highlights the warm sound of the cello.

No one plays it better than Yo-Yo Ma.  So without further ado:

Happy Friday!

Today is Tuesday, November 4th.  If you’re in the United States and haven’t been avoiding television (which I wouldn’t blame you if you were), you know that today is the last day of the barely truthful ads attacking candidates using half-truths and lies…I mean it’s Election Day.  It’s the day that we vote for the people who will lead our government for the next two to four years.

I’m not going to get into who I’m voting for.  That’s not important.  The important thing is to find your polling place and cast your vote. 

And then you can be thankful that the campaign ads stop tonight.