So I Wrote a Book With Packt Publishing About Tableau Certification
The challenges/highs of writing, and what are some tips you can apply when working with a book publisher on authoring a tech book.
the kickoff
In early 2022, I was approached on LinkedIn by a person who worked for Packt to write a book on the Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification. I have a strong network and received the certification under the new knowledge-based-only criteria.
Someone at Packt previously contacted me about writing a book over a year prior, but I wanted to write about something other than the topic.
Note: Anybody can request to become an author with Packt by signing up here.
Within a day of contact, I was considering writing the book. It was a topic I thought would help many people, and I had seven years of training experience. I did not want to write many guides on my blog because it felt too much like my old job — yet working with a team and having a book from it was exciting. The next step was to talk about the book with those in my inner circle, hoping people would talk me out of it.
communicating with your team, friends, and family
Writing a book is a massive time commitment. I started a new and challenging job, needed to relocate across the country, and had many travel and personal obligations, and I was concerned about my drive to finish the book.
I spoke openly and candidly to many people. Part of me wanted to 'mine' concerns from them and tell me this was a fool's errand, but everyone I spoke with in the #DataFam, family, and work were 100% supportive of this effort.
It was also a way for me to set expectations on availability, given I wasn't going to do any writing or editing at work time.
the outline and advance
Book publishers need a detailed book outline to manage and account for timeliness and support. In addition, many teams need to work together in concert.
The outline provides your book's blueprint and needs to be very detailed. The writer needs to have a deep understanding, and it separates the potential from actual authors. My outline was over 3,000 words, and over 2,000 were not part of a template. Around this time, when accepted, a contract is offered with information about an advance.
Note: The balance of your advance is earned near and at publishing. Authors may not earn beyond an advance, and considering the time put in, it is pennies per hour of work.
working with timelines
Scoping each stage is vital to guide timelines and communication like any work project. A publisher can be flexible but are even more open when you provide enough padding for life events.
During the writing, I had a lot of unanticipated travel, CoVID, and so forth. So please tell your team as soon as possible to reduce the impact of any time falling behind.
Timelines are essential, and publishers want a book released yesterday, but they will usually work with you if you keep pushing forward and communicate well.
Most authors for tech publishers have full-time day jobs and would need to commit to early mornings, late nights, and/or weekends to work on the book. Therefore, the more you procrastinate on writing or communicating, the more you negatively impact a whole team committed to releasing your book.
If you do not trust your ability to have long-term self-motivation, you should strongly consider creating a book with a co-author with someone you have collaborated with in the past to make sure you are held honest and have a higher chance at success.
dealing with various publisher teams
Suppose you are writing for a full-service publisher. In that case, you work with a project manager, editor (1st line), technical editor(s), graphics teams, marketing, and other teams committed to ensuring it is done correctly.
It does get annoying to get so many emails and messages, but their job is to support you and make your work successful.
Always respect them, communicate, and thank them for their efforts. Ultimately it is your book, and they want something that meets or exceeds their publishing standards. The outcome is worth the pain.
pushing through ruts and finding inspiration
During the nine months of writing, I found many challenges in completing the book. Much of the trouble was needing more time, energy, or desire to write. I spoke with many friends and my wife about dropping the entire project. I had a bucketful of excuses and didn't need the money. Even posting about working on the book and letting some people down didn't properly jolt me into writing mode.
Talking to people like Sarah Battersby (Twitter), Lindsay Betzendahl (Twitter), Emily De Padua (Twitter), Kevin Flerlage (Twitter), Priya Padham (Twitter), my wife, and my publisher, and many others helped significantly to re-trigger my motivation. However, the most forceful jolt was when the publisher shared a pre-order page on Amazon with my name on it. From that point forward, I was committed to completing it somehow and worked even harder than before on the book for the last few months of writing.
publishing, promoting, and reactions (oh my)
On January 31st, my publisher let me know the book was published. Unfortunately, it was quicker than I envisioned, and I wasn't mentally prepared, so I waited a couple of days to begin posting about it.
I was humbled and elated to see it doing well immediately on Amazon. It's incredible to see people reading, sharing, and DMing about the book and how much they have enjoyed it.
I look forward to seeing your thoughts on the book.
was it worth it?
A huge reservation for me writing a book was that I could not contribute in the same way, while writing, to the community. I loved making free content on a frequent cadence. That time and then some went to writing a book. It was a sticking point to charge something I always shared for free. However, there is much more to this than writing a blog or even a prominent feature like Tableau Next. The team behind the book needs to be paid for their work, which I would only have completed (at least as quickly with as much quality) with the Packt team. Beyond completion, you get to see the reactions of people and the pride of being a published author.
Here are a few reviews of the book shared on social media, and I am honored to get this feedback.
- Gurpreet Singh (LinkedIn) Review
- Kirk Munroe (LinkedIn) Review
- Mala Deep Upadhaya (LinkedIn) Review
- Matt Lutton (LinkedIn) Review
- Sunil Bhardwaj (LinkedIn) Review
They shared thoughtful posts, which pleased me mainly because they could identify the book’s intent of being a little more than a certification guide and appreciated its added value.
tips for writing a book
- Passion for the source material — if you are writing something you care deeply about, those forces telling you to stop will be an annoying intermittent ear itch rather than the decibels required to set your keyboard down.
- Have a clear vision — spend a lot of time on your outline. That outline will serve as the backbone of your book and helps you remember your spot if you ever get lost.
- Make a consistent commitment to writing — when there are writing gaps, it's harder for you to find your flow, and it can feel like multiple personalities are writing a book.
- Communicate with everyone — life happens, but you need to make sure that people are aware to help you deal with and prepare for the next course of action.
- Share progress publicly — writing a book doesn't need to feel isolating.
summary
My purpose for writing "Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification" has always remained. I wouldn't say I like taking tests — especially knowledge-based exams. I knew the test would not be that bad if I had been better mentally prepared. I wanted to deliver some hands-on knowledge to newer Tableau developers and align closely with the examination's domains. To distill 3–6 months of working knowledge into a two-week Tableau boot camp can save your most precious resource and time and may make the difference in finding a more immediate career path in data visualization with Tableau.
additional materials
Adam Mico
Twitter | LinkedIn | Tableau Public
Note: My book, "Tableau Desktop Specialist Certification," is available for order here.
