On Writing a Book
December 8, 2025Tags: careers
While talking with some friends about the Anthropic Copyright Settlement, it led to discussions about book writing. This is my story of co-authoring Automating Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 with Windows PowerShell 2.0.
How I Met my Co-Author
Back in the late 2000s/early 2010s, I had the opportunity to meet Matthew Hester. We were waiting in line to check in at the hotel for devLink, and he was teasing a mutual friend. Listening to their banter, I knew who he was - he was the IT pro evangelist that Jeff Blankenburg told me about. Already, I liked this guy’s energy and mischief.
At the time, we both were speaking on PowerShell. He brought the IT pro perspective, whereas I brought the developer perspective.
How He Recruited Me as a Tech Editor
We found out that we’re both Cleveland Browns fans and have similar senses of humor. Matt liked that I’d call him out on his shenanigans, so he asked me to be his tech editor on his Windows Server 2008 R2 with PowerShell 2.0 book.
I have previous editorial experience. When I was in college, I was a special reviews editor for ACM Crossroads. I did a lot of reading, editing, suggesting changes, and making sure it all flowed. I enjoy that part.
When it came to tech editing Matt’s book, I was excited to be able to tap into my IT pro core. Having spent time in roles that included sysadmin duties and command line adventures, it was great to tap into those experiences. There were a lot of laughs along the way, as well as a lot of learning. He wrote about the great new features, and I taught him about cd ~. I checked to see that code worked, and I made sure that the topics flowed. I enjoyed the tech editing part.
Leveling Up to Co-Author Status
As we were writing, the publisher asked if we could get a developer view as well. That’s when Matt asked me to be his co-author! I had Jay Wren as the tech editor for my portion.
The parts I wrote show up in the appendices - developing at a command prompt, working with PowerShell providers, creating custom cmdlets and functions, packaging PowerShell extensions, and building your own GUI. I enjoyed being able to dive into the developer side to show how developers can help IT pros in the PowerShell space.
Our book was scheduled to come out in October 2011. So we had some time to work on our writing. If there’s anything you should know about Matt and me, it’s that we get stuff done. At that time, I didn’t have kids, and my husband was very supportive of us in this process. Our book came out May 31, 2011 - ahead of schedule!
Would I Write Another Book?
Friends have asked if I’m write another book. If I did, then I’d go the route of self-publishing. While we got lucky with an awesome acquisitions editor (Agatha Kim) and a great copy editor (Dick Margulis), I’ve had author friends who’ve not been so lucky. With the randomness of editors as well as the marketing falling on me, then the logical part of me doesn’t see the benefit of going through the complex process of going through a formal publisher. I have friends that have gone through LeanPub and Gumroad, so those are platforms I might consider.
However, book writing takes a lot of work. One does not simply write a book. There’s outlining, reviewing, writing drafts, making sure things flow, copy editing, layout, and more. Then, there’s the marketing part - getting people to buy your book. If you’re not a marketer - like me (not a marketer), this is a challenge.
If you’re writing a book, you probably are either foolishly doing it “for the money” because you don’t know better or you’re using it to share knowledge and possibly establish yourself as someone who knows things. There is no “easy money” in book writing. Don’t be fooled.
So… will I write another book? As a solo author, not anytime soon. Nowadays, I have a family that needs me. At the end of the day, I need to wind down. I don’t have the energy to write a book. That said, if a friend asked me to co-author on a topic I enjoy, I may consider it. However, it would have to be under the right conditions to make it happen.