Interview: Michael Picher, Author of Building Enterprise Ready Telephony Systems with sipXecs 4.0

Michael Picher is the author of the recently released Building Enterprise Ready Telephony Systems with sipXecs 4.0which enables you to leverage VOIP for a rock-solid communications system.

As an industry veteran with over 20 years in Information Technology consulting, Michael brings a network engineer’s perspective to the Telephony business. Michael has helped successfully deploy some of the region’s largest IP based communications systems and the infrastructure required to support those systems. His blog can be found at: http://www.sipxecs.info

Packt: How did you find the overall experience of writing your book for Packt?
Michael: I found the overall experience to be very challenging and rewarding. I don’t think I really knew how much work was involved with writing a book. Now, I certainly have a greater appreciation for authors and what they go through.

Packt: During the writing process, did you come across any issues/ difficulties that affected your writing and how did you overcome these?
Michael: The biggest issue I had was that sipXecs 4.0 was under development while I was writing the book. This meant that certain parts of the application weren’t working properly as I was getting to the points in the book that I wanted to discuss. In the end, I wrote the chapters out of order so as to cover the more mature parts of the system while the new additions were still being tweaked.

Packt: Whilst writing your book, did you find that it overshadowed personal life in any way? How did you deal with this?
Michael: I don’t think that it really overshadowed personal life. I tended to do most of my quality writing from 4am to about 7am when the rest of the family was asleep and before heading off to work for the day. This time for me was prime thinking time and very productive time.

Packt: Was there anything interesting that happened during the writing of the book?
Michael: I actually had Vista blow up on my laptop 2 or 3 chapters into the book. I switched over my laptop in the middle of writing to Fedora 10. Fedora’s virtualization capabilities ultimately made installing / reinstalling the system quite a bit easier and I was able to get screen shots easier.

Packt: How did our Acquisition Editors help you - what kind of things did they help you with and how did they support you throughout the writing process?
Michael:Packt’s editors helped out greatly during the book. Early on with the first few chapters they provided constructive criticism about formatting and content. Later in the book, their constant prodding to keep material coming into them helped me put my nose to the grindstone and get the book done.

Packt:Our authors usually have full-time jobs whilst writing for us. Was this the case for you and how did you approach managing your time?
Michael: This was absolutely the case for me. I actually work at least 50 hours a week as a Senior Network Engineer specializing in Network Infrastructure issues. However, by writing in the mornings before heading off to work, my mind was clear of the work for the day, allowing me to focus on the material in the book.

Packt: What benefits did writing a book bring to your specialist area?
Michael: What better way is there to establish your credibility than through writing? At a minimum you learn a lot more about the subject you are writing about. I think the process has made me a better writer. And to top it off, the book helped to establish my credibility in the VoIP community.

Packt: Do you have any tips for other authors, or tricks that you learnt whilst writing, that you'd like to share?
Michael: If you are writing about software or an operating system, definitely have some sort of virtualization capabilities at your disposal for grabbing screen shots and being able to back-track. Make sure you backup your work. And lastly, maintain some sort of habit with your writing times.

Packt: Do you have any advice for other authors who may be interested in writing for Packt, but are still unsure?
Michael: I assume this question is for somebody who has already decided on writing a book. Packt has been great to work with. Their new RAW publishing will allow you to get your material out in front of your audience way before the book is done. This is a huge benefit!

Packt: What projects, if any, are you working on at the moment?
Michael: I’m currently thinking about the next version of sipXecs, version 4.2, and how I may need to adjust the book for the new features. I’m also working on a potential book that is a bit more generic on deploying any VoIP system.

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