Interview: Nirav Mehta, Author of Mobile Web Development and Choosing an Open Source CMS: Beginner's Guide

Nirav Mehta is the author of Mobile Web Development which tops its category and has received high satisfaction ratings and the more recent Choosing an Open Source CMS: Beginner's Guide

Nirav is renowned for his entrepreneurial ventures,breakthrough ideas and
contribution to Open Source. He leads a software development company – Magnet Technologies – that specializes in Rich Internet Applications, Web & Mobile. Nirav simplifies the most complicated ideas and presents them in a lucid language. Over the last ten years, Nirav has written and spoken on a variety of topics.

Nirav's blog is at http://www.mehtanirav.com and you can find him on Twitter: http://twitter.com/niravmehta

Packt: How did you find the overall experience of writing your book for Packt?
Nirav: I loved writing my books for Packt but I hated chapter submission deadlines! Writing a book takes commitment and persistence. Packt understands that many of their authors are writing a book after-hours and they go an extra mile in supporting them. I have written two books for Packt, and the staff will stand by you, it's been a fulfilling experience. I have learned a great deal about book writing, from Packt especially from the blog of the Acquisition Editor David Barnes:http://davidbarneswork.posterous.com, I don't think it could've been any better!

Packt: During the writing process, did you come across any issues/ difficulties that affected your writing and how did you overcome these?
Nirav: During the writing of my Open Source CMS book, I found it difficult to start my writing from the beginning so I decided to start with the second chapter and come back to the first at the end. But I couldn't even do that due to writer’s block, which you may often encounter whilst writing. You may even be like me and write a chapter all over again. There will be times when you have other commitments and are unable to submit a chapter on time. The only thing I did in all these cases was keep writing as whenever I procrastinated, I would get stuck. The solution to this is to just start writing, create an outline first and then expand. Additionally, reading David's blog always motivated me. If you are writing about particular software, upgrades can also cause problems. Publishing a book takes about 8 months with Packt, so plan such a way that you cover the version that would be latest a year from when you start! This may be challenging, as you may have to keep upgrading as you complete chapters and revise them, but it is worth it.

Packt: Whilst writing your book, did you find that it overshadowed personal life in any way? How did you deal with this?
Nirav: Writing takes time and I spent about 8 hours each week writing my book. That sounds like a small number, but if you are doing it part time, it's eating into the already limited time you have for yourself and your family. We had to skip quite a few family outings at the weekends as I wanted to prepare for approaching submission deadlines. I had to juggle various commitments. However, one day, you will receive a parcel from Packt of five freshly printed copies of your book. You'll hold one in your hand and show it to your family. And I guarantee that all that personal time lost will be worth it!

Packt: Was there anything interesting that happened during the writing of the book?
Nirav: During the publication of the first book, I got married, and during the publication of the second book, I found out that we were having a baby! I started planning the second book while I was on an Ayurvedic / Yoga retreat. I was so inspired; I used a Yoga website as an example in the book! There are lots of interesting things that happened actually!

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?
Nirav: I would credit the book to my Acquisition Editor! They not only gave me both book ideas, but they also helped me to develop an outline! My job then was to just flesh it out. Your Acquisition Editor will work with you to prepare a pitch for the book, review competition and ultimately create a strong positioning for your book. This is a great kick start to the writing process and saves you a lot of initial confusion.

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?
Nirav: I not only have a full-time job, but a lot of other commitments. I had to juggle my priorities to manage my time effectively. I would write on evenings and weekends, until the wee hours on submission days. I recall most of my chapter submissions were done around 2am! Packt is relatively flexible about submission dates but if you stick to the schedule, it will save you stress later on. In short, persistence (and motivation from David's blog) paid off!

Packt: What benefits did writing a book bring to your specialist area?
Nirav: Writing a book gives you enormous credibility and many people contacted me with business enquiries. Packt contacted me about writing another book for them, readers wrote in with their thanks and queries and my team at work was very proud. There are both personal and professional benefits of writing a book. How will your potential employer feel when you mention that you have a book under your name?

Packt: Do you have any tips for other authors, or tricks that you learnt whilst writing, that you'd like to share?
Nirav: Yes, here are my tips for other authors:
• Writing a book will give you satisfaction and credibility.
• You will face challenges. Don't stop. Keep writing.
• Focus on what your reader expects, and how you can create tangible results for them.
• Provide practical information first, theory later.
• Follow your Editor's advice!
• Read David Barnes' blog: http://davidbarneswork.posterous.com

Packt: Do you have any advice for other authors who may be interested in writing for Packt, but are still unsure?
Nirav: Writing for Packt has been a great experience for me. Packt are professional, knowledgeable and supportive. They offer generous royalties and even share a slice with Open Source projects. It's a great set of people to work with and I can guarantee that you will be satisfied when your book comes out. Go for Packt!

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