Eickhel Mendoza is the author of Microsoft Power Apps Cookbook, we got the chance to sit down with him and find out more about his experience of writing with Packt.
Q: What is/are your specialist tech area(s)?
Eickhel: Microsoft Power Platform
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
Eickhel: Alok contacted me through LinkedIn, offering me this experience. I had never written a book, only posts on my blog. It wasn’t easy, especially at the beginning of this process, but it has been a fruitful experience.
My motivation? My family. They have been incredibly supportive of this journey.
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Eickhel: This book is based entirely on my experience with the Power Platform, so there was no actual research.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
Eickhel: Some chapters were difficult to produce recipes. They required extra time to define them.
Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Eickhel: This platform is essential for Microsoft and its clients. It is continuously evolving to offer more and more features; actually, this was one of the many challenges when writing the book: adapting chapters on platform changes.
Q. Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Eickhel: There are not many books regarding Power Apps, mainly using this recipe-format. I think this format is what most readers will find appealing.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
Eickhel: I think that the main takeaway would be the many ways to achieve goals using the Power Platform. It helps you with every business need.
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
Eickhel: Deep-dive on technologies using your own use cases. Nothing lets you learn something better than working by example.
Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?
Eickhel: Yes, visit the following page: https://www.powernimbus.com/
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Eickhel: https://powerusers.microsoft.com/t5/Power-Apps-Community/ct-p/PowerApps1
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
Eickhel: It was a good experience. There were some issues regarding the chapter evaluation process, but I can see aspiring authors using this editorial.
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
Eickhel: TenerifeDev and Power Platform Canarias on MeetUp
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Eickhel: Twitter is my go to source.
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
Eickhel: I worked with the team to draft a timeline based on chapters, and I think we did a good job even with all platform changes.
Q. What is that one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
Eickhel: Build your complete project schedule, including all recipes, before anything else, and stick to it.
You can find Eickhel’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here
