Scottie Crump is the author of Simplify Testing with React Testing Library, 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)?
Scottie: Senior Test Engineer
Q: How did you become an author for Packt? Tell us about your journey. What was your motivation for writing this book?
Scottie: I started learning about modern tools to test React applications and came across a user friendly tool called React Testing Library. Being that I have experience working as an Educator, I thought it would be great idea to share a few Youtube videos on the tool using my own unique teaching style. A Product Manager from Packt viewed and liked my videos so much that they reached out to start a conversation about writing a book!
Q: What kind of research did you do, and how long did you spend researching before beginning the book?
Scottie: I spend a lot of time researching modern tools to test React applications over the course of a year. I read many blogs, attended virtual conferences on Testing JavaScript applications, and watched videos online shared by members of the software community.
Q: Did you face any challenges during the writing process? How did you overcome them?
Scottie: The biggest challenge I faced was trying to care for my infant son while writing a book at the same time. I never knew if I would have one minute or one hour during the day or have to stay up as late as 4am to write. I was always trying to find extra time and energy whenever I could.
Q: What’s your take on the technologies discussed in the book? Where do you see these technologies heading in the future?
Scottie: I think the technologies discussed in the book represent the future of testing tools. Teams understand the value of testing their applications, and want to use tools that get the job done quickly and painless.
Q: Why should readers choose this book over others already on the market? How would you differentiate your book from its competition?
Scottie: As someone with over four years of teaching experience, I bring a unique style that tailors to students looking to understand concepts in easy-to-digest formats. Many books elaborate on unnecessary details whereas my goal is to not waste anyone’s time by providing value in a quick, simplified manner.
Q. What are the key takeaways you want readers to come away from the book with?
Scottie: I want readers to come away with simple to use ideas to enhance their ability to test applications and mitigate risk.
Q. What advice would you give to readers learning tech? Do you have any top tips?
Scottie: I would advise readers to use the pattern of learn it, build, it, teach it. After learning something new, you should build something to deepen the knowledge, and then teach what you learned in some way to solidify the knowledge.
Q. Do you have a blog that readers can follow?
Scottie: “I have a few blogs posted on my company’s website: https://www.method.com/insights/
I also have a YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNLKKASf6kkiBu5ewsv7jwQ“
Q. Can you share any blogs, websites and forums to help readers gain a holistic view of the tech they are learning?
Scottie: “https://testing-library.com/
https://kentcdodds.com/blog/“
Q. How would you describe your author journey with Packt? Would you recommend Packt to aspiring authors?
Scottie: Working with the Packt team has been a great experience! I have gained a deeper understanding of how to express my ideas through written format. The Packt team has been very understanding and encouraging during the writing process. I would recommend aspiring authors to work with Packt in a heartbeat.
Q. Do you belong to any tech community groups?
Scottie: Not currently.
Q. What are your favorite tech journals? How do you keep yourself up to date on tech?
Scottie: I follow many active members of the community on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Q. How did you organize, plan, and prioritize your work and write the book?
Scottie: I started out creating an outline for all the chapter ideas. Next, I added more detail by breaking down the chapters into sections. The hardest part was shifting from creating code samples to writing sentences. After a few chapters I learned it was helpful to first write code samples followed by writing the chapter content.
Q. What is that one writing tip that you found most crucial and would like to share with aspiring authors?
Scottie: One thing I found most crucial is that the more complex your code samples are the easier it is to write valuable supporting content. There were many times where I would start writing about a code sample and think of additional ways I could elaborate on details to further help readers understand the concepts.
You can find Scottie Crump’s book on Amazon by following this link: Please click here
