The Write Stuff - 30 Oct 2009

Editor's//Comment

The Write Stuff

By David Riggs

Ever wonder who all these people are who write for us? Arethey ringers? Or are they simply people like you who develop professionalapplications and decided to share their successes? Actually, we feature avariety of qualified writers, from the hired gun to the everyday developer that s part of what adds to the community atmosphere. But one thing all ourwriters have in common is the ability and desire to share their passion andknowledge.

More often than not in the educational process we are thestudent, seeking knowledge from any number of mediums, be it books, magazines,seminars and conferences even CD-ROMs. But have you ever thought that youcould be the teacher? Yes, you why not? Maybe you ve never had the desire. Ormaybe you ve never had the opportunity. Until now.

I want to take this opportunity to encourage you toconsider writing for us. Yes, you. After all, you are the people who are outthere using ASP.NET every day, developing real-world applications, solvingreal-world problems. You who are in the trenches know best which problemsrequire your time and energy, and, more importantly, which techniques work. Isn tit time you share your experiences, your insight, and your technical know-how? Whetherit s a brief workaround to a minor, nagging problem, or some really coolproject that took you to programming places you never thought you d go, I msure all of you have stories to tell and techniques to share. I d like you toshare your development achievements and successes. No matter how extravagant ormundane, I can assure you there is someone out there looking for exactly thesame fix.

And the benefits don t simply stop at getting paid. No,you won t make the cover of People,and I can just about guarantee that you won t have to worry about thepaparazzi. But being a published author does have its advantages, as it lendsvalidity to your work and can enhance your professional status; those who writecan often leverage their efforts into promotions, additional freelance gigs, andmaybe even a book deal (no promises, but you ve gotta start somewhere). And notleast of all, your mom will be proud to display that first issue on her coffeetable (I should know; although I don t know that she reads them, my mom has allthe freelance articles I ve written for the Sacramento Kings and Monarchs).

You ve all read the articles, so you know the qualityexpectations. To help get you started, peruse the asp.netPRO Writer Style Guide on our Web site (http://www.aspnetpro.com/WriteForUs/).The style guide outlines our requirements and specifications, and provides sometips and tricks that, when followed, should expedite the editorial process. Ore-mail me your questions about the submission and editorial processes. Betteryet, send me an abstract of your article ideas.

Either way, check it out; afterall, maybe you have the write stuff.

David Riggs is editor-in-chief of asp.netPRO and itscompanion e-newsletter, asp.netNOW. Reach him at mailto:[email protected].