Peter DeBetta - Database Geek of the Week
Peter DeBetta as an author, consultant and trainer. He knows SQL Server, and he talks about it in my recent interview:
Doug: How did you get involved with writing books?
Peter: I was teaching a SQL Server 6.5 programming class and someone asked if SQL Server had crosstab abilities. I told the student no, but then thought about it and decided to write a stored procedure to return crosstab, or pivoted, data.
When I completed the monstrous procedure, I realized I knew the product pretty well, so I got up my nerve and wrote to a publisher. Within a few weeks, I had a contract for a SQL Server programming book that, after about two months, was canned due to a perceived lack of interest.
I almost gave up on the idea of writing a book. But I woke up one day about a month later and decided to try again. I got a contract with Sams Publishing to write an Unleashed-series book, which went to press and started my writing career.
Read the entire inteview here.