Let me begin by saying how grateful I am that Practical eCommerce decided to publish a review of Grow with Magento in their fine magazine. I have to say that I’m very impressed with the valuable information they provide to online entrepreneurs and am proud that they have included my book as a valuable enough work to be mentioned.

However, there is one thing that was said that has bothered me ever since I read the review that I feel it deserves my own comment. What troubles me is the last two sentences of the review.

The primary concern I have about the book has to do with some lack of authority since Ballotti describes himself as an "intermediate" programmer. For an unofficial guide, whose author did not have insider access, I would prefer an expert.

I freely admit that I am not an expert programmer and have said as much in the introduction to the book as well as in this blog. I am an expert software tester, customer service engineer, instructional designer, and writer. My experience and expertise throughout my 35 plus year career gives me a user’s perspective and sensitivity.

Grow with Magento is a user’s guide, not a programmer’s guide. Most medium and large companies would not waste the valuable time of their expert programmers by having them write user documentation. They would have them available to answer questions but give that job to a writer who can take the user’s perspective.

While it is true that I had no insider access that does not necessarily indicate a lack of authority. My authority comes instead from long and persistent testing and using every aspect of the Magento package. Had I had insider access to the Magento experts I could have created Grow with Magento in half the time it has taken. So, with access only to the confusing morass of the online documentation and forum, with my own dogged determination I have become an expert Magento user.

The review’s author notes in a response to a comment left by one of my customers that my book has a “dedicated following.” My goal has, from the beginning, been to create an easy to understand and follow guide that helps my readers avoid the frustrating and time consuming process I went through to learn this fabulous open source eCommerce solution. The small but growing dedicated following the book has garnered is proof, to me, that my goal is realized, although I will continue to seek to improve and update it at no charge to my customers.

So, my question to the review’s author is this: What kind of expert do you prefer?