I actually did one yesterday. Second time using a smoker and first with a brisket. The brisket was around 5 lbs. It cooked in about 5 hours at 250 degrees.
Recommendations
1.Make sure you have charcoal ready to put in. I used wood charcoal that only lasted for about 1.5-2 hours so I had to definitely make sure I had some ready to put in otherwise temp drops quickly (especially if your smoker has many areas for heat to escape). Toward the end I switched to a mix of the wood charcoal and regular charcoal and that actually kept for longer and produced more heat.
2. I used hickory to get the smokey flavor and it worked out really good. I used bigger chunks so they lasted longer and produced more smoke. I'm sure you know to soak the chips too. I did overnight and some for just 4 hours and I didn't see much of a difference.
3. Try not to look at it too much. Obviously the less you look at it the faster and better it will cook.
4. Place a thermometer on the same rack as where the meat will be. Just to make sure you are cooking at the right temp.
5. The outer layer of mine got pretty crispy. The inside was perfect just the outside was very good. I would either put the meat on the highest rack and have a water bowl between your fire and meat, or have your meat in a aluminum pan/aluminum foil so the outside doesn't burn.
6. Use a dry rub and let it sit overnight at least. Many can be found online. I'm trying to formulate my own secret recipe so I can't share it
Good luck let us know how it comes out!! I wanted to take some pictures but I forget. Next week I'm gonna do a corned beef so I'll try to post some pics.