Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

Writing a book is one great undertaking. But when it’s done and ready to produce in book form, is the writer’s job really done? How many publishers should a writer approach before giving up? Or should the writer ever give up? Well, there is another alternative. In today’s quagmire of book publishing options, writers don’t have to restrict their options to the big name traditional publishing houses. In fact, the very idea of self-publishing, which may terrify many writers, has a lot of positive aspects, not the least of which is maintaining complete control over the book from start to finish, from writing and editing, to printing, marketing and distributing. It’s not easy, but it can be done with a little bit of help from a veteran author, as well as a blue-collar tax attorney and business professional, Mike Kowis, Esq. and his latest book, 14 Steps to Self-Publishing a Book.

The author, having already successfully self-published his own book, Engaging College Students: A Fun and Edgy Guide for Professors, has first-hand experience, which he shares in an orderly and well presented, easy-to-follow manner. He begins with the very basic necessity of finishing the book, editing it and preparing it for publication. He moves through some obvious and some not-so-obvious steps necessary to produce and market the book, with useful tips and links to other publications and websites to further assist the self-published author, including, most importantly, the basic one of registering copyright and obtaining ISBN numbers. All very important information and all very succinctly presented. A very useful guide. And, as the author points out in his conclusion, it’s not really so difficult to self-publish because, “If I [meaning the author] can do it, anyone can.”