I run across a lot of bloggers and writers on the Internet and once in a while I spot something different.

It happened when I saw Joe Mihalic’s blog, “No More Harvard Debt.” I liked what I saw so much I wrote a short post, here, last May.

For those who don’t know, Joe is a young professional who has been blogging about how he paid off almost six figures in student loans by using good old fashioned American common sense. Instead of complaining about his situation and looking for a handout, he cleared his own debts by making sacrifices and working hard.

A lot of people…including me…suggested he turn the blog into a non-fiction book and self-publish it on Amazon.

And that’s exactly what he did. He didn’t hire a copy editor or a cover artist. And in this case he didn’t need either one. He’s been blogging this information for a long time. He’s also a Harvard grad and knows how to spell and how to begin and end a paragraph.

I’m glad he left this comment on my blog post yesterday, otherwise it might have taken me longer to find out he’d pubbed the book himself.

Ryan, thank you for the props! Your blog was one of the voices of encouragement that prompted me to do it–no cover artist or editor hired, so $0 investment on my part, other than a TON of my time…

The coolest thing about what Joe did by pubbing this book on Amazon is how many other people he’s going to help. Tony and I were both lucky enough not to have student loans from college, but we do have nieces and nephews with student loans right now. I don’t know one person without someone close to them without student debt right now.

But more than that, Joe did it the old fashioned way, right down to the way he published his book and the way he’s been talking about his experiences. He even says this in his latest blog post:

I’ve made the book available as part of Kindle Direct Publishing Select program which makes it free to Amazon Prime members. Alternatively, if the $3 cost represents a hardship for you, then please email me at nomoreharvarddebt@gmail.com and we can work something out. I extend the same offer to dedicated followers/commentors/encouragers–you know who you are!

The book is 2.99 and you can purchase it here. Last time I checked, it’s on three Amazon bestseller lists in the top 100. Even though I’ve read a lot of his posts I’m going to download a copy just to see what the book is like. I’ve always found the blogging to book concept fascinating. Especially when there’s substance to the book and the blog that no one else has done before.