I've just finished reading the first page proofs of my forthcoming book with Dr. Oh, Myung entitled Digital Development in Korea: Building an Information Society. Doing so couldn't help but remind me of a fifth reason for writing the book: the review process. Writing a book like this starts with a proposal to the publisher. That proposal undergoes review by acquisitions editors and sometimes series editors. In the case of academic books like ours, the publisher sends out the proposal, including a number of chapter drafts, for a confidential peer review by other scholars in the field. Then, assuming the book is accepted, the manuscript goes through one or two more reviews before and after the typesetting stage of production.
Yes, these multiple reviews may at times become tedious from the author's standpoint, but there can be little doubt that they contribute immensely to the quality of the final product. I was reminded of this while responding to specific questions raised by the copy editor who read the page proofs before they were sent to us for review.