Welcome to Straightforward Publishing website.

We specialise in the publication of quality self-help books written by professionals currently working in their particular field. We cover many aspects of law, personal development, property, business, creative writing, childcare, alternative health, and more.

Please use the links on the left to browse our titles - we have recently added the ability to browse the contents and introductions to our books but we advise having broadband to use this feature.

PUBLISHING NEWS

Emerald Publishing website
Emerald is an imprint of Straightforward and has a brand new website.

New Straightforward Titles
A review of our latest publication.

Most Popular Book?
What is our most popular book - and why?

Publishing Costs
Slicing the pie - who gets what - analysed.

Beat the Recession
with recent additions to our Personal Finance titles.

Our Personal Finance titles are up to date with the latest information and advice on how to overcome the current recession. Anthony Vice is an ex-director of NM Rothschild and is publishing his latest title with us on 'Savings and Investments - Maintaining Your Financial Health' in July this year. It promises to offer essential knowledge on personal finances during a dificult deflationary period. Check out our 'Personal Finance' category by clicking the menu choice on the left or simply click here.

On-Line Purchasing

All titles ordered from Straightforward Publishing are available via on-line ordering or post at 25% discount for multiple purchases. Books are normally sent immediately for credit card orders, or within five working days following receipt of order and cheque.

We use Paypal to handle credit-card payments.
The system is very secure and we can assure customers that we have taken care to ensure that all orders and payments from this site are private and guaranteed.

EMERALD PUBLISHING
has a new website - Emerald is an imprint of straightforward publishing and brings a high standard of design and format quality which complements our early commitment to low-cost publishing for all. This, combined with increased marketing efforts, provides a product that competes with more established publishers.
Check it out!

SOME OF OUR NEW TITLES

A must for those planning their retirement

A new book on 'Financial Planning for the Future - From 45 to Retirement' comes with strong credentials from its author. A new author to Straightforward, Anthony Vice comes from a very distinguished career in the financial services sector.

He is a former journalist, (1953-1970) although he has, since then, held a number of prestigous positions with major UK companies and was a director of NM Rothschild (1972-91) He is the author of a number of books on financial planning and brings his many years of experience to this book.

Two New Titles coming up for publication in our Personal Finance section.

Two new Straightforward Guides coming up for publication this year are:-

'Disability Rights and Welfare Benefits' by a new author to us, David Jarrett, is due in May. David is a Senior Benefits Advisor for a large northern authority. He has taught welfare benefits and rights for more than twenty years and has written a previously successful book on housing benefits. You'll find his book details in our 'Personal Finance' section or just click here.

'Understanding and Controlling Inheritance Tax' is another Straightforward Guide due out in July. The author David Marsh has written for us before and hopes that this currently topical area of law will be of interest to our readership. David is a specialist advisor in the areas of inheritance tax and capital gains tax. Again you'll find his book in our 'Personal Finance' section by clicking the button on the left or by just clicking here.

Don't understand the vaguaries of the Stock Market?

A Straightforward Guide to the Stock Market, How the Stock Market Works, is a concise and practical guide to the UK stock market, how it operates and what its purpose is.

The book explains the different types of stocks in the market and looks at the short and long term benefits of share ownership. The book is comprehensive and covers the following areas: · What is the stock market and how does it work? · What are shares? · What are gilts? · What are futures and options? · Overseas shares · Obtaining advice on share dealing · When to sell shares

The author: Liam Croft is a lecturer in economics. He has extensive knowledge of the stock market and its machinations and has contributed articles to a number of trade magazines on the world economy. He brings his considerable experience to bear in this concise and clear guide.

Why is this book so popular - recession?

Last year our most popular book was 'Give me your Money - A Guide to Debt Recovery' by Anthony Reeves. Why this is popular is probably as much to do with the state of our economy as it is our marketing. Small business obviously needs a good guide to the collection of debts and the surrounding legal framework - and the author competently provides this.

The book was also used in a promotion for a well-known business magazine - so this promotion obviously improved its sales figures. This is a marketing potential that Straightforward is currently progressing in some detail - our books lend some credence to both magazine publication and also to certain websites.

BOOK REVIEW - 'GIVE ME YOUR MONEY'
A Straightforward Guide to Debt Recovery, by Anthony Reeves.
Review by John O'Sullivan from magazine 'Credit Today'

The author of this book, Anthony Reeves has written numerous legal books for the lay person. He is a specialist in debt recovery and is a member of the UK Institute of Legal Executives.

The publishers, Straightforward Publishing, have published numerous titles under their Straightforward Guides series. The expression it does what it says on the tin springs to mind when reading this book.

It is a straightforward guide to debt recovery No bull just facts. If you had no knowledge of debt collecting and read this book you would, at least, have grasped and appreciated the basics of sound credit control and collections.

The book begins with Credit Terms and Customer Checking. It devotes a chapter each to consumer and commercial credit. The author then spends a few chapters on court proceedings, defended actions and the follow up after judge ment is awarded. The jurisdiction in the book relates to the United Kingdom. The last chapter in this book is titled Reforming the Courts for Debt

Collections. It is an interesting and thought provoking essay on recent changes as a result of the UK Woolf Reforms and, also, suggested changes in legal procedures in debt collections.

The author argues that "a more efficient court system would encourage creditors to pursue debts through the courts".

Throughout this book there is good advice on the various areas of credit collection and credit control, what one should do in particular situations and, very importantly, what can go wrong.

Invoice layout is mentioned. This is an area that is neglected by many companies The legal steps in debt recovery are clear, logical and informative. The judicial process is different in the UK but the approach and pre-trial steps are similar - can you prove the debt?

I enjoyed reviewing this book, I liked its no bull approach, its easy style and, most importantly, the vast amount of information it gives for such a small book (109 pages).

John O'Sullivan

PUBLISHING COSTS

To be a publisher, at this point in time, is not a particularly profitable place to be! All publishers have had to tighten their belts - many have been cutting costs according to the revolution in digital printing.

Straightforward Publishing is determined to give new authors the ability to publish their works without cost to themselves - our ethos has always been to allow dissemination of knowledge without discrimination.

Publishing Costs Pie Chart The bookshop and distribution costs seem, at first, to be incredibly high - but let's look at this. Firstly, bookshop's have the problem that they are taking a risk as to whether the book will actually sell - they also offer big discounts to other outlets (often 20 - 25%), according to their capabilities, their rents are high!

The distributor does an incredible amount of work in keeping a huge network of bookshops, libraries, websites, and other outlets supplied with the latest publications - they also use similar discounts to maintain their reputation and attract new outlets. The distributor bears a larger part of the risk - if a book doesn't sell then they are seen to be, in some way, responsible. The distributor has to have a large marketing organisation constantly at work to alert the bookshops of up-and-coming titles.

As an author - if your book isn't getting into the shops - you are sunk; and many publishers won't take a risk unless they recognise a 'dead cert'! Along with this, both the distributor and the printer are being squeezed from all sides, but they have had the advantage of computerisation allowing them to cut traditional costs to some degree - and this is where Straightforward Publishing has managed to make a difference.... We offer the author a published work at no cost to themselves - as long as we think your book will sell we will absorb the initial print and distribution costs.

Our offer is giving the author more than the traditional publisher - authors are often lucky to get 7%, generally - but then 'profit' is down to both how popular the book is, as well as the deal the author gets. Straightforward Publishing specialises in a professional end-product, and rewards authors with a publishing platform that both doesn't bankrupt them whilst allowing their expertise to be available to everyone. Straightforward Publishing (which incorporates Emerald Publishing) does what it says on the tin - if your book is worth publishing, then we will pay up to 10% of cover price with no outlay required by the author. Furthermore, we will get the book distributed across UK bookshops and automatically into Google book search and various web-based booksellers such as Amazon, Blackwells and W H Smith.