FAQs
I’ve recently ordered a book from you. Will I still get it?
Yes, all orders placed up until the point we closed will be fulfilled.
Can I still speak to someone about my order?
Yes. We’re keeping our support forum open until Sunday, 8 June 2014 to answer any questions you have.
How long can I download my ebooks for?
You have until Sunday, 8 June 2014 to download any ebooks you bought previously.
How do I download my ebook files?
Visit our download page and enter the order number and the email address you used at the time of ordering. Each order number will only give you access to the file or files associated with that transaction, so if you’ve made multiple purchases then you’ll need to know the order numbers for those to access the associated files.
I can’t remember my order numbers. Where can I get them?
You’ll find them on your order confirmation emails, or, if you don’t have those any more, contact us through the support forum and we’ll look them up for you.
I ordered a book in 2009, can I redownload it?
Yes, but you’ll need to contact us through the support forum to get your files as orders placed before June 2010 are listed in our old database. Let us know your original order number and email address and we’ll send the files to you.
What’s happened to my customer account information?
Your customer account will no longer be available, but you can still download your books as outlined above. On Tuesday, 8 July 2014, information in your customer account will be deleted permanently.
What’s happening to the physical stock?
The rights for sale and distribution of the books now belong to the respective authors. A portion of our stock is being gifted to community events and good causes; the rest will be returned to the authors.
What’s happening to the ebooks?
The rights and distribution of all ebooks will also belong to each author. They will decide what to do with their books.
Will I be able to get the books anywhere else?
You may be able to buy the books from authors individually but we have left it up to them to decide what they want to do with their books. Mark’s book, A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web, has been freely available online for a number of years and will continue to be here.
What about upcoming books you’ve announced?
We have several authors who are part way through writing Pocket Guides for us. We will be making introductions to other publishers with the hope that their books still go ahead.
Mark has written much of the content for Designing Grid Systems but as it’s still not finished, he is unable to publish it. He is currently considering several options.
If you are a publisher, and are interested in any of our unpublished books, please
get in touch.
Why are you closing?
Five Simple Steps was run by the team at Mark Boulton Design. We published our books around our client work. But, as Five Simple Steps became more demanding, it became increasingly difficult for us to give it the attention it deserved. We realised that we needed to focus on doing one thing, and subsequently made the tough decision to close Five Simple Steps.
Did you look for a buyer for Five Simple Steps?
Yes, we looked into various options and spoke to several like-minded people in the web industry who we thought would be a good fit for Five Simple Steps. Unfortunately, although we tried hard, we didn’t manage to secure a buyer.
Did you look for another distributor for your books?
Yes, we looked into selling our stock and publishing rights but unfortunately we couldn’t find a suitable partner.
