They say everyone has a book in them... and it’s Reuben Davison’s job to find it!

His love of books stems from being surrounded by them as a teenager when he got a Saturday job in the bookshop where his mum worked in his home city of Bradford.

Working as a trainee manager for WH Smith gave him the retail experience he was able to combine with selling books for Haynes, publishers of car manuals and other transport-related books.

Following a decade selling for them around the North of England, Scotland and Ireland, redundancy led Reuben to work for another publisher doing similar work, with some high-profile assignments.

His fondest memory was accompanying former Rolling Stone bassist Bill Wyman on book signings to promote Treasure Island. A keen metal detectorist, Bill wrote about treasure finds in the UK. Reuben also accompanied him around the country on promotional signings for The Stones – A History In Cartoons.

“He is a fascinating bloke,” says Reuben, who arranged for the star to be interviewed by Carl Gresham on his BCB (Bradford Community Broadcasting) show.

Reuben also worked with former Manchester City player Shaun Goater, helping to promote his autobiography.

After 25 years of working for other publishers, Reuben decided to set up on his own. He launched The Write Choice publishing consultancy last year. He also works freelance for Bank House Books, which prints on demand, enabling more writers to get their works published.

Reuben has already worked closely with Derek Lister, the author well-known for writing about Bradford’s past.

Being a publishing consultant gives him little time to pick up his own pen; he’s too busy making other writers’ dreams of producing their own books come true. But his penchant for local history is reflected in the two books he has written – The Edwardian Housewife’s Companion and a collaboration with Colin Clark, In Loving Memory, the history of Undercliffe Cemetery.

The Crooked Sea, by local author and retired teacher Trevor Raistrick, is among other books he is currently promoting.

Reuben has collaborated with Bradford Library to produce copies of the Bradford Trade Directories. Local history societies use the directories for research, so, with the library’s help, he has reproduced the 1850 and 1872 versions through Bank House Books, and has reproduced the 1912 edition with TWC publishing.

As well as the trade directories, Reuben has reproduced Idlethorp, a history of Idle and district, written by Wright Watson and published in the 1950s.

Copies of the trade directories and Idlethorp are available through bookshops or online. According to Reuben, they’ve already had a great response.

He loves the idea of preserving the past, which is why he is seeking authors with an interest in local history.

But he is keen to hear from anyone who thinks they have a book in them. He says people may have a great story to tell but don’t have the confidence to get their work published.

“I want to encourage novices that they can write, because there are always editors who can get their information out instead of being left in a bottom drawer,” Reuben says.

The greatest satisfaction Reuben gets from his job is seeing someone’s dream of becoming a published author become reality. “It’s the people, getting them from the start of the process to the end, and seeing their book published,” he says.

The University of Central Lancashire runs publishing courses. For more information, go to uclan.ac.uk or call (01772) 201201. For more information about The Write Publishing Consultancy, call 07766 432979, e-mail enquiries@thewritechoice.org.uk or go to thewritechoice.org.uk.