I hope this post finds everyone doing great! I am pursuing my pilots certificate and only lack a coupe of more hours before I get my certificate and the windy Oklahoma weather has caused me yet another delay today, but tomorrow should be beautiful and perfect to fly! Since I couldn’t fly this morning I was able to be at the office when this quarter’s royalties were finalized and I am excited to announce that royalties for this quarter are higher then they have ever been in the history of the company.

Tate authors and their books are selling great and doing a fantastic job in the marketplace. I couldn’t be prouder of the wonderful job that our staff and authors are doing to succeed. As a staff we are unique in that we literally pray for the success of our authors, vendors, staff and company, especially during the current financial times. We have always believed that we should pray as though everything depends on God and work as though everything depends on us.

I was a wrestler at the University of Oklahoma and I can remember that I never prayed to God before a match that he would help me win or make the other guy lose. I always thought that wasn’t fair and God wouldn’t make that decision, instead I always prayed that God wold give me great opportunities to take advantage of in a match. I believed that I would always be in better shape and outwork my opponents so given the opportunity, I would be ready to seize it and win. We bring this same passion to the publishing industry. We believe we are just hard work away from anything and that we need to be prepared to take advantage of every opportunity we have to help our authors succeed and sell a book.

So, given the fact that royalties are at an all time high, I believe Tate authors and staff are doing a great job of working hard, preparing and taking advantage of every opportunity! Great job to everyone and congratulations!!!

Ryan Tate

Good morning, I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend already. I am actually getting ready to head down to Norman, Oklahoma to watch the Kansas Jayhaws play the Oklahoma Sooners in football this afternoon, after getting beat by Texas last weekend we sure need the Sooners to bounce back!!!

I wanted to get everyone an update on the movie situation. Tate Publishing has been searching for manuscripts and screen plays to turn into a move for over a year and we believe we have some great stuff we are choosing from, but we have also just finished reaching an agreement with Critical Mass Productions to provide the production on the film. We couldn’t be more excited and in addition to a feature film we will also be turning probably 15 to 20 of our released books into short films.

As you know Tate Publishing offers production, services, marketing, and distribution that no other publish can provide. One of these products and services is that every Tate tile has a :30 second video book trailer or commercial produced, but this agreement takes it to the next level. To have our books made into short films and movies will once again help Tate authors succeed and have opportunities they can’t find anywhere else.

I will keep you posted and get more updates your way, but this is a wonderful and huge step, aside from the screen play and script, the production house is the next most importance part. We couldn’t be happier and as always, let me know if you have any questions.

Ryan Tate

Well Tate Family, unfortunately we have had to take legal action against many different individuals that have tried to be very negative against our wonderful company and family of authors. Whether you are a Tate author, prospective author or just researching this industry we have been appalled at all of the negative and incorrect information on the internet, in blog sites or on competitors websites.

While we value differing opinions, competition and open discussion, we will not stand for malicious or untrue attacks. The basic gist of it is that there have been defamatory remarks, erroneous information, trademark infringements and copyright violations across the board. Many have been using the Tate Publishing name to launch their own businesses, advertise their own companies or services, and finally defame for personal gain.

Please if you have been negatively affected or been given erroneous information or information different than what is on the Tate Publishing website, in our contract or discussed in conversations with our staff, please let us know. Our legal team is still collecting hundreds of emails and cataloging the rest of the information and your input is always welcome and can be used as evidence and testimony as well.

I want to make it a point that I hate this course of action, these individuals have been warned numerous times and both myself and the Tate Publishing staff have been professional and cordial with these individuals and organizations, but I feel they took our willingness to work with them as weakness and we have had to move forward.

In this day and age people assume that over the internet you can say and do what you want with no level of accountability, for the most part this may be true, but our legal system can protect us from unwarranted, defaming, untrue attacks, especially when there are issues involving copyrighted information and trademark violations.

On a spiritual note, the Bible tells us that light cannot have fellowship with darkness, the enemy does not want our success and he certainly doesn’t want yours. This is the very reason we lift each of you up in prayer everyday. Our success speaks for itself and we couldn’t be prouder of our position at the top of our industry. Please let us know if you have any comments and once again, while unfortunate, we must hold these people accountable. If you have any questions just let us know and don’t forget to check out all of the other incredible blogs on our site.

Have a wonderful weekend, God Bless, and as always send some discussion topics my way.

Ryan Tate

I pose this as a questions because a self-publisher is trying to compare their services to what we do at Tate Publishing and that is strange to us. There is no comparison, Tate Publishing is not a self-publisher by any definition and we provide more services, products and distribution that any other publisher. We offer advances, pay royalties, sell product that is 100% returnable, have direct sales with every major retailer and if an author is asked to make an investment with us, we even offer a contract where that investment is refundable. There is no comparison, but to help with anyone that may have questions here you go.

I do want to state that Dog Ear has done a great thing and changed their website to encourage people to contact us first and they have removed several erroneous comments. I believe they are a reputable self-publisher and serve a certain area of our industry very well. While we still disagree with most of their comparisons, we also understand that they are trying to compete in a difficult industry and the comparisons to Tate Publishing are a must for any publisher.

1. Dog Ear claims they checked 9 out of 10 titles and they couldn’t find them for sale. They state they did a check on Amazon, but they also won’t provide us with a list of the titles. To say that Tate Publishing books aren’t for sale in bookstores is completely untrue, ALL Tate Publishing titles are for sale in bookstores everywhere. Our titles are also warehoused and stocked in every major distributors and retail chains warehouses. Remember, Tate Publishing distributes books as a traditional publisher and we are in the Large Press Division with Barnes & Noble.

2. Dog Ear claims we don’t have the highest royalties. We do, every Tate authors receive the highest royalties in the industry, depending on how or where the book is sold (bookstore, website,wholesaler, etc.). For example, our authors receive 15% royalties off of books sold traditionally in a bookstore, 40% royalties on books sold directly from us or our website, and 60% royalties on books sold through deeply discounted retailers like Sam’s Wholesale or Costco. Compare our royalties to traditional royalty publishers, not self-publishers like Dog Ear. For more information contact our office and we can provide more details. Self-publishers like Dog Ear don’t actually let authors set their own retail prices. That is never a good idea, you need your publisher to be established and distribute product appropriately.

3. Dog Ear claims that Tate Publishing is a self -publisher. We are not a self-publisher by any definition. If Tate Publishing accepts your manuscript for production you will have one of three options provided to you, First is a royalty advance, second is no advance but Tate covers all production, marketing, manufacturing and distribution expenses, third, you will be asked to make a refundable author investment. Also, 100% of Tate Publishing books are distributed traditionally and 100% of Tate Publishing books are returnable. Finally, we are selective in who we publish, self-publishers like Dog Ear take everyone, we don’t.

4. Dog Ear claims the amount of resources we put into each of our authors books is extraordinary and we agree. Tate Publishing provides between $16,000 and $22,000 dollars in services, products, marketing, cash and other resources into each title. Once again, Tate authors receive the following:

1. Editing – Copyediting, Technical Editing and Conceptual Editing
2. Custom Cover Design – Our in house design team will work with you to create the perfect cover, and back-matter that helps your book stand out on any shelf.
3. Custom Interior Layout – Your layout artist will once again work with you to make sure that the inside of the book is just as beutiful and attractive as the outside.
4. Ebook Creation and distribution – Every title is available to download as an ebook from our website and other online retailers for ease and instant use.
5. Audiobook creation and distribution – Tate Publishing produces our books as audiobooks as well, we are the largest provider of audiobooks to Apple iTunes and audible.com and have created another opportunity that no other publisher can for our authors to succeed and this gives a Tate author one more advantage over the competition.
6. Website design and hosting – What better way to promote than through your own website, while this can be difficult and confusing on your own we create the website for you and host it so it never costs you a dime. Plus it gives a constant online presence for promoting and selling your work.
7. Video book trailers and commercials – These commercials have become an amazing opportunity and tool for our marketing department and authors. The commercials are streaming from YouTube to our website bookstore, news reports and televisions worldwide. We have more books sold and recognized from these videos than could have every been expected.
8. Marketing – You are assigned an actual marketing rep that manages distribution, availability and sets up events for you worldwide.
9. Publicity – Every event and book is promoted to local and national media for the life of the work. We use several different publicity firms to promote you and your events, but our favorite is Key Marketing Group Communications.
10. Distribution – Tate Publishing product is all 100% returnable and warehoused and not simply made available for order or on a list. We have direct relationships with every major retailer, distributor and wholesaler and provide product directly to their warehouses and are even in the large publishing division with Barnes & Noble, no one else comes close!

As you can see, no one can compare to what Tate Publishing offers, many can publish books, but NO ONE provides the services, products and support that Tate Publishing provides. As you begin your journey ask a lot of questions, ask what other services other than simply book printing or creation a publisher can provide and make sure that you will have a partner that helps create opportunity for you.

As always our staff is here to serve and answer your questions and thanks for your time. God Bless and we are praying for your success.

Ryan Tate

Well, it is raining here in Oklahoma today, but I love this time of year! Football season and colder weather mean the holidays are just around the corner and with a four year old daughter at home nothing is better than the holidays!!!

It is funny because I was on the phone with one of our account representatives from Google yesterday morning and we were discussing the volume of people who search for information on Tate Publishing. It is amazing how many people want to know what is going on here, I even read blogs where people can’t believe our success or how we are achieving what we are for our authors. We were then discussing how all of our competitors use the Tate Publishing name to try and promote their own companies. To me, it is probably one of the greatest compliments when your competitors use your name and reputation to try and get some business for themselves. I have even seen a company named after a dog post untrue statements on their website about us, it never ceases to amaze me the level people will stoop to! However, we have succeeded on a level that no one can come close to. In the radio business there is a saying, “The top dog never barks back!” and that is true. Many people often ask me if negative comments or lies about who or what we do frustrates me and the answer is two fold.

First, when companies like Dog Ear or other smaller publishers make up information or when I read a blog that is just mean in tone or spirit I hate it and my first instinct is to rebut and correct. Now, we all know that usually gets you nowhere and I believe that the best way to silence a critic is to succeed. That has been our model at Tate Publishing, help our authors succeed.

Second, there is no such thing as bad publicity. While this is hard to believe it is true, when individuals or groups try to attack it only ends up promoting us because it causes people to do more research or contact us. Personal contact changes opinions and we are always eager and happy to help our authors in achieving their goals and educate people on all the options they have.

In our main campus in Oklahoma I office just down the hall from our marketing wing. I love it when I can open my door sit back and hear the entire hall full of the sound of marketing reps setting up events and assisting our authors. It is something that many said couldn’t be done and many still can’t believe is being done. Tate Publishing is holding over 25K events every year for one of the smallest authors pools there is for large publishers. Most of these authors are first-time and unknown, yet they can succeed. That brings me great joy knowing how hard we work for our authors!

I am also proud of the fact that while it is impossible to make everyone happy, we will always do our best. If I run into an author that is frustrated or upset they are surprised to see that regardless of the situation we are always ready to continue to promote them. That will never end for us at Tate Publishing, we have signed up for a partnership with our authors no matter what and we will always just be a phone call or an email away for more assistance or solutions.

We are a Christian company and many people think I shouldn’t openly state that. This in no way implies that we are perfect by any means, but is does speak to the resolve of our convictions to serve and offer services, products and opportunities that we believe are good and in accordance with our beliefs. Romans 8:28 & 31 says that “all things work together for good to those who love God… and that if God if for us who can be against us?” Now at the risk of sounding like a crazy Bible beater, I do believe this with all my heart and this is how I run our business. I am held accountable to God for the service we provide and the integrity by which we conduct our business, our spiritual side frustrates many and I have made so many mistakes in my life I am amazed God didn’t give up on me a long time ago, but we always strive to get better and serve better everyday. I believe that is why there is such a buzz about Tate and why we succeed, we believe in what we are accomplishing.

Aside from the fact that we provide a level of services, products and marketing that is second to none and we truly don’t have a competitor in this, we believe in the dreams of an author or artist alike to have a chance at success. I only wish we could help everybody and didn’t have to be as selective as we are, but we must protect the bottom line to succeed in this difficult industry.

Please continue to send your questions my way and link to this blog. I always appreciate everyone helping us get the word out.

In Him,

Ryan Tate