Tate Publishing? Any experiences? My wife is getting a book published there. Fishy?

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Tate Publishing? Any experiences? My wife is getting a book published there. Fishy?

Posted: 6/20/2011 7:43:29 PM EDT

Tate Publishing in Mustang Oklahoma has decided to publish my wife's book. Only thing that bothers me is that they have asked her as well as there other clients to help with sharing some of the cost. About $4000 or so and now that we have already committed to the project I want to see if any one on here has any knowledge of them or their practices. I know good and well you can self publish a book and spend tons of money with no return. Also that there are companies that prey on people wanting books published which are considered "vanity publishers. In the end, worse she will be out is some time and $4K which is a lot less than a really cool gun and it's her money anyway so WTF. 90 days from now is her published date. They help with marketing but they want lots from you as well. Any thoughts on the matter would be great. Any help good or bad. I can take it.

Posted: 6/20/2011 7:55:53 PM EDT

[#1]

http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Literary-Agents-Chuck-Sambuchino/dp/1582979537

Read this before you spend any cash.

Posted: 6/20/2011 7:59:10 PM EDT

[#2]

fix link?

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:00:46 PM EDT

[#3]

As someone who has a published book, I will raise the BS flag on that one.

I got an advance plus residuals based on the sales.

Run away.

Now.

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:03:31 PM EDT

[#4]

The publisher pays you, not the other way around.

Scam, run.

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:04:47 PM EDT

[#5]

Is the goal to make money or simply to fulfill a fantasy about being a published author? If it's purely for enjoyment and spending $4k isn't an issue then go for it. From a business perspective publishers are supposed to pay the content creator an up front amount (usually considered an advance on royalties) and then royalties (the percent varies based on the details of the deal, the reputation of the content creator, etc.) from future sales.

What kind of fan base, if any, does your wife have? Does she have a blog? Participate in any online communities where she has shared her work? Have followers on twitter or facebook? If the answer is 'no' to these questions then these would be a good place to start. If you're a complete unknown and can't get anyone to read your writing for free on a blog then why would people necessarily be willing to put down cash for a book? Another reason behind building a blog / twitter following is that you can then do a launch on Amazon and self publish as an e-book with an available audience.

It's very rare to create something and have any interest from the public what so ever. It takes time, work and some luck.

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:05:04 PM EDT

[#6]

I'll publish it for $3,000

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:05:15 PM EDT

[#7]

thanks for the honesty. that is what I figured. still cheaper than a divorce I guess.

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:17:56 PM EDT

[#8]

Despite my joke above, I'm not trying to make fun of your wife or belittle her dream in any way. It's great that she has something she loves to do and wants to take it to the next level.

That said, if you Google the words "Tate Publishing", by the time you type "Tate P" it brings up the suggestion of "Tate Publishing Scam" . A few more letters typed adds "Tate Publishing Lawsuit" to the mix. And there are an awful lot of entries on those two pages.

Do your homework here. And good luck. Seriously.

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:18:04 PM EDT

[#9]

If the aim is to simply see her words in bound format, your wife can self-publish through www.lulu.com one book at a time, print-on-demand. I put my best five short stories in a small perfect-bound book, and sent them off to various slush-piles, and handed them to agents and editors.

I used this to jump-start my writing. It helped me get a small niche publisher to look my way.

If you can assemble a word document, you can publish a book through lulu. No huge up-front cost.

Otherwise, publishers should be paying you, not vice-versa.

Best,
JBR

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:27:53 PM EDT

[#10]

I did search on google and found some positive comments as well as bad ones.

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:32:45 PM EDT

[#11]

99% of vanity publishers give the honest guy a bad name. In other words, it is almost certainly a waste of time and money.

Did you know that if you have an Amazon account, you can upload your novel to Kindle and start selling it? The writer gets to keep about two thirds of the sales, which is a hell of a lot more than a printed book publisher will ever pay.

Posted: 6/20/2011 8:55:18 PM EDT

[#12]

Agreed. Kindle might be the way to go.
kdp.amazon.com
Best,
JBR

Posted: 6/20/2011 9:04:18 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Agreed. Kindle might be the way to go.

kdp.amazon.com

Best,

JBR

Damn... almost tempted to write up a really shitty novel, upload it, and have it sold for $1.

Posted: 6/21/2011 3:29:41 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Agreed. Kindle might be the way to go.
kdp.amazon.com
Best,
JBR

Damn... almost tempted to write up a really shitty novel, upload it, and have it sold for $1.

You have over 6000 ARFCOM posts.

A compilation of all of those posts would make a fine e-book.

Posted: 6/21/2011 3:54:48 AM EDT

[#15]

Vanity publishing.

In reality it is YOU who is publishing your wife's book.

If you buy enough copies it will be a best seller.

Posted: 6/21/2011 7:39:24 PM EDT

[#16]

Tate is a scam.

There is a distinction between a "vanity press" and self publishing. It's slight at times, but it is there.

Tate is a vanity press, and one with an especially bad rep.

She can self publish a lot cheaper, with better service. Marketing and selling her book is up to her though, which is why so many people who self publish wind up with boxes of books in the garage.

Have her look into other self publishing options if she really wants to do this. She can also do just an e-book. Or print on demand. There are other options if she can't sell to a publisher.

Posted: 6/21/2011 7:44:04 PM EDT

[#17]

Amazon had a fairly slick self-publishing setup as I recall. It was something I looked at a few years ago for something. I'll see if I can find a link. THey had some pretty neat packages, and I want to say it was on-demand publishing, so you didn't have to front for 1000 copies or anything.

Posted: 6/21/2011 7:46:28 PM EDT

[#18]

https://www.createspace.com/Products/Book/

I think this is what I saw. For some reason I thought the name was different, but this is where Amazon points me.

Posted: 6/21/2011 7:47:51 PM EDT

[#19]

According to the girlfriend, she was involved with them at one point. It's a scam, you'll never see a dime.

Posted: 6/21/2011 8:24:47 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

Quoted:

Agreed. Kindle might be the way to go.

kdp.amazon.com

Best,

JBR

Damn... almost tempted to write up a really shitty novel, upload it, and have it sold for $1.

You have over 6000 ARFCOM posts.

A compilation of all of those posts would make a fine e-book.

Thanks for the compliment! Didn't think my writing was worth a damn.

Posted: 6/22/2011 5:21:32 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
As someone who has a published book, I will raise the BS flag on that one.[div]

I got an advance plus residuals based on the sales

That's if the publisher believes the book is going to sell, and they're going to make money.

That isn't the case with most books that someone writes.

When Joe Nobody has written a book, I see absolutely nothing wrong with a publisher saying, "Sure, we'll publish it for you... but you pay all the up-front costs, because we think it's going to be a dog."

Posted: 6/22/2011 8:15:58 PM EDT

[#22]

Anyone on here actually had a book published with Tate Publishing? THanks for the replies so far. Asking for assistance please.

Posted: 6/23/2011 7:38:44 AM EDT

[#23]

OK, my ex-wife is a science fiction writer published by one of the major science fiction publishers, she has three books out with a coauthor that can be found in any major bookstore. I moderate her publisher's discussion forums and have been part of MANY discussions with her publisher, other publishers, and authors.

What is your wife's goal? Does she want to point to a book on the shelf and say "I wrote that" or does she want to be a professional writer? If she just wants to point to the book, go with Tate, spend a bunch of money, and count it as the price of her happiness. If she wants to be a professional writer, going with Tate will HURT her chances of getting on with a real publishing house, and she is unlikely to have her books show up in any major bookstores. Once she 'publishes' through Tate, no major publisher is going to want to pay for the book since it's already been published, most money is made with first printing rights, and if she tries to get later books published, and they see that her first effort was self-published, that will be considered a negative.

Quoted:

Anyone on here actually had a book published with Tate Publishing? THanks for the replies so far. Asking for assistance please.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Tate Publishing? Any experiences? My wife is getting a book published there. Fishy?

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