TATE PUBLISHING ( CONT ’ D )
WRITER BEWARE IS SPONSORED BY
THE SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY WRITERS OF
AMERICA , WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM THE MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA , THE HORROR WRITERS
ASSOCIATION , AND THE AMERICAN
SOCIETY OF
JOURNALISTS AND
AUTHORS .
LIKE MANY GENRE-
FOCUSED WRITERS ’
GROUPS , SFWA , MWA , HWA , AND
ASJA ARE CONCERNED NOT JUST
WITH ISSUES THAT
AFFECT PROFESSIONAL AUTHORS , BUT WITH THE PROBLEMS AND PITFALLS THAT FACE ASPIRING WRITERS . WRITER BEWARE , FOUNDED IN 1998 ,
REFLECTS THAT
CONCERN .
was created . Not just because it charges enormous fees ( an initial $ 3,990 , with the option of paying hundreds or even thousands more for extras such as video trailers , custom websites , self-ordered books , and the like ), but because it presents itself as a " mainline publishing organization " and doesn ' t reveal its fees anywhere on its website or in its promotional videos .
In fact , Tate ' s website specifically promises that authors do not have to pay to publish : " Tate Publishing does not charge a fee for publishing and absorbs all the cost of production and distribution of a book ." But this is classic vanity publisher doublespeak . Deeper into the submission process , when Tate finally gets around to asking authors to pull out their credit cards , they are told that the money is for a publicist . Clearly , Tate wants authors to assume that it ' s as traditional as traditional can be . And they do . Writer Beware has gotten hundreds of questions and reports from authors who approached Tate in the belief that it was not a vanity publisher .
We ' ve also heard from many Tate authors who don ' t feel their money was well spent--and we aren ' t alone . In 2015 , Tate was the second most complained-about company to the Oklahoma attorney general . Many more complaints--not just about Tate Publishing , but about its vanity recording subsidiary , Tate Music Group- -can be found online . They make for terrifying reading--bad editing , shoddy production , constant staff turnover , books ordered and paid for but never received , delayed pub dates , non-payment of royalties , " marketing " that mostly consists of urging writers to buy their own books ... the list goes on .
The Better Business Bureau , which as of this writing has logged 134 complaints over the past three years , yanked Tate ' s accreditation earlier this year .
That ' s a lot of chickens , and they are now coming home to roost . This past May , Xerox Corporation filed a $ 1.7 million lawsuit ( since increased to $ 1.89 million ) against Tate , alleging defaults on service agreements and promissory note payments , and seeking re-possession of $ 450,000 in leased equipment . Tate has not had good luck with its attorneys in the case ; the first withdrew in September , saying he was retiring , and the second is also seeking to withdraw , in part , apparently , because Tate hasn ' t paid him . ( Maybe that ' s why Ryan Tate never got around to filing his promised counter-suit against Xerox .)
Link to the rest at Writer Beware .
WINTER 2017
PAGE 12
WRITERS ’ TRICKS OF THE TRADE