Showing posts with label self publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self publishing. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Tate Publishing - The Economy - Book Publishing Industry

I have been thinking a lot about what I was wanting to write today and the impact that the economy is having on everyone not only in America, but the world. For many it is a very difficult and trying time and I am constantly being asked by authors and other individuals in the publishing industry why things are doing so well at Tate Publishing when the rest of the industry is slumping.

It is a fact that when people are faced with economic changes they don't simply stop spending money or pursuing their dreams. If that were the case the economy would not exist at all and there would be no spending, no loans, no new homes, you get the idea! The truth is that when people are faced with the types of changes to the economy we are facing they don't stop, they become more selective, educate themselves better and make choices that will truly be necessary and benefit them. I believe this is why we are seeing such success at Tate Publishing. Authors are choosing to go with a publisher that has a proven track record and can actually deliver opportunity for success. I have said this many times, but the problem with self-publishing is that unless you have a huge amount of resources and a huge following ready to purchase your book, you will most likely not sell many copies, let alone sell anything through a bookstore.

At Tate Publishing our authors not only receive the best products and services, but the partnership with our marketing staff is what truly makes the difference. When you have a team of individuals who wake up every morning to work with you to set up events, promote your book, distribute your book and publicize everything, you actually have a chance. So we believe that authors are becoming more educated, and looking to go with a publisher that they know will give them an actual chance, not a situation where they have to do everything on their own and their opportunity is left to luck.

Carolyn Reidy, the President/CEO of Simon & Schuster just spoke at the Evangelical Christian Publisher’s Association’s CEO Symposium and Publishing University at the Westin Hotel in Lombard, Ill. in November. Her remarks were about the incredibly horrible time they and publishers alike are facing during these economic times. Her fear and concern were obvious and understandable. Tate Publishing has developed a model that is author centered, this model creates an environment where when the author and publisher are working in a true partnership, and success is possible in any economic situation.

Once again, we are committed to delivering more products, services, distribution and publicity opportunities to our authors than anyone else. That is the Tate difference, a situation where the flexibility of self-publishing and the power of traditional publishing meet to create the successful environment Tate authors experience everyday!

Whether you are a published author, publisher or looking for a publisher, I am praying for you on your journey and believe that the best thing you can do is gain knowledge. Hopefully this blog can help you in the search and as always let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Ryan Tate

Friday, October 17, 2008

Dog Ear Publishing Compared To Tate Publishing?

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

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Do you really want to go with a Self-Publisher?

This is a great post from our Director of Production at Tate Publishing. He discusses POD or Print-On-Demand publishers and what you get with them. Check out his blog: Is Your Publisher "Print-On Demand?"

Print on Demand or self-publishers are very tricky to figure out. This is why we have created a situation at Tate Publishing that if your book is accepted for publication, you don't have to worry about anything. You will have the best service, production, distribution and marketing and more products to release to the marketplace than you could get from anywhere else. I personally hate how self-publishers will tell you that you can publish a book for next to nothing!!! Then when you decide you want layout, cover design, editing, and marketing you realize that this "you can publish for nothing" publisher has turned into a $10,000 dollar expense. In addition, please don't ever publish a book without professional assistance, it is the only way to guarantee your product can even have a chance.

This time last year several of my executive staff and I visited a large self-publisher in North Carolina, LULU Press, I was shocked to see that they don't even have one editor on staff. Now, they claim to be a do-it-yourself publisher, but editors should just be part of a publishers core staff.

Tate Publishing offers the best in the industry and we would never leave our authors to go it alone, it just isn't right. Here is my post about why Tate is so different! Finally, we would never offer a choose your package style of publishing, an author should not have to decide what they need, an author should have confidence that their publisher will take care of them and their book will be beautiful in the end and be supported from beginning to bookstore! That is our desire and that is the environment we have created. Tate Publishing has the highest sales volumes out of any publisher because of our selectivity and the professionalism behind the finished product. I thank God everyday that we have such great authors in our family. Once again, check out Dave's post, I think you will like it!

Ryan Tate