Tate Publishing's Rita Tate Named Woman of the Year!

What a wonderful year it has already been and we are just getting started!   I wanted to share (brag) an article we are proud of.   Rita Tate was just named the Woman of the Year by Hughes News.  Here is the article and a link as well.  As you know since Rita Tate is my mom I already knew she was the woman of the year!!!!  Congratulations Mom and I have received so many e-mails and calls from our authors and artist already congratulating you.  We are all very proud of you and our company is so blessed to have someone like you as a founder.  Many people don't realize that the main focus of Tate Publishing is to build God's Kingdom and give as much as possible.  Every employee, author, and artist in our company plays such a huge role in making that happen and it is a blessing to have any part.  Enjoy the article and this also gives some great history on my mom and our family!

Rita Queen Williams Tate has been named the Hugh's News Woman of the Year for 2012

Rita Queen Williams Tate was born in Clinton, Oklahoma to Hubert and Violet Williams in 1948. Soon after Rita was born her father became pastor of Central Pentecostal Holiness Church, moving the family to the south side of Oklahoma City in 1950. He had a hugely successful tenure as the church grew by the hundreds throughout the early to late 1950s. Rita would be one of eight children born to the couple. After four boys, she was the first of three girls, and then another younger brother was added later. Her middle name, Queen, is a tradition passed to the first girl born into a Williams family.

Rita loved church and grew up memorizingScripture and singing for the congregation. She was saved at the age of six in a Sunday school class taught by Opal Finchum, whom Rita calls “a masterful teacher who made Bible stories come alive and explained fully what it meant to give your heart to Christ.”  The first person she told about her salvation decision was her father who said with tears in his eyes, “Rita Queen that is the greatest news you will EVER tell your Dad.” 

By the time Rita was a teenager, her father had left the ministry but the family remained dedicated to the church and maintained a strong Christian household. She attended Southwestern Christian University, first briefly as a high school sophomore, then later as a full time college student. Rita's uncle, C.H. Williams, many may recall, was a dean and professor at Southwestern for many years. In fact, C.H. Williams, helped found the school along with Oral Roberts, and R.O. Corvin in 1946.

Rita's love for music was always apparent and one evening while at home with her two younger sisters, she asked if they would sing a song with her. Almost miraculously a sound developed very quickly. Younger sister, Vikki took the lead part, the youngest sister, Renee, sang tenor, and Rita was the alto for the group. No lessons, no direction, just three voices united in the closest of harmony, difficult to come by unless the voices are related. The ease and clarity of sound even surprised the sisters.

[Rita Williams Tate; Vikki Williams; Renee Williams Light (of the Light family--relatives of the Muse family)]

Soon, The Williams Sisters were being asked to sing at local youth events, revivals, and conferences. Rita became the spokesperson for the group and developed a unique speaking style, sharing Biblical messages and illustrations, weaving the music into the overall theme. Along with a small band as accompaniment, they began to tour the country performing at church youth camps, conferences, and holding revivals from coast to coast. From the late sixties to mid seventies, The Williams Sisters were traveling and ministering full time. The group's two albums, Introducing … The Williams Sisters and Joy!, produced during that time, are still asked for today.

“It was a wonderful time in our lives. We were privileged to see many young people come to know Christ and we were enjoying the time together, understanding how blessed we were to do something we loved to do,” said Rita.

In 1974, The Williams Sisters were introduced at the National Quartet Convention held in Nashville as “The New Group of the Year.” The honor was part of a program that was the precursor to the current Dove Awards awarded to Christian artists. Thereafter, the sisters would share the stage often with The Oak Ridge Boys, the Stamps Quartet, The Inspirations, and other well-known groups.

As the 1980s approached, marriage and raising families became new priorities and the group no longer toured, but got together periodically for special events through the years. Rita married Dr. Richard Tate, a campus minister, in 1977, and they served on the campus of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri for many years. As Vice President for the school as well as Campus Minister, Richard along with Rita continued to sing together and minister, representing the school and recruiting many students throughout the Midwest. Two children, son, Ryan, and daughter, Trinity, were born while at Bolivar.

The couple moved to the San Diego, California area in 1990 to take their first full time pastorate. It was during this time they began to work on producing a book aimed at helping married couples and families. The material for the book was gleaned from the live seminars and conferences Richard and Rita conducted several times a year. When the family moved back to their Oklahoma roots in 1997 the manuscript was sent to several publishers. Finally, their book 11 Reasons Families Succeed was published. “It's a great tool for dating or married couples, and families experiencing challenges,” Rita explained.

“Richard was serving as the Chief of Staff for Mary Fallin, who is now the Governor of Oklahoma at that time, but we learned so much about the publishing process and marketing books that we became interested in creating our own publishing house. In 2000, our son Ryan graduated from the University of Oklahoma where he was a varsity wrestler for the Sooners and daughter, Trinity, a cheerleader for OU on track to graduate in 2001. Ryan married a beautiful girl and after a brief stint as Area Director for Youth for Christ, Ryan joined us as we finally formed Tate Publishing and Enterprises, LLC. Ryan was named President of the company and Trinity soon entered the family business as one of our first editors,” Rita continued.

“Trinity is now the Executive Director for Acquisitions. You know, it was as if it happened by itself. I suppose that's how you know it truly is a 'God thing'. We can't take credit for a single thing. When we began to solicit manuscripts the response was overwhelming and from that day to this; the business continues to thrive. We are so grateful. It is God's business, not ours. Everyday we look around, amazed at what God has done in twelve short years. We have over 200 employees, produce wonderful, beautiful books that bless and change people's lives, and are able to give into the kingdom of God because of Tate Publishing's success.”

Rita became involved with Southwestern Christian University upon the family's return to Oklahoma and is now Vice President for the Executive Committee for the Board of Regents and loves the school that gave so much to her when she was a young student. “Southwestern is in my DNA – I have a passion for it's past and it's future. To see the school expanding, building, and becoming a vibrant educational entity is thrilling. You step on that campus once, and you will never be the same. I'm in for a lifetime.”
Rita maintains a busy schedule as always. As Executive Creative Writer for Tate Publishing she is a ghostwriter for the company's celebrity authors. She has written for Lee Greenwood, Neal McCoy, the niece of Oklahoma's favorite son, Will Rogers, the Selmon brothers--Oklahoma University football greats, along with Joe Washington. She has also written for Nolan Ryan, Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, and NBA's Karl Malone and many others. She is also active in the Oklahoma Federation of Republican Women and directs the Miss Mustang Pageant, a preliminary for the Miss America Pageant.

“Family will always be our highest priority. As years pass, Richard and I realize more and more that time spent with them is the most precious, valuable, and important thing we do. Ryan and Christy have two children, a daughter, Courtney Queen, carrying on the middle name tradition, and son, Will; Trinity and husband, Lee have two beautiful little girls, Sloane and Avery."

“When Hugh approached me about being namedHugh's News Woman of the Year, I was of course, honored, but more than that, I was humbled. I remember as a six year old, on my knees praying the prayer of salvation. I have not been perfect and have made some mistakes along the way, but I always knew God loves me, guides me and favors me in ways I can't fathom. I have been sold out to Him for many years now and He gets credit for anything I have accomplished. As to this newest honor, it reminds me of a Williams Sisters song we used to sing,'It's A Wonderful Feeling!' Love and blessings to all--Rita Williams Tate.”

[Editor's commentary: Rita asked me this question: "Hugh, How do you go about selecting the person of the year for Hugh's News?

That is a great question. I am not sure I could tell her or you exactly how it happens. I had a Frenchprofessor at Furman University who enjoyed giving us pop quizzes. We would study diligently, memorize the vocabulary, etc. After all the hard work, he would invariably fail to give us a quiz for which we were primed to do well. How disappointed we all were because we knew we could make good grades if we studied.

We asked him how he decided when to give a text. He said, "It depends on how my liver acts on any given day."

All I can say is that I pray about it all year, starting in January and wait to see how things go, and how God may impress me with the right individual.

As I recall, I first met Rita Williams Tate in 2006 at the Annual Homecoming of Southwestern Christian University, and she and her sisters, the Williams Sisters, sang. Rita spoke, too, and I was impressed with her poise, charisma and ability to connect with those who were in attendance. I saw in Rita a tremendous leadership ability. Shespoke with the anointing of the Holy Spirit that moved the large group that came to sing.

Following that first meeting of Rita, she was asked to be the emcee for the annual reunion singing. She has done it with charm and an appealing demeanor and command of the event. She is well-organized, and the movement of the whole event is carried by the flow of music and introductions of singers with professional precision and poise. She invited Lonnie Rex to be the conductor of the Gospel Singing last November and what a magnificent job he did, along with Betty on the grand piano, Laban West and Randell Drake on the other pianos.

I learned later that Rita and her sisters grew up in the home of a pastor in the Pentecostal Holiness Church in Oklahoma. They formed a trio, The Williams Sisters Trio, that traveled all across the west [and the whole country] where they were well received, loved, and greatly appreciated for their anointed and dynamic gospel singing.
It is the opinion of this writer that they were on a par with the Andrew Sisters and the Lennon Sisters who sang on the Lawrence Welk TV Show. They were known as America's Sweethearts. The Williams Sisters Trio were the Sweethearts of the Pentecostal family of churches throughout the west.

Rita Tate is co-founder of Tate Publishing and Enterprises–a Christian based publisher located in Mustang, Oklahoma. She is the author of 12 Battles Every Woman Must Win!, and co-author, with her husband of 11 Reasons Families Succeed.

I have visited the Corporate Offices of Tate Publishers and Enterprises in Mustang, OK, and met with her husband, Dr. Richard Tate, also a remarkable person with enthusiasm, energy, vim and vitality. I would say he has Spizzerinctum.

It is my delight and honor to introduce you to RitaWilliams Tate, the 2012 Hugh's News Woman of the Year.

Tate Publishing's Latest New York Times Bestseller

Good afternoon and it is now time I can say "Happy Holidays",

That you for visiting Tate Publishing and there is so much happening right now it is hard to keep up! First, please make sure to check out our latest New York Times Bestseller, "Memoir of a Milk Carton Kid". Tanya and Lawrence have delivered a bestseller that is incredibly well written, this is easily one of the most powerful stories of loss and hope I have ever read. Tanya and Lawrence have appeared on Inside Edition, Dr. Phil Show, and we recently were contacted and told that a future People Magazine article is in the works!

In addition, many of you have noticed and commented our our new website we launched a couple of months ago. Thank you for all your comments and we are glad you like the new look and feel. We are so privileged to work with some of the best authors in the world and I want to encourage each of you to continue to deliver great books that change our world for the better. I can't help but think about how much our society is in need of authors to deliver great content to this generation. Nothing has changed our society more than books! From the Bible to history text books, to great fiction works that challenge us to dream big dreams, if you want to change the world - write a book!

At Tate Publishing we continue to provide the best options we possibly can for authors to succeed. We pride ourselves in striving to be the best and deliver what others can't. There is so much negativity and hate being spewed in the world, it is hard to see through it, but God is in control and he will direct our paths and victory certainly rests with him. Stay focused and don't let anything get you off track, let's change the world one book at a time.

Sincerely,

Ryan Tate

(405)376-4900

Tate Publishing Has A Lot To Be Thankful For!

As Thanksgiving approaches it is always important to take time to think about all we have to be grateful for in our lives. At Tate Publishing we have many blessings and things that we appreciate. I was sitting at my desk working late last night and couldn't stop thinking about how much I appreciate several things at Tate Publishing.

First, is our incredible staff. Through this entire year our staff has grown significantly, but they have become closer and tighter through the growth. Our award winning staff not only love what they do but they are always putting our authors and artists first. I preach in staff meetings that service is key and to make everyone we deal with feel special. I am so proud and blessed to see this through our staff on a daily basis.

Secondly, I am so thankful for our authors. We have seen Tate Publishing authors accomplish more than ever before in this year. We are averaging close to 1,000 events every month in 2010 and our authors have sold more books and had more success than ever before. I believe we have the hardest working authors in the industry and they know that successful books don't happen over night and that success requires a great partnership between them and their publisher. I am so proud of each of you and cannot wait to see what our family of authors accomplish in 2011!

Third, the blessings and growth our authors have achieved in this economy are a miracle. Every-time we turn on the news these days we have to listen to horrible stories about how bad the world is and how high unemployment is and that the economy is spiraling out of control. While there is no doubt that there have been many difficult issues facing our country our staff and authors never looked at any of the circumstances as a problem, but an opportunity to work harder and be smarter. Tate authors have increased the number of niche marketing events and opportunities through our marketing department at an incredible rate. If in store sales weren't going well for an author our staff quickly looked for new opportunities. No other publisher works harder to help and create these opportunities and I am so grateful that our authors never go it alone in this incredibly competitive industry.

Fourth, is our bookstore and distributor relationships. For many publishers they are being cut back and told to take their books and go home by the largest retailers and distributors. We have built over the last decade wonderful relationships with Borders, Barnes and Noble, Ingram and every other large chains as well as small bookstores. I would like to thank each of you for your support of our authors and the opportunities you provide us with every day. We don't take it lightly and we are very thankful.

Finally, my family and God! I spend everyday working hard to make sure that Tate Publishing will be the best opportunity for any author. I believe we have accomplished that and we will continue to offer more and more. In the last year alone we started putting every Tate author on national television. Tate authors have had their book commercials seen by over 300 million viewers! No other publisher does more. My passion for our authors is something that my family has been instrumental in supporting. I am so grateful that my girls at home have made it possible for Dad to work long hours and travel often as we serve our author family and the publishing industry. I could not be more blessed and I thank God for you everyday! God has blessed us with amazing opportunities to share our books with the world and help change peoples lives. I never take that responsibility or opportunity lightly.

I can think of so many more things, but I am afraid that list will go on and on! Thank you to everyone who has made this year a success and been a part of the Tate Publishing family. I consider myself so blessed.

Sincerely,

Ryan Tate

TV Commercials Bringing Great Exposure To Tate Publishing Authors

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on the new television commercials Tate Publishing is running on our author's books. When we launched these television commercial campaigns we were excited. However, the results and exposure has far exceeded our expectations.

Tate Publishing is the only publisher in America that provides this level of commitment and service to their authors. We are so excited that we have created the premier publisher for authors with accepted manuscripts. From design, editing and layout to marketing, distribution and manufacturing, Tate Publishing authors are experiencing incredible success and providing the industry with the highest quality of content. The television commercials were the latest publicity opportunity and has proved to be a great one for our authors.

Since launching the campaigns Tate Publishing and our author family have already reached nearly 145,000,000 million viewers. That is right, 145 million viewers have watched our commercials and the buzz is incredible. This type of support and exposure is exactly what it takes for authors to be successful and set themselves apart. I am so proud to be part of a company that is forward thinking and continues to put authors first.

These are very exciting times and I will keep the reports coming and thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Ryan Tate

Kenny Rogers, Neal McCoy and 3D Children's Books all Make it to Tate Publishing

This is always my favorite time of the year.  Especially with small children at home what an exciting time.  I pray that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that this Christmas and New Year will be the best ever.

It has also been a very exciting time at Tate Publishing last month.  We were blessed by visits from two wonderful artists that are in negotiations to produce and release new books.  Both Kenny Rogers and Neal McCoy were here to begin the process of releasing their books to the marketplace.  These were both two of the finest people and have incredible stories that will truly continue to change the world.  On December 12th of this year there will be a Christmas special on the Hallmark channel called, "Christmas in Cannan".  This movie is a screenplay written from Kenny Rogers book with the same title and has a great cast and of course a wonderful story.  You will want to get the book as well!!!  We are excited to have these individuals in our family.

In addition, we are pleased to announce a new feature for our children's books.  We are going to begin to produce and release our books in 3-D!  We have always worked hard to deliver products, services and distribution that you can't get anywhere else at Tate Publishing.  This is our latest effort at continuing to extend the gap and stay ahead of everyone else.  As an author you need every advantage you can get and the 3-D feature certainly delivers.  Regardless of your books content, when the images and characters can come alive and literally "jump" off the page, your readers will never forget.  Each book will come with a pair of 3-D glasses and audiobook versions making it the best entertainment buy possible for a book.  These features will make our family of authors books stand out in a crowded market and deliver a wonderful experience for every reader.  

I want to thank our incredible staff for making these opportunities a reality and their countless hours of development.  I consider it a true blessing to work with each of you everyday!  

Once again, we are praying that you have a wonderful Christmas and New Year and as always, if you have any questions please feel free to send them my way or contact us at the office.

In Him,

Ryan Tate

Tate Publishing - I-Phone Applications For Authors and Artists

It is a beautiful day in Oklahoma this morning and we are going to have yet another 100 plus degree day!!!  

I am excited to announce that we have just finished the programming and production of our new I-Phone applications.  Everything has been submitted and approved by Apple and we are really happy to once again offer this service and exposure to our authors and artists.  

The applications are titled "GottaKnow" and these applications are specific for each author or artist.  So if your book was titled, "The Best Book Ever" your I-Phone application will be, "GottaKnow The Best Book Ever", and will be an interactive opportunity for fans and followers to connect with their favorite Tate author or artist.

The I-Phone applications will include links to purchase the books and music cd's, links to upcoming events pages, blogs and personal info that comes straight from the authors and artists themselves giving their fans and readers an incredible opportunity to get to know them on a more personal level.   These applications will offer free samples to read and listen to as well as an images section to see "behind the scenes" as their favorite author or artist created their respective masterpiece! 

No one else in the industry offers these services and once again keeps Tate Publishing ahead of everyone else.  We will be releasing a new application for every title and music cd we release and believe that this added exposure will be a huge benefit to our product lines and serve our authors at a level never before seen in the publishing industry.  

This is a very exciting time and we couldn't be happier to continue to lead the industry in serving our authors and artists and delivering content and quality with more success than anyone else.  Please send your questions our way and I will post some links to the applications as we launch them this month.   

Have a blessed day,

Ryan Tate

Tate Publishing - Book Marketing Is The Key To Success

Good afternoon and thank you for checking in once again on my blog and the great things happening at Tate Publishing.  I am often asked what makes a successful book and how can Tate Publishing help.  While there are certainly many elements that play a role, there is of course only one major role that everything boils down to, that is marketing!

Tate Publishing provides services and products that no other publisher can and designs, edits and manufactures some of the best product released in the publishing industry, but that is not nearly enough.  The key is marketing.  As an author you must make sure that your publisher has a long distribution reach that can get your book everywhere necessary for it to succeed.  Not just listed on a website!

I am very proud of our marketing department and the many publicity and PR firms that represent Tate Publishing titles.  We are one of the top selling publishers in America and set up and create more events, book signings and promotional engagements than any one else, helping Tate authors an books succeed.  Remember, at Tate Publishing we market and promote the book for the life of the project, and we promote and market and distribute on your behalf and in partnership with our authors.  The danger of small publishers and self-publishers is that authors must do everything on their own and take all of the risk and burden, we do not believe that serves a serious author's needs.  You need a great marketing partner.  

In the last quarter alone Tate authors have appeared and been promoted on ABC's Nightline, MSNBC, Fox News, AOL.com and hundreds of other news, print and radio channels.  These are the opportunities and situations a successful author needs from their publisher.  

While many claim they can produce books, very few actually have the resources, staff, distribution or marketing departments to truly help authors succeed, that is what makes Tate Publishing a special place.  

We have always been a publishing family that believes in working hard to help authors succeed, that is why we must be very picky in regards to the books and authors we will sign, but in the end we know that great marketing is the best recipe for success.  

As always please contact us if you have any questions or send them directly to me.  Have a great day and thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Ryan Tate

Tate Publishing Staff - Leaders in the Book Publishing Industry

As you all well know success is never possible alone.  Especially not in the publishing industry.  To truly succeed in life and publishing, you need a great team.  At Tate Publishing we have put together that very team for our authors.  The success and growth we are having at Tate Publishing is a direct result of the talented staff we employee and assign to partner with our authors.  While other publishers are cutting back, firing staff and selling fewer books, we are growing and selling more than ever.  As the President and CEO there is nothing more wonderful than a staff that never quits, sees challenges as opportunities and serves our authors and vendors everyday.  

It is this very quality that makes it possible for us to succeed.  We were so pleased to find out that once again Tate Publishing has been named one of the best places to work in the State of Oklahoma.  In these economic times it is a huge privilege and honor.  I am not exaggerating when I say that Tate Publishing authors and vendors truly get to work with one of the most talented staffs in the industry.  Most publishers outsource and farm out their work because it is cheaper.  We have always had the feeling here that quality and service is more costly, but if you want to lead an industry and succeed you need to make the extra investment in the staff to see the results that are desirable.  We handle ever element of production in house and are able to produce results faster and better than anyone else.  

Once again I couldn't be prouder of this most recent accomplishment and we are looking forward to another incredible year.

As always feel free to send your questions my way and have a blessed week!

Ryan Tate

Tate Publishing Sales Report

Good afternoon and Happy Holidays to all! Christmas is right around the corner and we are all very excited about the new year at Tate Publishing. I wanted to post the letter we just received from Key Marketing Group Communications about our sales results over the past several years. We are very proud of all of our staff, authors and vendors for such incredible and unparalleled success.

Enjoy!

- Ryan Tate

KEY MARKETING GROUP
Key to Your Publishing Success

Tate Publishing & Enterprises
127 East Trade Center Terrace
Mustang, OK 73064

Dear Ryan,

I wanted to personally inform you and congratulate you on the unparalleled success we have experienced together over the last five years of service with Tate Publishing.

After a recent survey and study of our past three years of sales with Ingram Book Co, we have determined that our sales rate and growth percentage have been second to none.

According to our records and correspondence with our buyer at Ingram, Tate Publishing is one of the ‘fastest’ growing publishers she currently is working with. Over the last three years, Tate Publishing has grown at an unbelievable rate of over 100% per year, with some percentage rates reaching over 200% of growth.

Also, as of November 2008, we are ranking in the top 20 of all publishers that our buyer currently buys from, which is over 130 publishers. Our estimation is that we will end up around 15-17th ranked by the end of this fiscal year.

As far as projected growth, we are projecting to break into the top 5-10 for 2009, if we continue the same pace of growth rates as we have for the last three years.

With the economic down turn that our industry has experienced over the last few years, it is extremely refreshing to be working with a publisher that is showing unprecedented increases. We totally believe that this is due to the aggressive marketing approaches that Tate Publishing takes for ‘every’ author that is released.

Again, I am speaking on behalf of Key Marketing Group and our buyer at Ingram Book, when I say ‘Great Job!’ Keep up the good work!

Congrats!

Bryan Norris
President, Key Marketing Communications

Tate Publishing and Serving the Author

It is about 1 hour away from the college football game of the week and my wife is downstairs getting the house ready for some friends and family to come over to watch The University of Oklahoma play Texas Tech. I have the television on the sports station ESPN and have been watching all of the scrutiny the coaches in both collegiate and professional athletics are under. It seems like it is impossible for them to make everyone happy unless they are winning every game by 100 points. While that is impossible it never ceases to amazes me that there are people out there that expect that level of perfection or you should be fired.

While I believe everyone should pursue perfection and success, I also know that being perfect, never losing or having every dream come true without failure, trouble, or tribulation along the way is unrealistic. I hate to steal the cliche, but if big dreams were easy, then everyone could do it. I look at publishing the same way.

As an author, when you take the time and dedicate yourself to writing a book you have begun the process of pursuing an amazing dream, to become published! For most of you the realization of how difficult this industry can be is starting to settle in. For most the only option is to self-publish. Getting an advance or having a publisher like Tate Publishing take on your book is difficult. Just remember though, difficult is good. Self-publishing is something that anybody can do. I am not saying that self-publishing is bad, just easy and lacks any of the tools, services, or partnerships necessary to succeed with your book in the retail marketplace.

I want to encourage you to make decisions that give you the best opportunities for success. At Tate Publishing we are very selective and sign a very small percentage of the manuscripts submitted to us. However, we always provide an author that is rejected or turned down the reasons why and what they could do to make the manuscript better. If selected or offered one of our contract options, the author is being offered not only the best contract in the industry, but a life long partnership with Tate Publishing.

One of the things I am most pleased with is that regardless of how long a Tate Published book has been on the marketplace the author can contact us to do more at any time. We love the opportunity to do more, serving our authors and helping a passionate author that is driven to success to create opportunities is our life, it is what we love!

There is no magic wand we can wave to make a book successful, the formula is simple in that we know nothing worth doing is easy. I have seen some books take off and sell 10's of thousands of copies with little effort, that is possible, but for the most part it is a well planned attack that leads to a successful book. That is why Tate Publishing exists and is who we are, no author can be in better hands then at Tate Publishing.

So remember to be smart about your decision to pursue a publisher. Look at production, services, products and the distribution you will receive and make sure you are not going it alone. You need a partner that has a lot to lose with you, that type of partnership is a wonderful opportunity where everyone is motivated to succeed.

Be sure to read my other blogs on Tate Publishing and the opportunity and partnership we offer. As always, if you have any questions or need any assistance let me know or contact our offices. Have a wonderful week and God Bless!

Sincerely,

Ryan Tate

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

Book Publishing Research

Good afternoon, I had intended to write earlier this morning, but like most of the country I was up late last night watching the results come in for the Presidential Election. I have been getting a lot of questions from authors about how to search for the best book publishing company. This is an excellent question and that very search for a book publisher is what lead to the founding of Tate Publishing many years ago.

As you have probably read in past posts, Tate Publishing was founded to provide the only real opportunity a first-time or unknown author has in the book publishing industry. Most authors begin their search for a publisher by going to the internet and using Google or other internet search engines and looking up keywords like "book publishing", "get published", "publishing companies", or other keyword searches to help them find a publisher. While this start makes since, the problem is that you will be instantly bombarded by countless self-publishers claiming they want your book and want to publish your book for almost no money. This is when you need to become very selective as an author!

First, make sure the publisher is selective. What I mean by this is that you need to make sure that the publisher doesn't accept every author. Selectivity makes sure that the publisher's product line and services will be good and you will have an actual chance to compete in the book publishing industry.

Second, look at the services the publisher offers. Many self-publishers require you to purchase books, purchase services or simply print books. You need a partner, you need to know that if you sign with a publisher the end result and the final product will be truly ready for the marketplace.

Third, distribution is the most important part. Please make sure that the publisher has actual distribution and doesn't simply list titles in a database like a self-publisher will. Your product must be warehoused and inventoried with stores and distributors and product must always be 100% returnable, if it isn't, bookstores and buyers won't even look at it.

Fourth, customer service is a must. Does the publisher answer your calls, return them and treat you like the asset you are, or is it cold and you feel you are going to be doing everything yourself? That would be a bad situation and almost gaurantee the failure of your book.

Once again, Tate Publishing is the best in the industry and offers services, products, distribution and customer service that is second to none. I encourage you to read my blog about our services and what to expect and about what book distribution should be in order for your book to actually have a chance to succeed!

During your journey ask a lot of questions and always make personal contact. You need a partnership to succeed and people make the difference. An established publisher is very important in this industry. As always please feel free to contact our offices or respond to me with any questions you may have. Don't forget, I am praying for you and your success and the exciting opportunities in our book publishing industry, especially for Tate Published authors.

Sincerely,

Ryan Tate

Tate Publishing To Start Making Movies!

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

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

What does distribution for your book really mean?

This is one of the questions that our acquisitions team is asked the most.  It is also probably the most misunderstood question for first-time authors.  

First, understand that most self-publishing companies will claim that they have bookstore distribution.   The truth is that these companies only list their products with a retailer or distributor.  You will not find the titles in a store, only titles listed in a database that if you pay for it they will have a book printed and shipped off.  In most cases self-publishers even use print on demand companies or print on demand distributors like Lightning Source to print a book as it is ordered, the products are never warehoused.  

Second, self-publishers don't offer returnable product.  For a bookstore to stock titles or a distributor to inventory a book for sale and availability the books or products must be returnable.  This simply means that if the books don't sell they can be returned to the publisher at no cost to the distributor or bookstore.  Self-published authors and their books are not returnable and are not able to compete in a retail environment.  

Third, self-publishers don't pay for books sold or put into distribution.  When a publisher is actually trying to sale product in bookstores they must have product inventoried and warehoused.  This is a huge risk and very costly because if you're are putting books into stores or retailers and distributors warehouses you must be prepared to accept the product that doesn't sell as a return.  This means that you could lose a lot of money if a title doesn't sell well and that is bad business.  At Tate Publishing we just recently had a book titled, "From Pulling Weeds to Picking Stocks" that went to number one on Amazon.com.  It is also being watched for the New York Times Bestsellers list and has had purchase orders from stores like Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books A Million and wholesalers and distributors like Ingram and Spring Arbor for over 30,000 copies in the first 6 weeks of the release.  A self-published author would have to pay 10's of thousands of dollars to simply print this many books and then assume the risk that the product won't sell out and have the returns come right back to you.  This is not a risk any author should have to take, that is a risk your publisher should take.

At Tate Publishing our authors books are set up for distribution as a traditional publishing house and product is 100% returnable, product is warehoused (not simply listed in a database) and all product sold into distribution is paid for by Tate Publishing, not the author.  In addition, Tate Publishing works with and provides product to every major distributor and retailer, but we also have direct relationships with the largest retailers in the country which means we provide product directly to them for in store sales.  Check out our events page to see our distribution and event strengths.

Once again, as you are searching for options and trying to learn this industry make sure you ask your publisher or potential publisher these questions about their distribution system.  If all of these elements aren't in place you cannot compete against the traditional publishers or expect to have great success from a retail standpoint.  

As always, please send any of your questions or additional topics you would like me to discuss, I would love to help answer them for you.  

Ryan Tate

President, Tate Publishing

Welcome to the President's Desk..........

Well, I am very excited to begin the process of helping all of you out there not only understand the publishing industry in general, but specifically about the wonderful options and opportunities available to you at Tate Publishing that no one else can offer!

Tate Publishing is a company that my family started almost a decade ago with one desire;  create an environment where authors truly can succeed.  My parents had published a book when my father was Chief of Staff for the Lt. Governor of Oklahoma with a traditional publisher, the book was titled, "11 Reasons Families Succeed" and it sold very well, but as many authors find out the money always flowed to the publisher and rarely to the author.  In addition, my parents did all of the work, travel, speaking, promotions, just about everything.  The reality became clear that hard working authors deserved a chance to succeed and profit from their book and efforts and that opportunity didn't exist for most.

Tate Publishing was started to create this environment and has been the most successful publishing company story our industry has seen in quite some time.  Tate Publishing offers more services, products, support,marketing and distribution that any publisher out there.  Many will claim they are as good or provide the same level of service or products, but don't be deceived, none even come close.

As a Tate published author you will 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.

Once again, our desire was to create an environment that an author could actually succeed.  Tate  Publishing authors out sell, work and promote all the competition.  No one should have to go it alone.  There are many options out there, but none are of the Tate standard, level of service or quality.  I want to encourage you to check out our other blogs and chat with other staff members if you would like.  

Visit our website and submit your manuscript for review, or simply call the office.  We only accept a small percentage of authors for publication and have three options available.  At Tate Publishing we either offer an advance, pick up the cost without any cost to the author or issue a contract with a refundable author investment.  Regardless, every Tate author has a mix of products, services and distribution that no other company can match.  

Let me know if you have any questions and I am looking forward to providing whatever assistance I can.  God Bless you and as always I will be praying for your success no matter where you end up on your journey!

Sincerely,

Ryan Tate