TATE PUBLISHING AUTHOR HAS MOVIE DEAL IN THE WORKS!

Although it is beneath the dignity of the company and the authors to reply to some of this, I will instead write about my own experience and let authors decide themselves.My name is Cliff Graham. I live in San Antonio, TX, and am a real author, not a Tate Publishing "crony." I published my first book with them, "Call of Duty," in 2008. The process went exactly according to how it was presented to me, with neither rosy promises nor cynicism. It has done just fine for a nonfiction title written by an author with no national platform for a niche market.Based upon the quality of my second book, a novel about King David's Mighty Men titled, "Day of War," I was offered a different and more personally beneficial contract than the author investment contract I initially paid. This was unsolicited and a pleasant surprise, as my first book had only been out for a few months when I submitted the second manuscript. So Tate took a risk on me. An actual financial risk on an unknown author. That sounds a lot like traditional publishing, right?Everything went great, from acquisitions to editing. The book was selected as a Top Pick for special presentation to buyers at Barnes and Noble in New York City. Tate, along with every other publisher, picks the books that they believe will be the most marketable and presents them to these buyers. I had no say in that process, nor did I pay anything for it. That pushed the release date of the book to September 29, 2009, six months later than I initially thought. Which was fine, because the Barnes and Noble buyer did indeed pick up the title for regional distribution in Texas. That means that on or near the release date, the book will be on actual store shelves in Barnes and Noble. If it is successful there, they will pick it up for broader distribution.Things took an interesting turn when the filmmaker David L. Cunningham (The Path to 9/11, To End all Wars) read my book (after coming across my website, http://www.lionofwar.com). He loved it so much that he contacted Tate Publishing immediately for the film rights. I as the author own all the rights to the book, so they put him through to me after carefully screening to make sure he was who he said he was. Cunningham brought me up to Dallas where he was working on a project and we had a meeting that lasted several hours, during which he communicated his vision for the film and for the rest of the books in the series. I left the meeting convinced that he was the right guy to make the movie. On August 24, 2009, I signed a six-figure option deal for the rights to my book (no I am not instantly rich, it takes time for money to be doled out in the film industry). Representatives from Tate Publishing helped me incalculably along the way. I was assisted by attorneys as well. It is in the very early phase of development, but progress has been swift. There will be a press release in Daily Variety (The Wall street Journal of Hollywood) in the coming weeks with the names of the people attached and involved in development. Please look for it either in print or at www.variety.com, and look for the line about "published by Tate Publishing." Individuals involved during this process were:Director/Producer David L. CunninghamUnited Talent Agency representatives Ramses IsHak and Mike Sheresky.Attorney Patti Felker (the 2008 Entertainment Attorney of the Year)Tate Publishing Marketing Representative Jim MillerTate Publishing Marketing Director Mark MingleAll of this, and the book has not even officially released yet.I am currently finishing the second novel in the series that Cunningham and his production partners are developing into a major motion picture franchise. Throughout the process, all of those involved on the film side were complimentary of the professionalism and competence of Tate Publishing staff.As a result of this new exposure, I have been in contact with various agencies and "traditional" publishers (as they define it) seeking to represent or publish the remaining books in the series through their channels. I intend to stay with Tate Publishing, because they are the future of the industry. I don't want to leap out of the battleship for a luxury suite on the Titanic.I say things so matter-of-fact because it is important to deal with facts when you are trying to be heard amidst the whining of people of questionable intent. I write a blog about the experiences of the Tate author as I know them, http://www.tateauthors.blogspot.com I encourage you to read it if you are a prospective author considering Tate Publishing. It's designed to be somewhat of a rebuttal to much of this madness in the discourse concerning Tate Publishing. You can email me directly at tateauthors@gmail.com with questions of any kind.Many authors already have, and I have been able to counsel them on whether Tate is the right option for them. Everyone on this board assumes that Tate offers every author at least the investment option, but that is not true. I have had to speak with authors who have been turned down by Tate, as their book did not justify the considerable resources spent on each title.Please follow my blog for information about the further experiences of this Tate Author.

WHY TATE PUBLISHING IS THE BEST ANSWER FOR OUR FEW AUTHORS

I am very disappointed for any business that struggles and fails. In our business, marketing is king. It is for that reason we have the best in the business here in the Oklahoma City office and also in the Tulsa marketing office. Book shows just are not doing well and even though our professional marketing staff continue to attend those shows we have known for some time that our efforts one-on-one with the buyers at the chains we sell to and with the distributors and wholesalers is the best way to go. Our authors get one-on-one marketing help. We actually sit on the offices of the buyers and present our titles on behalf of our authors. Cancellatons such as the one reported below are more and more common but have no real effect our what our marketing people do in person and with the author. Business and sales are booming with Tate Publishing.

Christian Book Expo Canceled For 2010

Publisher's Weekly reports that the first Christian Book Expo in Dallas was not a success due to poor attendance. The event won't be held next year. The show won't go on in Dallas. The Christian Book Expo, an innovative consumer-focused book show, won’t be repeated next year. The board of Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, show sponsor, decided not to stage another event in 2010. Attendance at this year's show, held March 20-22 at the Dallas Convention Center, was 1,500; organizers had hoped for 10,000 to 15,000. The show left the organization with a $250,000 shortfall, according to ECPA president and CEO Mark Kuyper. "We want to clean up the debt before we consider future options," Kuyper told PW in an e-mail.
There is a great market for such an Expo, but the timing couldn't have been worse for the Expo's debut year. With the recession and massive cutbacks in consumer spending, this just wasn't the best time for a new book convention.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES AND THE WORST OF TIMES...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way." - Charles Dickens

My blog usually sounds like a proud father. I get so many dozens of wonderful emails from our authors about their great experiences that I simply have to share them. I was criticized by an anonymous blogger the other day on this site who told me to "shut up" about how great our authors are. I am sure his courage would have directed him to give me his phone contact so we could chat but that would be too much dignity to face his remarks. When Charles Dickens wrote these amazing words above he must have had a telescope to time travel to 2009.
My heart breaks with the anger I see and hear in people. So few seem to be responsible any more. Maybe it is because I am pushing 65 years on this planet. Maybe I am just a good observer. People say things that are just cruel. At the store, at school, at work, at church...people are just angry. The internet has given these bullies a platform to hide, that right, to HIDE behind a computer. I dare say that the angry, sarcastic people who get under your skin would not have the gumption to say those words to your face.
Our company has never enjoyed greater success. We just added over 6,000 square feet of beautiful new state-of-the-art facilities for our growing staff. Our sales for our authors has never been greater in our history and each quarter for years it has grown.
I ask you to join me in refusing to believe the "boo birds" who just want to complain and not to act. Don't fall prey to the cynical, do-it-for-me attitude which permeates so many in this generation. Be kind. Be kind.
Richard Tate
Founder
Tate Publishing