TATE PUBLISHING, YOGI BERRA, AND A WEEPING WILLOW TREE

Friends and followers,

Most of my younger readers will not remember the great New York Yankee catcher Yogi Berra. He was not only one of the great Yankees of all time but was an absolutely hilarious philosopher. His book of sayings (Yogisms they were called) are very entertaining to say the least. One of his most familar sayings was, "It ain't over 'til it's over!"
Over the years Tate Publishing & Enterprises has grown to the huge success we enjoy today through good times and challenging times. I have never been one to give up. Yogi's statement is encouraging us to keep on keeping on no matter what the circumstances.
As an author, your desire is to find readers. It takes a top notch publisher such as our company investing in your work to make that happen and it also takes determination on your part as an author. You must never give up. I remember standing in the office of our buyer in the large press division of one of the biggest chains in America. We sell an incredible amount of books to that national chain. Bryan Norris and Mark Mingle who lead our marketing divisions are part of the team that goes to New York City each month to pitch the books we publish. Bryan asked her, "What are you looking for in authors right now?" Her answer was immediate. "I want books by authors who are willing to work. I am more concerned about the work ethic of the author than I am about the book." Great insight.
My wife and I spend a great deal of time with our yard and gardening. Three years ago we planted a tiny weeping willow tree. That spring the slim trunk of the tree and two or three tiny branches prepared for the spring growing season. The trunk of that tree was no more than a half inch thick. It finally sprouted a couple of branches and we braced it with a metal pole to give it stability. Overnight an Oklahoma spring storm did disastrous work on the tiny Willow. The storm had broken the tree loose from its metal mooring and its only limb had been broken and now hung limp. We decided it was probably dead and would not survive and at only four feet tall we felt the outcome was determined. It would die. As a last resort and believing "it ain't over 'til it's over" we trimmed off the broken branches, re-attached it to the metal pole for stability and kept on watering the pitiful little remainder. It was NOT over. That spring branches began to appear. Then more leaves. The next season it grew larger and taller. It was fighting the odds. Last weekend my wife and I were sitting in our breakfast nook having a Saturday morning cup of coffee when we noticed the first sign of spring leaf buds on that weeping willow which stood just outside the window. The metal post supporting the tree in it's infancy is long gone. It now stands firmly and proudly on its own. The Oklahoma storms cannot break it now. In only a few short years it has become a survivor and its shade graces our yard and our grandchildren find great fun in running through the dangling and dainty branches. The long slender branches which brush the ground are healthy and strong. The tree towers over the yard and is now almost twenty five feet high. The tree did not give up. We did not give up on the tree. My encouragement to you as an author is to never give up. Keep trimming back the dead stuff and ideas which are not working. Keep watering and working and telling your story. One day you can say about your project what we can say now about that once tiny willow tree. Success is mine.

Richard Tate