Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware
It's hard times lately for "America's Top Publisher," a.k.a. Tate Publishing & Enterprises, a.k.a. one of America's most prolific vanity publishers.
Tate has been on Writer Beware's Thumbs Down Publishers List since the list 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.)
The Xerox lawsuit spurred layoffs from Tate's printing plant, even before Xerox began re-possessing its equipment in late July. And that's not all. Tate is facing at least four additional legal actions: a lawsuit by an author who claims that she paid over $12,000 for a book that was published full of errors (twice); a petition by a musician suing over copyright laws (a customer of Tate Music Group, which also runs on a vanity model); a claim by memorabilia manufacturer Jostens, which alleges that Tate owes it more than $13,000; and another by the property company that leases Tate its print shop (vacant now that Xerox has re-possessed its equipment), which alleges that Tate owes nearly $20,000 in rent.
If that weren't enough, Tate's employment practices are being investigated by the Department of Labor. (Some employees say that they were threatened and "coached on what to say" by CEO Ryan Tate before Labor Department investigators came to interview them; this would not be the first time that Ryan Tate has threatened employees.) And per an (uneverified) comment on one of my previous posts about Tate, Tate may recently have been evicted from its offices.
Are these the straws that broke the camel's back? Has Tate reached its very own End Times? Either way, it's not looking good for "America's Top [Vanity] Publisher."
Predictably, the honchos at Tate are pretending nothing's wrong. “There are a lot of issues that probably would be a little more important for you or your news agency or any news agency to deal with," company founder Richard Tate told local news station KFOR, "other than the fact that our company is doing a great job.”
Hmmm. I think some Tate authors would disagree.
Watch this space.
UPDATE 12/22/16: I'm getting a flood of emails and comments not just from Tate authors, but from Tate staffers in the Philippines (you can see some of the comments below). Here's what I'm hearing.
- Apparently Tate's Philippine workforce once numbered close to 1,000, but massive dismissals have seriously reduced this. The consensus seems to be that around 80% of staff have lost their jobs since October.
- Unpaid or part-paid salaries and bonuses; apparently corporate headquarters in the USA hasn't been wiring enough money to cover payroll.
- Staff complaints filed with the local Labor Department, citing salary disputes and dismissals without the required 30-day notice.
- Production halts and slowdowns have put books in limbo, since there's no longer sufficient staff to work on them.
- Resignation of high-level corporate staff in the US.
- Silence on these issues from corporate headquarters.
The Philippine staffers I've heard from are convinced that Tate can't survive much longer. Several have told me that they suspect that the Tates are shifting assets to a new company called Lux Creative Concepts LLC, which was registered in February 2016 by Ryan Tate's wife, Christy Kelley-Tate.
Stay tuned.
UPDATE 1/10/17: From the comments on one of my previous posts about Tate, today--I stress that this is unconfirmed. [UPDATE:: at least one Tate author has received an email from Tate's marketing department confirming the closure]
"Tate Publishing has officially shut down their business in the Philippines today. Their main office in Cebu has been locked up by the Department of Labor and the owner of the building due to non-payment of the rent."
UPDATE 1/11/17: And another:
"I'm an ex-employee of Tate, and we were just at the Cebu office yesterday. Today is the the last day that the office is open, mainly for HR to furnish ex-employees with certificates of employment and other documents. The Department of Labor has officially ceased all operations and is taking stock of the company's physical assets.
We have been informed that, as of this writing, there is no official directive or announcement from the Tates that the company is closing or declaring bankruptcy."
UPDATE 1/12/17: More on the Philippines debacle from an Oklahoma-based blog that has published a lot of articles about Tate's shenanigans. A former Tate staffer in Tate's now-closed Cebu offices describes partial payment of salaries, non-payment of government-mandated bonuses, and other problems dating back months.
I've received many similar emails from Cebu staffers, one of whom shared with me the Department of Labor notice resulting from a compliance visit to Tate's Cebu offices on January 9. Findings:
UPDATE 1/14/17: Some Tate authors report receiving an email signed by Tate's Director of Production, Tim Kelley, claiming that Ryan Tate hasn't paid employees and "your book will never be finished." This email was reportedly followed, within a couple of days, by another email claiming that the first email was the result of "identity theft" and its allegations aren't true.
Okay.
Meanwhile, Tate authors are receiving this, also--apparently--from Tim Kelley:
Things are fine, folks, just fine. Never mind the mass layoffs of employees. Never mind the lack of payment and non-communication. It's all just a transition.
I'd love to hear from Tate authors who sign up for the portal. Have you received any results from your "new support ticket"?
UPDATE 1/16/17: There's now a forum for Tate authors to share experiences and support: Tate Publishing Help.
UPDATE 1/18/17: The Xerox lawsuit goes to court on Friday.
"Meanwhile, it was unclear Tuesday who is representing Tate Publishing in the case. The firm's attorney when the lawsuit initially was filed was Richard L. Hasley, of Oklahoma City. But in September, an order was granted allowing Hasley to withdraw from the case, as he was retiring.
Hasley was replaced by George H. Ramey and William D. Tharp, of Ramey & Tharp in Yukon.
On Dec. 1, Ramey & Tharp submitted an application to withdraw from the case as Tate Publishing's representatives, as well, saying the Mustang publisher had failed to meet its financial obligations with the law firm."
And...uh oh. This is what you get at 12:53pm on January 18 when you click on Tate's website URL:
YET ANOTHER UPDATE, 1/18/17: I've now heard from several Tate authors and former US staffers that Tate closed down today. Two people have told me that it is considering a bankruptcy filing.
BUT...
Remember how I mentioned suspicions that Tate was shifting assets to a new company called Lux Creative Concepts, LLC, registered last February in Oklahoma by Ryan Tate's wife, Christy Kelley-Tate? Well, get a load of this.
As many Tate authors know, Tate's Marketing Director is Terry Cordingley. Here's a screenshot, taken today, of Mr. Cordingley's Blogger profile; it identifies him as Tate's Associate Director of Marketing, a position he says he's held since 2006:
And here's a cut-and-paste, also taken today, of Mr. Cordingley's LinkedIn profile, which identifies him as the Director of Marketing for Lux Creative, a position he also says he's held since 2006:
Draw your own conclusions.
UPDATE 1/19/17: This was just posted to the Facebook page of The Lost Ogle, a blog that covers Oklahoma matters and has devoted a good number of posts to Tate:
ANOTHER UPDATE, 1/19/17: Tate's website now claims that it's "experiencing a transition period." There are links to click; if you do, you're taken to a release form requiring you to release Tate from legal liability and from providing "any refund or monetary compensation whatever." For authors whose books have already been published, there's the option of paying (!!!) a $50 "processing fee" to get final book-ready files.
UPDATES 1/21/17: Terry Cordingley has deleted his Blogger profile and changed his LinkedIn profile. "I previously worked for Lux Creative Concepts as the Director of Marketing, assisting authors with marketing, promotion and publicity for their books. Prior to joining Lux, previously operating as Tate Publishing LLC..." (my bolding)
The bolded wording is interesting, because I've learned, via a former Tate employee, that Tate was issuing Lux Creative Concepts contracts simultaneously with Tate contracts during the final year of its existence. According to the employee, the Lux contracts cost a few hundred dollars more than the standard Tate contracts, and were for authors who wanted more media "extras".
I've also learned, via an article published yesterday in Oklahoma paper The Journal Record, that yet another lawsuit has been filed against Tate: this one by Lightning Source, to which Tate routed its printing business in June of last year (the complaint can be seen here).
Lightning Source, which alleges that Tate failed to pay for services rendered, is seeking $1.8 million: $722,000 (which it paid to Tate "for the exclusive rights to print and distribute at least five million, five hundred thousand (5,500,000) non-returned units of titles") plus an equal amount in damages, plus late charges. The lawsuit also names Ryan Tate, who signed a Personal Guaranty agreement by which he "absolutely and unconditionally guaranteed the full payment of all amounts due from Tate Publishing to Lightning Source".
The timeline here is...interesting. Tate signed the agreement with Lightning Source on June 28 of last year--after Xerox, from which it had been leasing printing equipment, filed suit against it for non-payment and threatened to re-possess its printing equipment. Tate was probably desperate for a cash infusion at that point; it's hard not to suspect that it knew, when it signed the Lightning Source agreement, that it wouldn't be able to pay. Also... $722,000 is a sizeable chunk of change. What happened to it?
As with the Xerox lawsuit (which is in court today), it's not clear who will be representing Tate, since both its previous lawyers resigned due to lack of payment.
UPDATE 1/22/17: Quoth Richard Tate, according to this report from News Channel KFOR, "We love our authors. We are not going to abandon them." He also claims that "while [Tate] represent around 39,000 authors, this closing mainly affects the few hundred that have books not yet published" (forgetting, apparently, about the many who do have books published and haven't received royalties and/or book orders), and, in an apparent trip back in time to 2008, attributes the company's closing to "the downturn in the economy".
Here's a glimpse of how much Tate loves its authors (one of a number of screenshots shared with me by a former Tate employee):
UPDATE 1/23/17:Those of you who are considering giving Tate the $50 for your digital files should read this comment I just received: My book was ready to be printed so I made some serious attempts to convert the PDF to Word. Impossible. Tate uses a type of PDF called Acrobat reader DC and is proprietary to Tate. I have been doing a very slow page by page copy and paste finding out they have hidden tabs, margins, font and spacing. It takes about an hour to do one chapter that is presentable to my new publisher in Word 2010. Going through the copy and paste I find out I have 2 Chapter One's and several with no chapter numbers. After doing 5 chapters I found over 300 errors so the book wasn't worth printing any way. They use a Philippine font that is hard to change when you do a copy and paste.
UPDATE 1/24/17: Here's the latest iteration of Tate's website, which is now calling itself the Tate Publishing Transition Information Center:
The Current Clients page still offers the release forms, and notes,
We are currently in negotiations with a number of publishing houses to find the best possible new home for all clients and titles we represent. Our primary objective is to find an appropriate home for our authors to ensure their success. In order to ensure successful negotiations, we are unable to comment further at this time.
What does this mean? Is Tate seeking to sell its contracts? Will the new publisher or publishers honor existing contract terms? Will more money be due? Will authors (and musicians, since this affects Tate Music Group as well) have the opportunity to refuse? These are important questions with big implications.
Please, everyone, keep the emails and comments coming, so I can continue to post updates.
UPDATE, 2/2/17: Beware sharks in publishers' clothing.
There are plenty of pay-to-play publishing services that are angling for Tate authors' business, not all of them very reputable. I've heard from authors who've been solicited by Nydus Publishing Consultants, which sells hugely overpriced publishing packages, and by LitFire Publishing, which was set up by ex-Author Solutions employees in the Philippines and is also seriously overpriced (see my blog post). And that's not all. This is a screen grab from today:
Lulu.com is okay, but Dog Ear Publishing is expensive and I've gotten a number of complaints about Outskirts Press's quality and service.
If you're solicited by a publisher or publishing service, could you please let me know? I'd like to keep track. I'll also be glad to check my files to find out if I've gotten complaints about any publisher or service you're considering using.
UPDATE 2/6/17: Worth repeating: this comment from today. If you've paid anything to Tate via credit card, dispute the charges (this goes for PayPal, too):
I'm not sure if you have covered this already, and I apologize if you have, though it may be worth mentioning again - If you are a former recent Tate Authors who paid fees upfront with a credit card, DISPUTE THE CHARGES. I just got off the phone with Discover, who I paid all of my payments adding up to $900 with, and we are disputing all charges from July through November of last year. They investigate, and if they can't get contact with Tate (Lord knows they won't since no one can), then I win. The money will be returned to me. I don't know how other credit card companies handle disputes, but I will always use Discover if they get my money back...
UPDATE 2/11/17: To no one's surprise (well, my surprise, anyway), Tate has failed to respond to the summons in the Lightning Source suit. From an article at NewsOK:
An attorney who represents a Tennessee-based printing services firm suing Tate Publishing in federal court for nonpayment filed an entry of default in the case on Friday.
Attorney Evan Vincent, of Crowe & Dunlevy, said the entry of default was filed after the Mustang publisher and its president and CEO never responded to a summons they were served on the case in January.
The entry of default clears the way for Vincent and his firm's client, Lightning Source LLC, to ask a federal judge to grant a motion of default in the case and to award Lightning Source the $1.845 million, plus interest, it seeks from Ryan Tate and his firm.
Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. It's not looking good, especially since you signed a personal guarantee as part of your deal with Lightning Source.
UPDATE 2/14/17: There's a Facebook group for ex-Tate authors and musicians where people are sharing experiences.
If you're thinking of paying the $50 Tate is demanding in order to get your files, this may change your mind. One author who sent the money reports that Tate sent her back an empty envelope.
Maybe this wasn't intentional to rip the author off (in that case, why send anything?). But even if it's just the result of incompetence or chaos, it reinforces the un-wisdom of giving Tate any more of your hard-earned money.
UPDATE 2/16/17: Angela Hoy at Booklocker, which has taken on some Tate authors, reports on problems with files received from Tate:
1. One of the interior pages had two headers, one appearing on top of the other (the actual title of the book appeared to be superimposed over the word “title”)...We were able to use some creative Photoshopping to fix that problem.
2. The second (and most disturbing) problem was that the Tate cover had no bleed on it. Without bleed, there is no wriggle room whatsoever for a printer during the cutting/binding process...Authors whose books don’t have a solid background would have challenges overcoming this problem using a flat pdf file (which is what Tate provides).
3. The text at the bottom of the barcode on the back cover was very pixelated and so was text at the top of the back cover....We were able to fix these errors in Photoshop as well but the quality of that text on the Tate version of the cover was truly awful.
UPDATE 2/17/17: Remember when there was speculation that Tate might be planning to shift resources to a new company, Lux Creative Concepts? Turns out that probably isn't happening.
I've discovered that Lux Creative (a registered business entity whose agent is Ryan Tate's wife, Christy Kelley-Tate) co-existed with Tate for maybe the last year of Tate's existence, with some Tate authors being offered contracts under the Lux Creative name. These contracts, apparently, involved more media "extras," and not surprisingly, were more expensive. However, I've been watching, and right now, other than its business registration, Lux Creative seems to be as dead as Tate.
The Tates were serious enough about it at one point to want to give it a logo, though. Ever the big spenders, they hosted a design contest at 99Designs (a "graphic design marketplace" where companies pay as little as possible to desperate designers who bid on job postings). Here are the results. Am I alone in finding it funny that the winning entry got Lux Creative's name wrong?
Another great business decision, brought to you by Tate.
UPDATE 2/25/27: A federal judge just handed Lightning Source a default judgment in its lawsuit against Tate.
As for what happens next in Lightning Source's case against Tate, the plaintiff will have to return to court to keep Judge Russell apprised on its efforts to collect what it's owed.
Actions Tate Publishing and Ryan Tate could face might include liens against properties they own, garnishments of funds they have in banks, or other actions Lightning Source might take that the judge deems necessary and appropriate.
Ryan Tate could be summoned to appear before the judge, and any failure to do so could prompt the issuance of a contempt citation.
UPDATE 2/26/27: Well, we were all wondering when/if this would happen. And here it is: Lux Creative Publishing.
The name's a little different--Lux Creative Publishing, rather than Lux Creative Concepts; and the domain name registration info has been anonymized to conceal the registrant. But the logo--the little torch rising from the book--is the same one commissioned by someone with the username "outate" from 99Designs (see my previous update). So I think it's safe to conclude that this is Tate, re-booting under a new name.
UPDATE 2/27/17: Shortly after I posted the above update, the Lux Creative Publishing website ceased to be accessible. If you click the link now, you get a "This site has been suspended" notice. I don't know what it means, but I'm keeping an eye on it.
UPDATE 3/31/17: A roundup of the latest Tate news:
Xerox has been granted summary judgment in its lawsuit against Tate, due in part to the fact that no one from Tate showed up to respond to the motion. Xerox can now proceed to collect nearly $1.5 million from Tate Publishing (good luck), over $450,000 from Ryan Tate (who provided a personal guarantee as part of Tate's arrangement with Xerox), and costs and attorneys' fees totaling more than $15,000. All with interest.
Tate also owes a buttload of money to employees in the Philippines (no surprise there): $4,841,567 Philippine pesos, or nearly $100,000.
The reported number of complaints received by the Oklahoma Attorney General currently stands at 621. That's a lot. Will the AG take action? No word on that as of now.
On her blog, former Tate author Heather D. Nelson is featuring interviews with Tate authors.
UPDATE 4/4/17: As if it weren't enough that pay-to-play publishing services are stalking Tate authors, it appears that some Tate staffers are as well. I've heard from authors who've been solicited by former Tate editor Liz Cormeros, who is offering "freelance project management", and also by former Tate Marketing Manager Terry Cordingley, who is plugging his blog and his "freelance publicity service."
Some nerve.
UPDATE 5/2/17: Incredibly, despite two seven-figure default judgments against it, nearly $100,000 owed to staff of its defunct Philippine operation, and who knows how many tens of thousands owed to authors in unpaid royalties and unfulfilled contractual obligations, Tate Publishing is back in business.
Rumors of its resurrection have been circulating since late April, when some authors received an email from Ryan Tate (who, by the way, provided personal guarantees to both of the companies involved in those seven-figure judgments, and is personally on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars) announcing that Tate, like Jesus, was rising from the dead. Many authors suspected a trick or a scam--but as of today, Tate's website is live again (with no mention of its recent troubles) and soliciting submissions.
Throughout this mess, I've said that I'd be astonished if Tate declared bankruptcy, because bankruptcy costs money and makes you accountable to your creditors. I expected Tate to simply disappear, or possibly start up again under a new name. So color me surprised to see this current zombie act.
Where Tate will be able to find a new printer--having very publicly defaulted on its debt to Ingram, the biggest in the business--is an open question, as is how it will manage to stay atop its tide of debt with only the cash provided by new author victims.
Stay tuned. Writer Beware will be watching.
I've reproduced Ryan Tate's headshaker of an email in full below, replete with bogus excuses ("the economy hit us hard"), smarmy expressions of contrition ("I ask each of you to prayerfully consider finding it in your heart to forgive us"), ridiculous levels of understatement ("We...understand that the issues mentioned have caused some of you anger, frustration and confusion"), and multiple invocations of God ("These heartbreaking months have given us an opportunity to see God work in amazing ways and demonstrate His eternal love." Cue lightning bolt). How does he sleep at night?
UPDATE 5/4/17: Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter filed eight felony charges and one misdemeanor charge against Ryan and Richard Tate for alleged fraudulent business practices. Charges include four felony counts of embezzlement, one felony count of attempted extortion by threat, two felony counts of extortion by threat, one felony count of racketeering and one misdemeanor count of embezzlement.
FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON TATE PUBLISHING AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST RICHARD AND RYAN TATE, SEE MY MAY 4, 2017 POST.
NEWS FLASH: on May 4, 2017, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter filed eight felony charges and one misdemeanor charge against Ryan and Richard Tate for alleged fraudulent business practices.
A summary of this extremely long post: so-called Christian vanity publisher stiffs authors, staff, and creditors; gets sued for millions of dollars and fails to show up in court; goes bust with no notice; and rises from the dead to seek new victims, only for the founder and CEO to get arrested a couple of days later. The tale unfolds in my initial post and the dozens of updates that follow.
Most recent news is at the bottom.
Since putting this post online, I've received dozens of questions about whether there's a class action lawsuit against Tate. To my knowledge, the answer currently is no. I don't think that's the best option, anyway, because given all the complaints by authors and staff of non-payment, not to mention the two multi-million default judgments, I'm guessing that Tate has few resources to tap for restitution.
Instead, I am still strongly encouraging authors to file complaints with the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office--even now that Ryan and Richard Tate have been arrested and charged with crimes. The Oklahoma AG is still looking to hear from Tate victims, and it's not too late to join the over 700 complainants from whom the AG has heard since the beginning of the year. More complaints will provide more evidence the AG can use, and will also add your name to the list for restitution, if there is any.
Here's the form to fill out to file your complaint with the AG's Consumer Protection Division. You can also visit the Attorney General's website at https://ok.gov/oag/.
This is a developing situation; see the updates at the bottom of this post.
It's hard times lately for "America's Top Publisher," a.k.a. Tate Publishing & Enterprises, a.k.a. one of America's most prolific vanity publishers.
Tate has been on Writer Beware's Thumbs Down Publishers List since the list 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.)
The Xerox lawsuit spurred layoffs from Tate's printing plant, even before Xerox began re-possessing its equipment in late July. And that's not all. Tate is facing at least four additional legal actions: a lawsuit by an author who claims that she paid over $12,000 for a book that was published full of errors (twice); a petition by a musician suing over copyright laws (a customer of Tate Music Group, which also runs on a vanity model); a claim by memorabilia manufacturer Jostens, which alleges that Tate owes it more than $13,000; and another by the property company that leases Tate its print shop (vacant now that Xerox has re-possessed its equipment), which alleges that Tate owes nearly $20,000 in rent.
If that weren't enough, Tate's employment practices are being investigated by the Department of Labor. (Some employees say that they were threatened and "coached on what to say" by CEO Ryan Tate before Labor Department investigators came to interview them; this would not be the first time that Ryan Tate has threatened employees.) And per an (uneverified) comment on one of my previous posts about Tate, Tate may recently have been evicted from its offices.
Are these the straws that broke the camel's back? Has Tate reached its very own End Times? Either way, it's not looking good for "America's Top [Vanity] Publisher."
Predictably, the honchos at Tate are pretending nothing's wrong. “There are a lot of issues that probably would be a little more important for you or your news agency or any news agency to deal with," company founder Richard Tate told local news station KFOR, "other than the fact that our company is doing a great job.”
Hmmm. I think some Tate authors would disagree.
Watch this space.
UPDATE 12/22/16: I'm getting a flood of emails and comments not just from Tate authors, but from Tate staffers in the Philippines (you can see some of the comments below). Here's what I'm hearing.
- Apparently Tate's Philippine workforce once numbered close to 1,000, but massive dismissals have seriously reduced this. The consensus seems to be that around 80% of staff have lost their jobs since October.
- Unpaid or part-paid salaries and bonuses; apparently corporate headquarters in the USA hasn't been wiring enough money to cover payroll.
- Staff complaints filed with the local Labor Department, citing salary disputes and dismissals without the required 30-day notice.
- Production halts and slowdowns have put books in limbo, since there's no longer sufficient staff to work on them.
- Resignation of high-level corporate staff in the US.
- Silence on these issues from corporate headquarters.
The Philippine staffers I've heard from are convinced that Tate can't survive much longer. Several have told me that they suspect that the Tates are shifting assets to a new company called Lux Creative Concepts LLC, which was registered in February 2016 by Ryan Tate's wife, Christy Kelley-Tate.
Stay tuned.
UPDATE 1/10/17: From the comments on one of my previous posts about Tate, today--I stress that this is unconfirmed. [UPDATE:: at least one Tate author has received an email from Tate's marketing department confirming the closure]
"Tate Publishing has officially shut down their business in the Philippines today. Their main office in Cebu has been locked up by the Department of Labor and the owner of the building due to non-payment of the rent."
UPDATE 1/11/17: And another:
"I'm an ex-employee of Tate, and we were just at the Cebu office yesterday. Today is the the last day that the office is open, mainly for HR to furnish ex-employees with certificates of employment and other documents. The Department of Labor has officially ceased all operations and is taking stock of the company's physical assets.
We have been informed that, as of this writing, there is no official directive or announcement from the Tates that the company is closing or declaring bankruptcy."
UPDATE 1/12/17: More on the Philippines debacle from an Oklahoma-based blog that has published a lot of articles about Tate's shenanigans. A former Tate staffer in Tate's now-closed Cebu offices describes partial payment of salaries, non-payment of government-mandated bonuses, and other problems dating back months.
I've received many similar emails from Cebu staffers, one of whom shared with me the Department of Labor notice resulting from a compliance visit to Tate's Cebu offices on January 9. Findings:
UPDATE 1/14/17: Some Tate authors report receiving an email signed by Tate's Director of Production, Tim Kelley, claiming that Ryan Tate hasn't paid employees and "your book will never be finished." This email was reportedly followed, within a couple of days, by another email claiming that the first email was the result of "identity theft" and its allegations aren't true.
Okay.
Meanwhile, Tate authors are receiving this, also--apparently--from Tim Kelley:
Things are fine, folks, just fine. Never mind the mass layoffs of employees. Never mind the lack of payment and non-communication. It's all just a transition.
I'd love to hear from Tate authors who sign up for the portal. Have you received any results from your "new support ticket"?
UPDATE 1/16/17: There's now a forum for Tate authors to share experiences and support: Tate Publishing Help.
UPDATE 1/18/17: The Xerox lawsuit goes to court on Friday.
"Meanwhile, it was unclear Tuesday who is representing Tate Publishing in the case. The firm's attorney when the lawsuit initially was filed was Richard L. Hasley, of Oklahoma City. But in September, an order was granted allowing Hasley to withdraw from the case, as he was retiring.
Hasley was replaced by George H. Ramey and William D. Tharp, of Ramey & Tharp in Yukon.
On Dec. 1, Ramey & Tharp submitted an application to withdraw from the case as Tate Publishing's representatives, as well, saying the Mustang publisher had failed to meet its financial obligations with the law firm."
And...uh oh. This is what you get at 12:53pm on January 18 when you click on Tate's website URL:
YET ANOTHER UPDATE, 1/18/17: I've now heard from several Tate authors and former US staffers that Tate closed down today. Two people have told me that it is considering a bankruptcy filing.
BUT...
Remember how I mentioned suspicions that Tate was shifting assets to a new company called Lux Creative Concepts, LLC, registered last February in Oklahoma by Ryan Tate's wife, Christy Kelley-Tate? Well, get a load of this.
As many Tate authors know, Tate's Marketing Director is Terry Cordingley. Here's a screenshot, taken today, of Mr. Cordingley's Blogger profile; it identifies him as Tate's Associate Director of Marketing, a position he says he's held since 2006:
And here's a cut-and-paste, also taken today, of Mr. Cordingley's LinkedIn profile, which identifies him as the Director of Marketing for Lux Creative, a position he also says he's held since 2006:
Draw your own conclusions.
UPDATE 1/19/17: This was just posted to the Facebook page of The Lost Ogle, a blog that covers Oklahoma matters and has devoted a good number of posts to Tate:
I suspect most Tate authors will find that last paragraph bitterly ironic.Tate Publishing ClosesBy Traci Chapman
What looked like a fork in the road turned out to be the end of it for Mustang’s Tate Publishing this week, as it closed its doors for the last time.
The news came Wednesday, just days after Tate co-founders Dr. Richard Tate and Rita Tate announced a consolidation of the company’s operations – the shutdown of its Philippines office and layoff of 50 employees there and a new focus on the company’s home base in Oklahoma.
Tate’s Mustang office employed about 30 people as of Monday, Rita Tate said then....
One of Tate family members’ primary concerns during the planned restructuring, and then as they faced the closure of their company, remained the company’s approximately 35,000 authors, they said. Work to help those authors make other arrangements was already underway and would continue as Tate worked with its attorneys to complete the closure process.
ANOTHER UPDATE, 1/19/17: Tate's website now claims that it's "experiencing a transition period." There are links to click; if you do, you're taken to a release form requiring you to release Tate from legal liability and from providing "any refund or monetary compensation whatever." For authors whose books have already been published, there's the option of paying (!!!) a $50 "processing fee" to get final book-ready files.
The bolded wording is interesting, because I've learned, via a former Tate employee, that Tate was issuing Lux Creative Concepts contracts simultaneously with Tate contracts during the final year of its existence. According to the employee, the Lux contracts cost a few hundred dollars more than the standard Tate contracts, and were for authors who wanted more media "extras".
I've also learned, via an article published yesterday in Oklahoma paper The Journal Record, that yet another lawsuit has been filed against Tate: this one by Lightning Source, to which Tate routed its printing business in June of last year (the complaint can be seen here).
Lightning Source, which alleges that Tate failed to pay for services rendered, is seeking $1.8 million: $722,000 (which it paid to Tate "for the exclusive rights to print and distribute at least five million, five hundred thousand (5,500,000) non-returned units of titles") plus an equal amount in damages, plus late charges. The lawsuit also names Ryan Tate, who signed a Personal Guaranty agreement by which he "absolutely and unconditionally guaranteed the full payment of all amounts due from Tate Publishing to Lightning Source".
The timeline here is...interesting. Tate signed the agreement with Lightning Source on June 28 of last year--after Xerox, from which it had been leasing printing equipment, filed suit against it for non-payment and threatened to re-possess its printing equipment. Tate was probably desperate for a cash infusion at that point; it's hard not to suspect that it knew, when it signed the Lightning Source agreement, that it wouldn't be able to pay. Also... $722,000 is a sizeable chunk of change. What happened to it?
As with the Xerox lawsuit (which is in court today), it's not clear who will be representing Tate, since both its previous lawyers resigned due to lack of payment.
UPDATE 1/22/17: Quoth Richard Tate, according to this report from News Channel KFOR, "We love our authors. We are not going to abandon them." He also claims that "while [Tate] represent around 39,000 authors, this closing mainly affects the few hundred that have books not yet published" (forgetting, apparently, about the many who do have books published and haven't received royalties and/or book orders), and, in an apparent trip back in time to 2008, attributes the company's closing to "the downturn in the economy".
Here's a glimpse of how much Tate loves its authors (one of a number of screenshots shared with me by a former Tate employee):
UPDATE 1/23/17:Those of you who are considering giving Tate the $50 for your digital files should read this comment I just received: My book was ready to be printed so I made some serious attempts to convert the PDF to Word. Impossible. Tate uses a type of PDF called Acrobat reader DC and is proprietary to Tate. I have been doing a very slow page by page copy and paste finding out they have hidden tabs, margins, font and spacing. It takes about an hour to do one chapter that is presentable to my new publisher in Word 2010. Going through the copy and paste I find out I have 2 Chapter One's and several with no chapter numbers. After doing 5 chapters I found over 300 errors so the book wasn't worth printing any way. They use a Philippine font that is hard to change when you do a copy and paste.
UPDATE 1/24/17: Here's the latest iteration of Tate's website, which is now calling itself the Tate Publishing Transition Information Center:
The Current Clients page still offers the release forms, and notes,
We are currently in negotiations with a number of publishing houses to find the best possible new home for all clients and titles we represent. Our primary objective is to find an appropriate home for our authors to ensure their success. In order to ensure successful negotiations, we are unable to comment further at this time.
What does this mean? Is Tate seeking to sell its contracts? Will the new publisher or publishers honor existing contract terms? Will more money be due? Will authors (and musicians, since this affects Tate Music Group as well) have the opportunity to refuse? These are important questions with big implications.
Please, everyone, keep the emails and comments coming, so I can continue to post updates.
UPDATE, 2/2/17: Beware sharks in publishers' clothing.
There are plenty of pay-to-play publishing services that are angling for Tate authors' business, not all of them very reputable. I've heard from authors who've been solicited by Nydus Publishing Consultants, which sells hugely overpriced publishing packages, and by LitFire Publishing, which was set up by ex-Author Solutions employees in the Philippines and is also seriously overpriced (see my blog post). And that's not all. This is a screen grab from today:
Lulu.com is okay, but Dog Ear Publishing is expensive and I've gotten a number of complaints about Outskirts Press's quality and service.
If you're solicited by a publisher or publishing service, could you please let me know? I'd like to keep track. I'll also be glad to check my files to find out if I've gotten complaints about any publisher or service you're considering using.
UPDATE 2/6/17: Worth repeating: this comment from today. If you've paid anything to Tate via credit card, dispute the charges (this goes for PayPal, too):
I'm not sure if you have covered this already, and I apologize if you have, though it may be worth mentioning again - If you are a former recent Tate Authors who paid fees upfront with a credit card, DISPUTE THE CHARGES. I just got off the phone with Discover, who I paid all of my payments adding up to $900 with, and we are disputing all charges from July through November of last year. They investigate, and if they can't get contact with Tate (Lord knows they won't since no one can), then I win. The money will be returned to me. I don't know how other credit card companies handle disputes, but I will always use Discover if they get my money back...
UPDATE 2/11/17: To no one's surprise (well, my surprise, anyway), Tate has failed to respond to the summons in the Lightning Source suit. From an article at NewsOK:
An attorney who represents a Tennessee-based printing services firm suing Tate Publishing in federal court for nonpayment filed an entry of default in the case on Friday.
Attorney Evan Vincent, of Crowe & Dunlevy, said the entry of default was filed after the Mustang publisher and its president and CEO never responded to a summons they were served on the case in January.
The entry of default clears the way for Vincent and his firm's client, Lightning Source LLC, to ask a federal judge to grant a motion of default in the case and to award Lightning Source the $1.845 million, plus interest, it seeks from Ryan Tate and his firm.
Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. It's not looking good, especially since you signed a personal guarantee as part of your deal with Lightning Source.
UPDATE 2/14/17: There's a Facebook group for ex-Tate authors and musicians where people are sharing experiences.
If you're thinking of paying the $50 Tate is demanding in order to get your files, this may change your mind. One author who sent the money reports that Tate sent her back an empty envelope.
Maybe this wasn't intentional to rip the author off (in that case, why send anything?). But even if it's just the result of incompetence or chaos, it reinforces the un-wisdom of giving Tate any more of your hard-earned money.
UPDATE 2/16/17: Angela Hoy at Booklocker, which has taken on some Tate authors, reports on problems with files received from Tate:
1. One of the interior pages had two headers, one appearing on top of the other (the actual title of the book appeared to be superimposed over the word “title”)...We were able to use some creative Photoshopping to fix that problem.
2. The second (and most disturbing) problem was that the Tate cover had no bleed on it. Without bleed, there is no wriggle room whatsoever for a printer during the cutting/binding process...Authors whose books don’t have a solid background would have challenges overcoming this problem using a flat pdf file (which is what Tate provides).
3. The text at the bottom of the barcode on the back cover was very pixelated and so was text at the top of the back cover....We were able to fix these errors in Photoshop as well but the quality of that text on the Tate version of the cover was truly awful.
UPDATE 2/17/17: Remember when there was speculation that Tate might be planning to shift resources to a new company, Lux Creative Concepts? Turns out that probably isn't happening.
I've discovered that Lux Creative (a registered business entity whose agent is Ryan Tate's wife, Christy Kelley-Tate) co-existed with Tate for maybe the last year of Tate's existence, with some Tate authors being offered contracts under the Lux Creative name. These contracts, apparently, involved more media "extras," and not surprisingly, were more expensive. However, I've been watching, and right now, other than its business registration, Lux Creative seems to be as dead as Tate.
The Tates were serious enough about it at one point to want to give it a logo, though. Ever the big spenders, they hosted a design contest at 99Designs (a "graphic design marketplace" where companies pay as little as possible to desperate designers who bid on job postings). Here are the results. Am I alone in finding it funny that the winning entry got Lux Creative's name wrong?
Another great business decision, brought to you by Tate.
As for what happens next in Lightning Source's case against Tate, the plaintiff will have to return to court to keep Judge Russell apprised on its efforts to collect what it's owed.
Actions Tate Publishing and Ryan Tate could face might include liens against properties they own, garnishments of funds they have in banks, or other actions Lightning Source might take that the judge deems necessary and appropriate.
Ryan Tate could be summoned to appear before the judge, and any failure to do so could prompt the issuance of a contempt citation.
UPDATE 2/26/27: Well, we were all wondering when/if this would happen. And here it is: Lux Creative Publishing.
The name's a little different--Lux Creative Publishing, rather than Lux Creative Concepts; and the domain name registration info has been anonymized to conceal the registrant. But the logo--the little torch rising from the book--is the same one commissioned by someone with the username "outate" from 99Designs (see my previous update). So I think it's safe to conclude that this is Tate, re-booting under a new name.
UPDATE 2/27/17: Shortly after I posted the above update, the Lux Creative Publishing website ceased to be accessible. If you click the link now, you get a "This site has been suspended" notice. I don't know what it means, but I'm keeping an eye on it.
UPDATE 3/31/17: A roundup of the latest Tate news:
Xerox has been granted summary judgment in its lawsuit against Tate, due in part to the fact that no one from Tate showed up to respond to the motion. Xerox can now proceed to collect nearly $1.5 million from Tate Publishing (good luck), over $450,000 from Ryan Tate (who provided a personal guarantee as part of Tate's arrangement with Xerox), and costs and attorneys' fees totaling more than $15,000. All with interest.
Tate also owes a buttload of money to employees in the Philippines (no surprise there): $4,841,567 Philippine pesos, or nearly $100,000.
The reported number of complaints received by the Oklahoma Attorney General currently stands at 621. That's a lot. Will the AG take action? No word on that as of now.
On her blog, former Tate author Heather D. Nelson is featuring interviews with Tate authors.
UPDATE 4/4/17: As if it weren't enough that pay-to-play publishing services are stalking Tate authors, it appears that some Tate staffers are as well. I've heard from authors who've been solicited by former Tate editor Liz Cormeros, who is offering "freelance project management", and also by former Tate Marketing Manager Terry Cordingley, who is plugging his blog and his "freelance publicity service."
Some nerve.
UPDATE 5/2/17: Incredibly, despite two seven-figure default judgments against it, nearly $100,000 owed to staff of its defunct Philippine operation, and who knows how many tens of thousands owed to authors in unpaid royalties and unfulfilled contractual obligations, Tate Publishing is back in business.
Rumors of its resurrection have been circulating since late April, when some authors received an email from Ryan Tate (who, by the way, provided personal guarantees to both of the companies involved in those seven-figure judgments, and is personally on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars) announcing that Tate, like Jesus, was rising from the dead. Many authors suspected a trick or a scam--but as of today, Tate's website is live again (with no mention of its recent troubles) and soliciting submissions.
Throughout this mess, I've said that I'd be astonished if Tate declared bankruptcy, because bankruptcy costs money and makes you accountable to your creditors. I expected Tate to simply disappear, or possibly start up again under a new name. So color me surprised to see this current zombie act.
Where Tate will be able to find a new printer--having very publicly defaulted on its debt to Ingram, the biggest in the business--is an open question, as is how it will manage to stay atop its tide of debt with only the cash provided by new author victims.
Stay tuned. Writer Beware will be watching.
I've reproduced Ryan Tate's headshaker of an email in full below, replete with bogus excuses ("the economy hit us hard"), smarmy expressions of contrition ("I ask each of you to prayerfully consider finding it in your heart to forgive us"), ridiculous levels of understatement ("We...understand that the issues mentioned have caused some of you anger, frustration and confusion"), and multiple invocations of God ("These heartbreaking months have given us an opportunity to see God work in amazing ways and demonstrate His eternal love." Cue lightning bolt). How does he sleep at night?
April 25, 2017
To our Tate Publishing family,
Thank you for your emails, calls and prayers during the recent months. I am sure you are aware we were forced to temporarily cease publishing operations in what was the hardest and most painful decision we have ever had to make as a family. Our number one priority has been to make sure each author is taken care of. Many publishers wanted to “take over” your books; however, in every case they wanted to charge you additional fees, didn’t offer the level of service or promotion necessary to succeed, and most importantly, didn’t line up with the philosophy of our publishing family.
We spent countless hours researching the events which created our problems and issues related to marketing, distribution, and production. Securing the finest legal counsel made it possible for us to put a plan in place to resolve all the issues we were facing at that time in a proper and ethical manner. Finally, we established a plan for reorganization in order to reinstate full publishing, distribution, and marketing operations immediately. We are pleased to inform you we will be able to continue to take care of each of you and meet your expectations and needs as well as support you with your book project(s) – your life’s work.
Another priority became very clear; that we establish a plan to assure this would not happen again. It was even clearer other publishers were out to take advantage of our situation. As we mentioned, they wanted to charge fees for work we had already completed for you. In our opinion, they fail to provide you with the partnership services it takes to have any chance at success in this industry.
These heartbreaking months have given us an opportunity to see God work in amazing ways and demonstrate His eternal love. He has given us a renewed passion and desire to fight for each of you in humble dependence on Him. This experience and battle has given us the opportunity to evaluate what we must and will do differently to more effectively serve each of you as we go forward and make a grand comeback.
We want to take this opportunity to make you aware of some changes as well as ask for your assistance. We are thankful for those who have reached out and asked us to reorganize and continue operations. We agree that the best home for you is where we all started this journey together. We sincerely want to remain your publishing home and family; to make you proud of our efforts; and proud that we are not going to quit. It is our desire to continue this journey together. With God’s help we will serve you better than ever before.
Before discussing the changes we will make moving forward, I want to apologize. Hindsight is 20/20 and can often be a painful reality. As we look back on the last three years the economy hit us hard as it did everyone in America. None of us had the resources we had in the past and it forced us into what economists refer to as a “race to the bottom.” In an effort to keep volumes high and compete against other large publicly traded publishers we decided to set up overseas operations, and reduce pricing on all services. We now see that these decisions caused us to stray from the philosophies we established nearly 20 years ago when we first launched the company. Loss of control of our services, time frame delays in production and manufacturing, as well as our overall customer service experience was negatively impacted by these changes. I ask for your forgiveness. At that time we believed we were making decisions which would serve you best.
We love you and understand that the issues mentioned have caused some of you anger, frustration and confusion. In many ways we have hurt you and let you down. It is difficult to admit these things, primarily because we desired to do and be the best for each of you. To have failed in these respects is painful for us and difficult to accept. I ask each of you to prayerfully consider finding it in your heart to forgive us and continue to work with us. We believe we can once again lead the publishing industry with publishing options authors need. For almost 20 years we led the publishing industry in innovation and creative services no one else dared offer. That made the entire industry better and we need your help to continue that path of innovation and discovery. If Tate Publishing ceased to exist we believe it would create a significant vacuum in the publishing industry. Once again, please accept our apology. We pray you will forgive us and give us a renewed opportunity to move forward as we strive to be stronger than ever before for your benefit and success.
We want to continue this partnership journey and ask you to allow us to prove ourselves to you. We not only ask your forgiveness for any and all issues, but ask that you see this letter as our unwavering desire to fight for your success no matter what the obstacle. Our greatest desire is to see each of you succeed - the most important part of our comeback.
The following are the changes you can expect from us as we move forward.
Improved communication and fast response to your phone calls and emails.
No production, marketing, distribution, or other work will be done outside of the United States of America.
New national book manufacturing partners ensuring highest quality, additional manufacturing options, and timely order fulfillment.
New marketing representatives for each author who will be expected to assist each author with events and methods to sell the author’s book(s).
We will not be accepting unsolicited manuscripts. Our primary focus right now will just be YOU. We want to ensure that current Tate authors are receiving the care and assistance they need and we have one of the best and most dynamic family of authors in the industry. We want to serve you first and build everything around helping you find success.
As we have been praying about how to best serve each of you and reorganize our publishing operations I have been amazed at how much we not only want to improve on our services, marketing and distribution options for each of your titles, but I have been primarily overwhelmed with how much we love being your publisher. We feel called to do this and our focus, motivation and desire to serve you has never been higher. My father came in my office a couple weeks ago as we were working on the plans and process for everything and he handed me a quote he often recites.
“Every setback is an opportunity for a comeback. God wants to bring you out better than you were before with what you have learned. Hindsight leads to insight that produces foresight for a comeback.” – Richard Tate
Quitting just isn’t an option, we have faced many trials and difficulties together, but we simply can’t end or allow what was started nearly 20 years ago to cease. While many would quit – that isn’t who we are and we need your support more than ever. We have much that needs to be done, settled and accomplished. I pray that you will each join us as we begin a new journey together; the foundation is all in place and the table is set for great victory and to see the success we all desire for each of you. Please reply to this email or call our office at (405) 438-3300 so we can reconnect and begin. There is no transition time as we are able to pick up immediately and we are ready for normal publishing operations. We are here to assist you with your questions and excited to get the marketing process reengaged as well. Thank you for your love, support and prayerfully considering the future with us! We are eternally grateful, humbled and excited for the next great chapter…
In Him,
Ryan Tate
President & CEO
Tate Publishing
FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON TATE PUBLISHING AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST RICHARD AND RYAN TATE, SEE MY MAY 4, 2017 POST.
Trouble at Tate: Could it be End of Days for America's Most Prolific Vanity Publisher?
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