Tag: predatory publishers

FOULED!: Tate Publishing

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You know that when a businessman calls himself a religious man, he’s okay, right? He’s not going to scam you, right? And “family owned and operated” is another indicator of a wholesome, honest business model. Right?

Let me introduce you to Tate Publishing and Enterprises.

Headquartered in Mustang, Oklahoma, the company publishes both books and music. Their website says the firm was founded by Richard and Rita Tate, who were moved to start a publishing house after losing control of their own work to an unnamed “traditional, mainline royalty publishing company.” The current president and CEO is their son, Ryan Tate, who turns up pretty regularly on Fox News as a commentator on anything and everything except publishing. No, really. Check out the Press Room tab on the Tate Publishing site, where you’ll find links to the guy’s appearances. I didn’t see a single one that was even remotely related to publishing. Continue reading “FOULED!: Tate Publishing”

How we almost got hooked…line and sinker… by Publish America

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by Jacqueline Hopkins

Back in 2010, I was living in Alaska, and editing my niece’s book. Shana Gentry told me she had a publisher and they were waiting for her to finish it. I asked her who it was. Proudly, she said, “Why it’s Publish America, of course.” I had never heard of them. Back when I’d tried to get my novel published, I’d gone the traditional route – and Publish America wasn’t one of them. After all the rejections I received, I got discouraged and quit writing, shelving over a dozen books I had started.

In any case, I asked Shana about PA and she said she’d found them online and had already signed a contract with them. When she first contacted them, their response and interest in her book was immediate and very over the top, telling her she had a bestseller and that they would make her a famous author. PA was very prompt in their responses; however, their contract spoke of many charges to come out of her pocket. In fact, she wouldn’t see a profit from sales until they recouped their costs. Only then would get any royalties. Shana also told me she was to pay them around $200 for startup fees and contact placement in the company, and for a front cover and back panel of the book. They also told her an editor would call her and keep in touch with her as she wrote, and that she didn’t need to seek the copyrights as they handled that as well. She told me she had her doubts right away and stopped correspondence with them after about two weeks of back and forth emails and harassing phones calls, pushing her to send the manuscript. Continue reading “How we almost got hooked…line and sinker… by Publish America”

A Small Press Publishing Ponzi Scheme

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by Anonymous

I can’t reveal who I am or the name of the publisher with whom I’m in a dispute, but I will say this: if there is anything on the internet that warns you about a publisher, steer clear of them. Don’t sign with a publisher who says you don’t need an agent. Don’t sign with a publisher who tells you that you don’t need membership in your genre’s professional writers’ organization. And don’t sign with a publisher if you see them acting less than professionally on any public forum, anywhere, at any time in the past or present.

I wish I had paid attention to these red flags. My publisher displayed all of them, but fellow writers told me this publisher took good care of its authors, so I ignored the red flags and signed a multiple-book contract.

It didn’t take long to regret it. Continue reading “A Small Press Publishing Ponzi Scheme”

FOULED! Part 4: Suing the Scammy Publisher – the Nuclear Option

Predatory Publisher Month at Indies UnlimitedYou’ve asked your publisher to edit and format your book correctly, and it hasn’t been done. You’ve asked for the rights to your book, and your publisher has either refused or told you you’d have to pay a fee to get them back. Now you’re just sick of the whole thing. You’ve paid these people a lot of money and you’ve gotten nothing in return but a lot of aggravation and ruined dreams. What can you do?

You can sue them. Unfortunately, even that may not get you very far. Continue reading “FOULED! Part 4: Suing the Scammy Publisher – the Nuclear Option”