Tag: vanity publisher

FOULED!: Tate Publishing

#PublishingFoul Logo Indies Unlimited

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”

Is Page Publishing a Vanity Press?

page publishing logoIt’s not often you see commercial on cable TV for a book publisher. Advertising space is expensive, and most non-Big 5 publishers can’t afford it. So when an advert from Page Publishing showed up on the History Channel, I took notice; especially since it was rather long. I jotted down the name and decided to do some research. Inquiring minds wanted to know! What they were touting seemed a little curious to me.

Page Publishing was easy to find on Google. Once on their website, you get the feeling like you’re looking at a glitzy New York publisher — which they seem to be. They spent a lot of money on the site which has plenty of things to look at. I was interested in their process, so I clicked on the overview tab. Everything looked above-board. They offer copy-editing and proofing, typesetting, conversion to eBook, marketing, and publicity, along with distribution and royalty management. Everything a budding author could dream of. They will even send you a box of books for your first signings and to give to family. This at least is better than what some vanity publishers offer. When I was first published with a vanity press, they didn’t even edit my manuscript! And when a box of books I’d purchased got lost in media mail, the publisher would not replace them. Yes, I learned the hard way. Continue reading “Is Page Publishing a Vanity Press?”

Does having an agent make you traditionally published?

AgentryThe world of agentry is changing. And, before you start on me, I scored 78 points in Facebook Scrabble with AGENTRY so it’s a word, ok? Time was, you got an agent, you were on your way. They loved your book, reckoned it would sell and worked hard to pitch it to publishers for you. They did that because it was how they got paid. And some still do.

Any agent worthy of your consideration will tell you that their belief in your writing is the thing that will lift it above the slush pile, but then they would, wouldn’t they? They may be right, but many agents who aren’t worthy of your consideration will tell you the same thing.

Before you sign on the dotted line and start telling your friends that you are traditionally published because you have an agent, and that’s just better, listen up. Here are three stories to add to the less-than-ideal experience Melissa Bowersock described for us last month. I will present them as ‘a friend’s neighbour told me’ just in case the person concerned is reading IU but off the record, only one of them is friend of a friend, the others I watched unfold…with my mouth zipped shut. Continue reading “Does having an agent make you traditionally published?”

JetLaunch a.k.a. www.ebook-editors.com

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