Time to Write

Tate Publishing: Executives Arrested, Authors Cheated

Tate Publishing & Enterprises LLC promoted itself as a family-owned, Christian book and music publisher. It denied that it was a vanity publisher, but complaints piled up from authors who said they had not received services promised in exchange for various fees.

The company moved much of their operation from Oklahoma to the Philippines but there were found to be in violation of local labor laws and failure to pay employees. They announced they'd be moving back to America because Donald Trump's election improved the business climate. 

THREATS

I posted warnings about Tate Publishing several times, to their annoyance. They threatened legal action against me but I hadn't done anything other than state the facts. (In 2012, Tate CEO Ryan Tate was recorded threatening to sue staff members and file liens against their houses if they shared information about the company.)

They also offered to pay for me to fly to Oklahoma so I could see their headquarters.

LAWSUITS

Tate effectively went out of business at the start of 2017, amid multiple lawsuits.

One was for $1.8 million, by Lightning Source, printing and distribution company. They were awarded a default judgment in excess of $2 million.

In March, Xerox Corp. was awarded $1.4 million from Tate Publishing and Enterprises and $450,433.66 from Ryan Tate, and another $15,433.66 in costs. Tate's attorneys did not attend the hearing because they had quit because they hadn't been paid.

HUNDREDS OF AUTHORS LEFT HIGH AND DRY (AND POORER)

 

 

According to NewsOK: "Writers and musicians who were under contract with Tate as late as in 2016 continue to share stories about money they paid to Tate Publishing to produce their works.

One writer, Heather D. Nelson, is publishing a series of stories she has written that are based on interviews she has done with other Tate clients. She is publishing those stories on her site. 

 

Hundreds of complaints had been filed against Tate Publishing by authors under contract."

RYAN AND RICHARD TATE ARRESTED!

Mediaite.com reports: "Ryan Tate, an Oklahoma business owner who appeared multiple times on Fox News and Fox Business Network, was arrested on Thursday, along with his father, Richard Tate. The two men are suspected of felony embezzlement, attempted felony extortion by threat, and felony racketeering. 

An agent for the Oklahoma attorney general’s Consumer Protection Unit revealed in a probable cause affidavit that the office had been “investigating consumer complaints made against Tate Publishing and Enterprises and an associated firm, Tate Music Group, since June 2015.”

According to the report from The Oklahoman, “there now have been more than 800 complaints” against the Tates’ enterprises filed with the Consumer Protection Unit.

The newspaper also disclosed that both Tates “each face four felony embezzlement charges, a misdemeanor embezzlement charge, and three felony attempted extortion by threat charges.” They added that “each man also faces a felony racketeering charge, and authorities said they also intend to try to get restitution from the men to compensate victimized customers.”

WHERE THE MONEY WENT

More details from Ken Miller, Associated Press: "Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said the artists contracted with 70-year-old Richard Tate and 38-year-old Ryan Tate to publish their work, but that the father and son transferred the money from sales of books and music to the their own personal checking accounts."

IF YOU HAVE BEEN CHEATED BY TATE

If you feel that you were victimized by Tate, contact the Oklahoma Attorney General, Mike Hunter. The instructions for how to file a complaint are here: 

https://www.ok.gov/oag/Legal_Resources/Forms_and_Publications/

I'm very sorry to say that I think the chances that authors will get their money back are extremely slim. I would be surprised if the company or the family have any assets that can be found. However, if only to help the legal case against the Tates, do contact the Attorney General's office and let them know the details of what you paid, what you were promised, and what you actually got.

LET A ROBOT INSPIRE YOU (SORT OF)

Forget about Tony Robbins, now you can let a robot inspire you with images teamed with words of wisdom...or gibberish...which could be the same thing. Here are two of my favorites from my new friend, InspiroBot:

 

 

These qualities made Wonder Woman a Hit

Make sure that the characters are portrayed with heart, humor, hope, heroics, and optimism at the base, DC Entertainment president Geoff Johns told the makers of the new film version of Wonder Woman.

Heart.

Hope.

Heroics.

Optimism.

Sounds like what we need more of in our movies...and our politics....and our lives. 

Let's face it, if we want melancholy, irony, and dystopian themes, we can watch the news.

A talk on following your passion (it ain't all sunshine and roses, but what's better?)

Sometimes it's tough to do what this guy (Marcus Johnson) suggests, but it's worth a try. And, refreshingly, he doesn't pretend it's always an easy journey.

 

London Stands Strong

Some of the readers of my blog and social media pages are aware that I live in London and they have been kind enough to send messages of concern and support in response to the recent terrorist attacks.

Thank you.

I'm fine, and without minimizing the sadness that goes with such events, London and Londoners (native and adopted) will not let this change their daily life nor, I hope, will they blame the actions of a few on a religious or ethnic group in general. 

From my flat, I heard the explosion that blew up a bus on July 7, 2005.

When I first came to London, it was in the middle of an IRA campaign and I saw a car bomb go off on the street opposite the flat I lived in then --I was on the fifth floor and the flames shot up that far.

They also blew up a mailbox down the street, and they placed a bomb in a pub I went to occasionally, killing a man. 

Many Londoners have similar stories.

We must take reasonable action to try to prevent these attacks but without sacrificing the freedoms that define our way of life.

It's a major challenge and I'm not confident that our current leaders in the US or the UK are up to it. 

It's up to each of us to do that as individuals and I think the first step is to follow that over-exposed mantra, keep calm and carry on.

The key characteristics of an appealing protagonist (or real-life person)

Do you want your readers/viewers to like your protagonist? 

According to a report on the Psyblog.com site, the five most attractive personality traits are:

1. kindness and understanding
2. intelligence
3.  a sense of humor
4. being fun-loving
5. having an exciting personality

If you want to make your protagonist appealing, let them display a couple of these within the first few pages of your novel or screenplay.

I'd say the trickiest is "exciting personality," which is open to interpretation. For sure, don't have your character declare that he or she thinks they're zany, that's usually a sign that the person is particularly boring.

If you have a character whom you want readers/viewers not to like, let him or her display the opposite of one or more of these five.

Of course, while you're at it, you could also check whether you've been displaying these five in your personal life...