Redemption Press Blog

Tate Closing is Another “Esther” Moment for Me

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When I posted the Publisher Weekly article about Tate Publishing closing its doors, my good friend (and million copy selling author) Neva Coyle said “Ahhh, another Esther moment for you.”

It hadn’t occurred to me quite yet how God has been preparing me for this very moment.

First, 3 years ago, He had me start Redemption Press to help all the WinePress authors who were suddenly without a publisher. Due to a miraculous provision by God, we were able to access all the content on the WinePress servers and offer to give back to all the authors all their book files, cover, text, anything that was in the folder for their book.

We offered the shell shocked WinePress authors their intellectual property with no charge or expectation that they would work with us. I felt compelled, after my bad choices of turning the company over to people who would take advantage of my authors, to make restitution. It was the right thing to do. It birthed a whole new company and gave me an opportunity to change the business model.

Early on I did a webinar called the Publishing Jungle where I called out Christian publishers for taking advantage of authors and for lying to them. For outsourcing the publishing process to secular companies and for telling authors they were traditional publishers when they required some form of payment which made them a subsidy publisher, not a traditional royalty publisher.

Since that time, I’ve seen CrossBooks close, one of the companies I criticized for having Author Solutions, the worst of the worst of all predatory self-publishing companies (just google them) handle the sales and production for them. It still seems incredulous that Christian companies would align with a company like that, but CrossBooks did, and Westbow still does.
When CrossBooks authors were left stranded, we helped them too. Many of them grieving, just like the WinePress authors were.

Now, here we are again, watching a sea of stunned authors search for a way to make sense of what has just happened with Tate.

At the National Religious Broadcasters convention coming up next month in Orlando, I’m launching my memoir, Full Circle – Coming Home to the Faithfulness of God. I will also be doing a presentation in the Expo Hall on “When the Dream Dies – How God Can Resurrect a Ministry”. Because of my loss when WinePress was stolen from me, and the gut-wrenching emotions I experienced, followed by years of healing and growth, and finally redemption and restoration, I can relate to these Tate authors who are wounded and shipwrecked.

I can tell Tate authors there is hope, but I will also warn them, in the midst of the storm, there are more predators circling over the carcass of Tate Publishing. Don’t be taken in.

Do your due diligence.

Redemption Press is here to help if we can, and as the Lord leads.

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Meet the Publisher

I've been around Christian publishing since 1987 when I helped our ministry self-publish an important resource for Vietnam veterans and their families. That book went on to be picked up by a royalty publisher and has since sold over 250,000 copies with a million in print.

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