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Tate Publishing authors
Tate shut its doors in January 2017. The books went dark, the royalties stopped, and nobody answered the phone. Here is the part most Tate authors never hear: the rights almost always come back to you. Your book can be on sale again in a few weeks.
Send us your Tate title. Say if you still have the contract and the manuscript. Within one business day you get your rights position and a written price.
By Gia Kahn, Lead Editor · Updated October 27, 2026
The short answer
Tate Publishing of Mustang, Oklahoma, stopped operating in January 2017. No bankruptcy filing appears in the public record; the founders were later charged by the Oklahoma Attorney General and pled no contest. Rights usually revert to the author when a publisher stops publishing. Columbia Publication republishes Tate books from $1,499 in 4 to 9 weeks, with a new ISBN, in accounts in your name.
Prices checked October 27, 2026 · Reviewed by Gia Kahn, Lead Editor · Next review November 2026 · How we check
Is this you?
Most Tate authors did not lose their book. They lost the people who were supposed to sell it.
The pattern we hear is the same every time. Royalty checks were late in late 2016. Emails stopped getting answers. Then the listing went to unavailable and stayed there. Some authors had just paid their fees and never saw a proof. Others had real sales that ended in a week. Then came years of not knowing whether they were allowed to do anything at all.
That not knowing is the real cost. A publisher that has stopped publishing is no longer using the rights it was given, so in most cases those rights are back with you. We check your contract, or build the case without one, confirm your position in writing, and only then talk about price.
Start here
Former Tate authors tend to arrive in one of three places. Find yours and you know your next step.
| Your situation | What you need | Typical route |
|---|---|---|
| A clean manuscript and a cover you liked | Back on sale as quickly and affordably as possible | Republishing from $1,499, 4 to 5 weeks |
| A book that deserves a proper relaunch | A better cover, updated content, editing and new positioning | Full-service relaunch from $4,999, scheduled in your written quote |
| Unsure whether your rights reverted | A clear reading of your legal position before committing to anything | Free rights consultation |
Whichever row is yours, the first step costs nothing. We read the Tate contract if you have it, work out the reversion, look at what files you still hold and give you a price. If republishing is not worth it for your book, we say so.
What happened
Tate Publishing simply stopped: it ceased operating in January 2017, after months of missed payments, and never came back. Richard Tate founded it in 1999 in Mustang, Oklahoma, and at its peak it put out several hundred titles a year, many of them Christian books. Authors paid upfront fees and were promised royalties from the big retail channels.
The warning signs came first in the courts. In 2016, creditors including Xerox and Lightning Source sued the company over unpaid debts. By late 2016 and early January 2017, authors were reporting royalties that did not arrive, emails that went nowhere and books dropping out of distribution. Then the staff were laid off with little notice, and author support went silent.
On May 4, 2017, Richard Tate and his son Ryan, the former chief executive, were arrested on charges from the Oklahoma Attorney General, including embezzlement, extortion and racketeering, after hundreds of authors and musicians complained (KGOU). Both later pled no contest, received suspended sentences and agreed to repay about $1 million to former clients through a restitution fund run by the Attorney General (Associated Press). The company has not restarted in any form.
The search question
Not that we can find. We looked for a bankruptcy filing for Tate Publishing and Enterprises LLC in court reporting and in the news coverage of the closure, and there is none. The company stopped operating while it still owed creditors and authors, and the founders were then charged criminally. For you, the label matters less than the result: Tate is gone, it is not coming back, and the rights to your book have very likely come back to you.
Your rights
In almost every case, yes. Rights usually return to the author when a publisher stops publishing, either because the contract has a reversion clause or because a company that publishes nothing is no longer using the rights it was granted. We read your contract in the free consultation and tell you exactly where you stand.
Lost the contract? So have most Tate authors we speak to. We build the case from Tate’s documented closure, the fact that nothing has been distributed since 2017 and the reversion terms found in most publishing agreements. In most cases that is enough to move ahead.
No contract left? Tell us what you remember. That is usually enough to start.
Get My Free Rights ConsultationThe process
In five stages, each with something you can hold, and no fee until your rights are confirmed.
Timing
Only the obvious one: every year of waiting is another year the book reaches nobody. The readers it was written for have not gone anywhere. When Tate authors hold off, it is almost always for one of two reasons. They are not sure they own the rights, or they are not sure the book is worth the cost. The free consultation answers both in about forty-five minutes, with your options and what each one costs.
When it is done
Picture searching your own title and finding it in stock again: on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Apple Books, and orderable by any bookstore or library. The new edition is the one readers reach. The royalties go to you. And the last word on your book is no longer Tate’s.
Republishing
One flat fee per route, paid once. And nothing at all is charged until your rights are confirmed in writing.
Back on sale
$1,499
For a Tate book that mostly needs new files: a cover, a full layout, metadata, an ISBN and setup in KDP and IngramSpark accounts that are yours.
Your Tate book back in stock everywhere for $1,499, and every royalty from now on paid to you.
4 to 5 weeks
Start With the Free ConsultationMost chosen
$2,499
Global Publish plus a proofread of the Tate text and one project manager who runs the return from start to finish.
The typos Tate let through are fixed, and you have one person to call until launch day.
7 to 9 weeks
Start With the Free ConsultationRelaunch
From $4,999
Updated content, professional editing, a new cover, Amazon positioning, press outreach and a planned relaunch campaign.
For the Tate book that was selling before 2017 and deserves a real second launch.
Schedule set in your written quote
Start With the Free ConsultationWhat you are protected by
You pay in full when you approve the written quote, and never before your rights position is settled.
What you can count on
How it runs
We’ve started with Publishing & distribution. Add anything else your manuscript needs, and a specialist sends an itemised quote within one business day. Free, confidential, no obligation.
Written quote within one business day. Nothing is charged until you approve it. 100% of your rights stay yours.
Questions
Yes. Tate Publishing and Enterprises LLC stopped all operations in January 2017 and has not come back in any form. It shut down while owing creditors and authors money, and the founders were later charged criminally.
Almost always, yes. Rights usually return to the author when a publisher stops operating, through a reversion clause or because the publisher is no longer using them. We confirm your position from your contract in the free consultation.
Yes, once your rights are confirmed. You need a new ISBN and new files, and we handle both. Most books are live on Amazon and IngramSpark within four to nine weeks.
You are in good company; most Tate authors cannot. We build the reversion case from Tate’s documented closure, the lack of any distribution since and the usual terms in publishing contracts. That is normally enough to go ahead.
From $1,499 to get it back on sale with a cover, interior and store setup, $2,499 with a proofread and a project manager, and from $4,999 for a full relaunch with editing and a campaign.
Yes. The new edition goes to Amazon KDP and IngramSpark and shows as the in-print version. The old Tate listing may linger as out of print, so we ask Amazon to link the two and position yours as the current one.
Start with the free consultation: your rights, your files, your options and the price of each. You hear back within one business day. If we are not the right fit for your book, we will point you to someone better.
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