I posted the news almost immediately in an effort to avoid any misrepresentation regarding the cover illustrations I had created for Tiger and which were posted on my website and some of which were posted on my blog.

Sadly, at present, only one of the eight covers I did for Tiger reached publication. It was important to note the remaining seven were unpublished and are likely to remain so until such time as alternate arrangements are possibly made.

Tiger Publications proved to be a fantastic venue for building a portfolio of paperback cover illustrations and I am sorry to see that come to such an abrupt and untimely end.

However, I feel worse for the founders of Tiger and all of the authors whose manuscripts saw acceptance over the past year. My heart goes out to all of you and I wish you the best in re-establishing your prior successes.

With heavy hearts, they watched anxiously to hear how best to lay to rest the mingly mess of verbal vomit circling the internet that followed.

Huh? Where did this come from? I have yet to see any “verbal vomit” on this topic.

Lea Schizas

Persistence, Perseverance, and Patience

Earlier this week a tribe of Tiger’s lost their alpha. With heavy hearts, they watched anxiously to hear how best to lay to rest the mingly mess of verbal vomit circling the internet that followed.

In case you have not been watching your writing loops or blogs, Tiger Publications, a small press start up with a loyal following of talented authors officially closed its doors.

For most, it means the nullification of a contract. For the rag-tag band of some of the most talented writers in the industry it meant far more; the loss of one of the most forward thinking and unselfish CEO’s of publication there may ever be.

There were many reasons for the closure, but in retrospect they are all irrelevant. What IS important is to remember the vision that Tiger Publications embodied: Authors writing for readers.

“Authors Writing for Readers is a battle cry in an industry that often loses sight of both the author and the reader and focuses on all the unimportant “junk” in the middle.”

During my own tenure with Tiger, I felt as though my opinion and the vision of my work was important. Even through the disappointment of the closing, the CEO’s kept the authors up to date on their status and behaved with professionalism and decorum.

Now the question remains, how do you move on from such a devastating setback? Do you sit down, have a good cry, then pull yourself up by the bootstraps OR do you allow yourself to be brought down by the negativity of the “I told you so’s” or “naysayers”?

The answer is that you do the same thing you were doing BEFORE you got “the call”. Write, research, and submit, submit, submit.

I was reminded of a saying coined by Professor Randy Pausch in his book, The Last Lecture. “Walls are put into place for those who do not want something badly enough.”

When we start along the path to publication in an educated and realistic fashion we realize that persistence and perseverance, coupled with a healthy dose of patience are the keys to success.

You make a conscious decision on what little voice inside your head gets center stage at any given moment. Even best selling authors have had their titles rejected or orphaned mid-galley. Will you allow the wall to hinder your progress or will you break it down brick by brick?

After a good cry, I made the resolution that I would not hide my manuscripts in the dungeon of self-pity. CELTIC SACRFICE and COLD will live again with another publishing house just as great as Tiger. I refuse to allow the wall to stand in effigy to my brush with success.

Hey, only a few more bricks to go and that wall will be transformed into a beautiful patio where I can bask in the lights of Persistence, Perseverance, and Patience.

Please keep Dona Parus in your thoughts and prayers. She is an honorable person and does not deserve any bad talk or finger pointing. This was not an easy decision for her to make but in the end I totally support it. Her health and well being is more important.

2008-06-07
Closing Our Doors
We’re very sorry to announce that Tiger Publications, Incorporated will be closing our doors.

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