Vanity publishers, unfortunately, are not in short supply. Writer Beware’s files include hundreds of them, large and small. But there’s a select few about which we hear most often, via writers’ questions and complaints. These companies reel in scores, hundreds, and even thousands of writers, often doing business on an industrial scale.
I’m going to provide a snapshot of some of these below. But first, some common deceptive terms.
Hybrid Publisher: There’s some disagreement over whether there actually is such a thing as a hybrid publisher–a company that charges substantial fees yet provides a service that’s otherwise equivalent to traditional publishing, including rigorous selectivity and editing, high royalties, offline distribution, non-bogus PR, and more. Regardless, the term is extensively misused by vanity publishers trying to look more legitimate. Any publisher billing itself as “hybrid” demands further investigation.
Co-Publishing and Partner Publishing: These are also euphemisms beloved of vanities. The implication is that the publisher contributes something of value to match or exceed whatever the author is being asked to pay or buy: the lion’s share of publishing costs, for instance, or some kind of deep publishing expertise.
However, vanity publishing is a whole different business model from traditional publishing, with profits primarily derived not from book sales to the public, but from author fees and self-purchases. Far from being a contribution or a share, your fee will likely cover not just the entire cost of publishing your book, but the publisher’s overhead and profit as well. And vanity publishers have little incentive to cut into that profit by providing high-quality publishing and marketing services.
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Writer Beware receives more reports and questions about self-styled “hybrid” Austin Macauley Publishers than we do about any other vanity. Based in the UK, AM has aggressively expanded over the past few years, extending its tentacles into the USA, the UAE, and Australia. It operates two associated businesses: Iprint Global Ltd. a digital printing service, and Author Choices Ltd., which doesn’t appear to have a website but is listed on Companies House as a book publisher.
Fees in AM contracts Writer Beware has seen range from £1,275 to £7,700 (the heading of fee disclosure section of AM’s contract is “Advances,” except that this is an “advance” the author has to pay the publisher). Some authors are offered a choice of fees depending on which book formats they pick.
AM does occasionally offer a fee-free contract. But these are no bargain: among other things, there’s no stated term for the grant of rights, and discontinuance of publication is “entirely at the discretion of the publisher”–in effect, a life-of-copyright grant with completely inadequate provisions for rights reversion. Also, as pointed out above, vanity publishing is a very particular business model. It’s unlikely the vanity will have the staff expertise, distribution channels, or budget to provide a service that’s anywhere near equivalent to what you’d receive from a traditional publisher–even if you don’t have to pay a fee.
AM is currently recruiting writers via deceptively-headlined Google ads, which encourage authors who use certain search phrases to believe they are submitting to a Big 5 publisher:
For a more detailed look at AM (including its scurrilous rebuttal to my criticism, which has been removed from the web but survives thanks to the Wayback Machine), see my 2016 blog post: Questions For Vanity Publisher Austin Macauley Yield Few Answers.
As of this writing, AM is overdue on filing financial statements.
UPDATE 4/30/22: Austin Macauley is one of the companies featured and analyzed in the UK Society of Authors’ new, hard-hitting report on the predatory “hybrid”/pay-to-play publishing sector.
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UK-based Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie is the oldest of the companies mentioned in this post, having been in business since the early 2000s. Like Austin Macauley, it claims to offer both traditional and “shared-cost inclusive” (i.e., pay to play) contracts to its authors, which “enables us to provide equal opportunities to both new and established authors” (claiming that new authors are a greater risk than established ones is a common rationale used by vanity publishers to justify their fees).
Like many vanities, Pegasus doesn’t mention any actual money amounts on its website, but per reports Writer Beware has received, as well as others that can be found online, fees average around £2,500, with some going lower or higher (the highest we’ve heard about is £4,500). This is presented to authors as a “contribution”–supposedly, just part of the cost–but as I’ve explained above, claims of cost-sharing or partnership should be treated with skepticism.
Again like Austin Macauley, Pegasus’s contract describes its fee as an “Advance”. And speaking of similarities between these two vanities: with just a few exceptions, their author-unfriendly contracts are word-for-word identical.
Coincidence? Synchronicity? Well, consider that AM and Pegasus have shared people, too. Mr. Bu-Azal Bedar, who briefly served as Pegasus’s Director and owns more than 50% of shares in the company, was Secretary at Austin Macauley from 2007 to 2012.
That’s not all. Mr. Bedar is also Director at Ashwell Publishing Ltd., where Mr. Mohammed Bu-Malik, who is AM’s Director, served as Secretary until 2012. Ashwell Publishing does business as Olympia Publishers; Writer Beware doesn’t get questions or complaints about Olympia nearly as often as we do about AM and Pegasus, but we’ve gotten enough to know that it charges similar fees and, amazingly (or maybe not) offers the exact same word-for-word identical contract.
Finally, check out the comments on this review of Olympia by The Independent Publishing Magazine, in which numerous authors report receiving offers not just from Olympia, but from AM or Pegasus as well–or as with this poor fellow, all three:
UPDATE 4/30/22: Pegasus is one of the companies featured and analyzed in the UK Society of Authors’ new, hard-hitting report on the predatory “hybrid”/pay-to-play publishing sector.
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I’ve written several times in this blog about Morgan James Publishing–most recently in 2018–regarding its repeated inclusion on Publisher’s Weekly’s annual list of fast-growing independent publishers.
Morgan James may be “independent,” but it’s also a vanity publisher. It requires its authors “to commit to purchasing, during the life of the agreement, up to 2,500 copies [of their book] at print cost plus $2.” Reports Writer Beware has received indicate that at least some writers are asked for a “deposit” of as much as $5,000 on contract signing. I’ve also had reports of additional fees for editing and PR.
To make this sizeable outlay of cash seem more palatable, MJP claims on its “compare” page that “Many major houses require authors to purchase 5,000 copies, or more, of the book upon its release”, and that even with self-publishing, “[the a]uthor is expected to purchase however many copies required to sell to the general public.” Neither of these claims is true.
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Page Publishing is one of a triad of sorts, a group of US-based vanity publishers that have very similar fees and business models, and present and advertise themselves in very similar ways. (The other two are Christian Faith Publishing and Newman Springs Publishing, both of which I discuss below). I haven’t been able to find any proof that the three are connected (with the exception of one possible coincidence, detailed below), but as you’ll see as you read on, the similarities are striking.
Page is the oldest of the three, with a 2011 founding date–although I didn’t start getting questions about it until 2013. Many of the authors I’ve heard from missed the brief reference to “a manageable investment” on Page’s About Us page, and assumed its claim to be a “full-service publishing house” meant it was a traditional publisher.
No actual prices are mentioned on Page’s website, but based on the many, many reports, questions, and complaints I’ve received, as well as others that can be found online, Page’s fees average in the $3,000-$5,000 range, paid on an installment plan over 10 or 12 months. As with so many vanity publishers, authors can spend hundreds or even thousands beyond their basic fee if they spring for optional promotional packages and materials, such as video trailers and sell sheets.
Page is an aggressive advertiser, with multiple Google ads and the kind of TV ads that run on channels like CNN or Fox News or the History Channel during the afternoon hours and late at night. Its BBB listing is stocked with an improbably large number of five-star reviews (the BBB is not normally a place where writers flock to leave reviews of their publishers)–however, it has also gathered some complaints, which paint a very different picture and echo what I’ve heard from writers who’ve contacted me.
Page is one of the most prolific vanities out there; if Amazon is to be believed, it has published over 7,000 books to date. Austin Macauley knows a competitor when it sees one:
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Founded in 2014 by an alumnus of disgraced Christian vanity Tate Publishing, Christian Faith Publishing describes itself as a “full-service book publisher” that “partners” with its authors to deliver “personal care and national marketing exposure.” All that’s required is “a short-term, affordable monthly installment plan”.
Sound familiar?
As with Page, CFP’s fees–which it doesn’t disclose anywhere on its website–average between $3,000 and $5,000, paid in installments over a period of months. Marketing is an add-on: for instance, $3,400 for a package that includes a “High-Definition Video Trailer”, a press release, and a page on CFP’s website. (This is not marketing, it’s junk. It’s not worth one cent, let alone four figures.)
Again like Page, CFP is an aggressive advertiser, with a similar range of Google and TV ads. Its BBB listing too boasts hundreds of five-star reviews…along with the inevitable complaints that tell a different story.
Remember the possible coincidence I mentioned in my discussion of Page, above? Check out CFP’s corporation directors:
See the third name on the list? Dustin Roberts is the name of Page Publishing’s CEO. Could this be a different Dustin Roberts? Sure. But given the nature of both businesses, one could be pardoned for wondering.
CFP is currently the subject of a wage and hour lawsuit in which the plaintiff alleges that they and others were not paid overtime. Dismissed in 2018 in favor of the plaintiff due to CFP’s failure to appear or defend, the case was re-opened in 2019, and the plaintiff is now seeking a class action.
This summary of the lawsuit includes some interesting details about what CFP employees do:
Full-service, indeed.
UPDATE 12/3/20: The lawsuit has been settled, with CFP agreeing to pay $50,000 to plaintiffs and their attorney. As usual with this sort of settlement, neither party admits fault.
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Newman Springs Publishing, the third of the triad, is the baby of the bunch, having opened its doors in early 2017. Its first books didn’t come out until June 2018, but it hasn’t been idle: according to Amazon, it already has a catalog of nearly 400 titles.
Like CFP and Page, Newman Springs styles itself a “partner publisher,” and employs a similarly modest–and non-specific–description of its fees (“a relatively inexpensive initial investment”). According to reports I’ve received, as well as others that can be found online, “relatively inexpensive” means the same price range as CFP and Page: somewhere between $3,000 and $5,000, paid in installments over 10 or 12 months. Additional money may be due for extras like video trailers.
A more polished version of Newman Springs’ website pitch is here.
Newman Springs uses the same advertising tactics as CFP and Page: Google ads and late-night TV commercials. Also similar is its BBB listing, which includes a suspiciously large–and growing–array of five-star reviews. It hasn’t been in business long enough to score any complaints, but I’m sure those are coming.
Shawnnita,
Yes, it is the same Newman Springs discussed in my post. Vanity publishers often prey on elderly people; I hear from a lot of children whose older parents have gotten involved with vanity publishers or other scams, often to the tune of many thousands of dollars.
Feel free to email me: beware@sfwa.org
Is this the one in the same as mentioned above? https://www.newmansprings.com
I have concerns about my 89 year old dad having an agreement with them. I've done a google search and found this blog.
I was surprised that Newman Springs Publishing had their comment section open to the public on YouTube.
One would think that their videos would be flooded with hundreds of happy authors commenting positive things because they were very satisfied. There was not a single positive comment under any of their videos.
I decided to post my experience with them, and then, they shut off their commentary.
That screams volumes that I was telling the truth.
Newman Springs Publishing are a bunch of liars, and I don't see how they get away with lying and ripping off the public. They are the classic, slimy vanity press that only want your money. They don't care about you or your book, they just want to collect that publishing fee, and dump you and your book. It is no wonder Target and Wal*mart want nothing to do with them.
I've been offered a hybrid deal from Olympia, I have to pay £2400. Contract looks legit and the editor is more than willing to answer any queries I have. But I am uncertain…it is a lot to pay out…and it is hard to find impartial views on this publisher. Would be glad for advice and thoughts on this
Newman Springs Publishing are scam artists. I paid close to $4,000 to have my children's book made and sold. It was released in October 2018, and I noticed it on Amazon being sold by various people while I got paid zero.
They did not charge my card in monthly installments like they claimed, they charged my credit card all at once!
In April 2020, they wanted to charge me more money to continue to do nothing for my book. And by December 2020, I was still paid nothing.
My book did not sell well because they lied to me, just as they lied to me about everything else.
Stay away from these crooks. I have reported them to the BBB and IRS.
I strongly suggest to stay away from self-publishing altogether. All they do is make a book for you, and no one else. There will be no fans, no second or third book, no writing career, no selling, no marketing, no promotion, just a book for you.
(And your book being available on Amazon while you get paid nothing.)
Thank you so much for this article. Since trying to become published I have turned down three contracts. One with Austin Mc cauley,one with Olympia and one with Pegasus .Slightly dismayed but becoming more able to discern a good contract and researching more each day if my book is good enough for three offers since October as a new writer why wouldn't they offer me a standard contract.? So, that is what I'm holding out for. Some one out there must be genuine .Good Luck all .
The latest scam that I personally have been hit with is the "rebranding Offer." It comes with the lovely sweetener of the telemarketer offering to be an agent for free–working off commission only. But he immediately advises the author to rebrand, so as to realize more royalties. He then refers the writer to a specific rebranding company, which offers a discount, of course. It's a nice way for a scammer to pick up hundreds of dollars! Writers, beware!!!
Never, ever pay a publisher to publish your story. The idea always should be for them to pay you. Here's some advice on this very subject from award-winning author, Harlan Ellison:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5IV23g-fE
Has anyone noticed? On the Olympia, AM and Pegasus websites, the moment they get a negative post, swiftly (and miraculously or coincidentally!) it is followed by a few 5 star reviews every time. It all looks very suspicious to me and a desperate measure for these vanity companies to maintain a 5 star reputation. But the 5 star posters are not known or successful authors (and probably don't really exist at all). They mainly say how polite and helpful the staff were and that the staff 'answered all their questions' (and wouldn't they be polite and helpful having just taken several thousand pounds in payment?). What you don't get from these reviews is how many books have actually been sold or what media publicity has been involved or how much they were charged.
Some of us know we don't have the talent to make (any) money from fiction, but we still have stories that we work hard on and we want people to hear them. That's why I paid £2,500 to have my novel published and mainly distributed free to friends and local bookshops. I didn't do this to tickle my ego (the book was not even published using my real name), but because I wanted someone to read the fruits of lots of labour, and I wanted the characters to become more than people who lived solely in my head. I paid less than I paid for my last holiday, and it was worth every penny.
I found the whole vanity press experience a joy from start to finish (I will not say who I went with but they appear on their list) and I don't understand the hostility towards it. In music, it's pretty standard for up-and-coming artists to pay for their own gigs, production and distribution, so why is it any different for writers?
Sara-Jane,
I've written many posts on Author Solutions, AuthorHouse's parent company, and AS's many imprints. Type "Author Solutions" into the search box in the sidebar, and they'll come up.
Here's my most recent post: https://accrispin.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-continued-decline-of-author_19.html
I would like to hear some feedback on Authorhouse UK, please.
Sam–I removed your post by accident. Please feel free to re-post. Sorry!
Thank you so much! That is very clear to me now. And I appreciate the time you have taken to respond.
Unknown 11/15,
The answer to your question is no.
Copyright (the writer's ownership of their intellectual property) is what enables writers to grant rights to others, such as publishing rights. Granting a publisher various rights for the life of copyright (which currently, in the US and Europe, is the author's lifetime plus 70 years) does not entail giving up your copyright (that can't happen without specific contract language so stating), but it does give the publisher the exclusive ability to use or exploit those rights for as long as copyright lasts.
To prevent the publisher from hanging onto those rights for that long–which is of no benefit to you if the book has stopped selling in significant numbers or the publisher has stopped marketing it–a life-of-copyright rights grant needs to be balanced by a contract clause that ensures that the author can request rights reversion and contract termination once sales fall below a stated benchmark–such as fewer than 50 books sold in the previous 12 months.
AM's contract requires authors to grant it exclusive publishing rights, but (contrary to what you'd expect from a reputable publisher) does not specify any time period for that exclusive grant, and leaves rights reversion and contract termination entirely to the publisher's discretion. Basically, AM can hang onto your rights for as long as it wants, whether or not this provides any benefit to you or AM, and you have no recourse for getting out of the contract other than to throw yourself on AM's mercy. (I have heard from authors who've been able to get a contract termination offer, but this involves more money in the form of a termination fee.)
For more on the difference between rights and copyright, see my 2009 blog post.
Thank you for the detailed blog post about vanity publishers. It's information I was looking for. However, I didn't understand this part:
"there's no stated term for the grant of rights, and discontinuance of publication is "entirely at the discretion of the publisher"–in effect, a life-of-copyright grant with completely inadequate provisions for rights reversion".
Does this mean that an author who publishes with Austin Macauley has to give AM the copyright to their book? Why would any author do that?
I'd be very grateful if you could clarify.
New Reader Magazine, Media is another one everyone should stay away from. I don't trust anyone now.
You are a life saver!!!!
Damn right!! This is the option I'm going to do. I have had, page Newman, and i universe blow me up. Kobo and deaft2ditgal seem like my best options.
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@trjc
No one is disparaging the quality of the works published by vanity presses. What we take umbrage to is the business practices of Austin-MacAuley and their ilk. You mention profits drive the market, but the difference between Austin-MacAuley and Penguin Random House are the targeted markets. Penguin Random's market is readers. They make money by selling books to readers. That is how they can offer advances to authors and not require a dime from them. Austin-MacAuley on the other hand is targeting authors. By requiring authors to pay for expensive packages, they profit. They do not need to sell your books. They've already made their profit from the start, and quite frankly, they don't care if they sell a single copy of your book. They're calling/emailing/messaging the next author to offer them a publishing deal with a price tag.
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Ms. Strauss,
May I suggest that you actually try reading some of the works published by Austin-MacAuley and not just blindly resort to innuendo and hyperbole?
Get some integrity.
The consolidation within major publishers reminds me of USA defense industry (where I worked for decades and rose to executive levels) where the only thing important was profits… Many, many good people lost their livelihood as the industry consolidated, but senior executives and marketing manager miraculously always survived. Technical folks got screwed…
In the publishing world, writers get screwed. If your name is Hillary Clinton, major publishers are quite happy to pay a huge advance, provide researchers and ghost writers, and promote the resulting book without the "author" ever having to take pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. If your name is Bill O'Reilly, the major publishers are similarly willing to bend over backwards because the "author" can provide self-promotion on his TV and radio shows.
It's all about profits. To say otherwise (in your blog or elsewhere) is a bald-faced lie.
You, of course, through SFWA are pushing the use of agents. The reality is that agents are like leeches. They do almost nothing, picking up the phone to call a buddy or two, and meanwhile suck the blood out of whatever revenue a book might otherwise earn.
Let me repeat myself: get some integrity.
Read some of the works published by hybrid and vanity publishers and then provide an HONEST opinion.
trjc,
I get why you're pissed off about my post. I'm glad you're happy with your experience. And I don't want to be mean. But your comment is revealing in a way you probably didn't intend. AM charged you a sizeable fee (at least, that's how I interpret "not a little fee"–apologies if I'm wrong), yet two of its editors messed up your work and your book isn't being promoted. This is the reality of the pay-to-play business model, which invests as little as it possibly can in the production process. It's not what authors should expect from an ethical, responsible publisher.
The hard truth about big-name publishers is that they acquire almost exclusively through agents. I've long said that imprints like Tor and DAW do authors a major disservice by encouraging unagented submissions, despite giving them absolutely rock-bottom priority. In my opinion, they should either be honest about the extreme unlikelihood that writers will ever sell a book via this submission channel, or end the practice.
@ trjc
Why is Writer Beware on their high horse about "Austin MacAuley"? Couldn't possibly be because:
"Writer Beware receives more reports and questions about self-styled "hybrid" Austin Macauley Publishers than we do about any other vanity."
Of course if you are actually one of the few to 'not' get a bad deal out of them then congratulations for having been so lucky. The rest it seems aren't so lucky.
Oh, and I did try the google search of 'random house submissions'
Top three ads were:
http://www.olympiapublishers.com/
http://www.needpublishinghelp.com/
http://www.austinmacauley.com/Publishing/Books
And she even gave Olympia equal time in the 'bad vanity' box.
For me, I'll stick with self publishing. While I may have to pay my editor and artist those are one-time fees, the rest is mine (which is why I never understood why a vanity press should have 'any' rights to your book if you had to pay 'them' to edit/cover the silly thing.)
You obviously have a "hard-on" (pardon the expression) for Austin MacAuley. I can, of course, only speak with respect to my own experiences.
Yes, I paid a fee… not a little fee, but considering that I had written a rather long trilogy (with a glossary and supplemental treatise of background information) the amount was more than a little reasonable. My production coordinator was EXCELLENT, the graphic artist (their best) was SUPERB (even volunteering to redo my cover because she didn't like the original at all), and I had three editors reviewing my book. One editor was great – one of the best I've ever dealt with (and I have somewhere around 200 technical documents to my name); one was lazy, using search and replace to change semi-colons and em-dashes to commas, creating lots of run-on sentences (so we had lots of rework); and one arbitrarily changed sections of text because she found them offensive (not her call!) which also caused rework… but Austin-MacAuley never complained about the extent of rework.
I had previously submitted the work to two different BIG NAME publishers. That was after having the trilogy reviewed by professional reviewers who said (1) it's the most technically correct document (meaning grammar, spelling, formatting, and context) he'd ever read; and (2) "enthralling", "humorous", "enchanting" story-line. One major publisher never responded. One was supposed to respond in three months and (similar to an experience with a BIG NAME magazine for a novella) never responded until I sent an email… and then had some idiot intern write an email that made no sense at all…
Austin-MacAuley ALWAYS treated me with integrity.
Although I had some issues with 2 of the three editors, I was otherwise extremely pleased with their efforts. I have some heartburn with the lack of book promotion, but otherwise I wholeheartedly endorse them. Previous publishers I've used didn't have even half as much integrity… and QUITE FRANKLY, I haven't found even one major publisher WITH ANY INTEGRITY AT ALL.
Get off your high-horse. Yes, Austin MacAuley may be a hybrid publisher and they may not be perfect, but they're a hell of a lot better than ALL of the BIG NAME PUBLISHERS (who are only interested in a quick buck) I've ever dealt with.
This tip is for Alana – Academic publishing is a different beast, but there are those trying to cut out the fees for authors and readers. One example is Aperio, an open access press backed by the University of Virginia. https://aperio.press/site/ I'd recommend checking into other open access presses.
Thanks for this info – forewarned is forearmed. I'd thought about a vanity publisher but now maybe not so much….
In the world of academic publishing, "hybrid" is generally considered to be a respectable publishing model, with many major publishers like Wiley, Emerald, and Springer Nature having several hybrid journals. For scholarly publications, "hybrid" indicates that the journal will–at the discretion of the author–publish articles traditionally (where readers have to pay to access the article) or as open access (where any reader can access it). The articles that are published open access usually require an author processing charge that can often be covered by the author's institution. Since academic authors never get paid anyway (except in prestige, exposure, and/or qualifications for tenure) and the peer review process should (in theory) ensure that the article is of quality regardless, the hybrid journal model doesn't run into the same pittraps as vanity publishing. This isn't to say that academic publishing doesn't have its own problems (hello all the predatory journals on Beall's List!) or that everyone agrees that hybrid publishing or author processing charges are good things, but it goes to show how different the publishing world can be depending on what part of it you're in.
For a little while they showed ads for Page and Newman Springs on Pluto TV. I forget which one it was that hilariously lamented big publishers in "high rise towers" not publishing people. Because the best publishers are housed in garages apparently.
Great post, as usual. Keep up the good work! – Christine K.
Antaeus,
That's illegal. Poland is a signatory to the Berne Convention, which requires member countries to treat the copyrights of creators from other member countries at least as well as they treat their own creators. I know the time has probably passed, but you should have been able to take legal action.
Thanks for the article. It was very informative and well written. I appreciate all that you do to help us aspiring authors.
A few years ago, I sent a query to a Polish publisher. They responded that they were interested, and asked me to send then the manuscript. I was unable to get a response from them after that. My sister-in-law is from Poland, and she went back to visit relatives a year later. Her cousin was reading my book which was published in Polish by that publisher.
The secret of these vanities is that they present themselves as publishers. Their target customer doesn't want to self-publish; they what they see as the validation of being chosen by a publisher, and because they don't realize that reputable publishers don't charge fees, they are vulnerable to this kind of deceptive advertising.
It beggars belief that people still fall for this when self-publishing is a straight-forward proposition, even if you have to pay a cover artist and editor.
excellent article, so complete in description of each of the vanity publishers. Thank you. As an RA with SCBWI it's wonderful to have such a site available when asked!