Thank you for letting me guest post here, Laura - I appreciate having the chance to help keep writers (and their careers) safe.

Your comment about the cliff makes me think of a poem I once read somewhere:

"We is bestest friends./ You laugh, I laugh / You cry, I cry / You dance, I dance.
You jump off bridge ... I miss you."

Probably inappropriate, but it made me laugh.

Good call on the contract skepticism, too. Publishing is a business, and the publishers *absolutely* see it as a business, not a personal deal. Authors need to see it that way too.

Thanks Joe - I'm glad you liked them!

Thank you Denise! I actually created this list originally to help small and indie press authors, because I know a few who work without agents and wanted a list to help them make decisions. I'm glad you liked it too.

Congratulations in advance, Ann! I hope you and your work have great success!

It's so true - these really are mostly common sense, but so often authors don't realize that they apply to publishers as well as other business areas.

I wish I could say your experience with the samples surprises me, but I'm afraid some inexperienced businesspeople don't realize just how badly sloppy work reflects on their businesses (another thing that applies to writers and publishers too!). I'm glad they sent the bad samples, though, so at least you had enough warning to go another way!

I'm truly glad I can help, Deb. Publishing is complicated, but it's so important to educate yourself so you can manage your career and your works. Thank you for stopping by!

I hope it does, Kathryn - and I'm glad I can help them. It's so true that desperation is a poor business parther, and I hope this list helps people keep good business judgment in play when making decisions.