The good few

Believe it or not, there are actually some in the publishing world who sincerely try to help writers find success. Because there are so few of them, you really have to use complete discretion. The method I used before I went with a publishing company that actually worked was to befriend someone already in the business. When you know someone personally and you are on good terms with them, it really adds to your benefit in the publishing process. I think the one major mistake I made with the would-be fraud (my first publisher) was that I did not get to know her better. Knowing someone gives you the indication on how professional they are, how serious with your benefit they are, how fair they are and so on. Personally, I'd say that less than 30% of publishers are actually going to give you a fair deal. But, because I do have an extremely fair publisher, I can't necessarily say that they are all out to cheat you. It makes me very grateful to have such a publisher and it also gives hope to the rest of the writing world who is trying to be published.