Many of you are probably aware of the less-than-ideal situation at Red Rose Publishing. It is so critical to do your homework, especially when you're dealing with small presses and/or e-publishers. (With the big NY publishers — in general they deal with agented authors and they tend not to get into Jerry Springer-esque situations…)

Talking to other writers doesn't always help because they either don't know (too new to the publisher) and/or are reluctant to be 100% honest at times. In the case of RRP, they had a non-disclosure clause so many RRP authors kept their mouths zipped.

I recommend the following resources for anyone considering submitting works to e-publishers / small presses.

• Preditors & Editors
• Absolute Write: Bewares, Recommendations & Background Checks