Finally, not all publishers are a right fit and that doesn't mean they're bad! Don't forget that either. But be mindful of where your personal boundaries are and don't settle when it comes to your book baby ❤️

Marketing of course should be a joint venture, but it shouldn't be the author putting in 95% of the work. Be willing to share ideas and suggest things you want or don't want but don't let a publisher put all the marketing on you alone

3. Marketing. You choose to go to a publisher, indie or not, because they offer marketing strategies. Or at least I do, I suck at social media. If a publisher is unwilling to share marketing plans and starts asking you to provide media posts and ideas, just run...

I find defensiveness is usually a big red flag that something is being hidden. Not all the answers might be to your standards but the interactions and delivery of such details should be respectful.

2. Defensiveness. Publishing is a two way street. There will be questions both ways and the presence of such shouldn't create an environment where you feel like you're being disrespectful for asking about what's going on.

... time to find an answer for you. Not everyone has to have the answer immediately however they should be open to having a discussion and open to finding answers for you.

1. Communication. Once a publisher sends a contract they should be ready and available for questions. That doesn't mean immediately responding but if it's something that will take more time to get an answer on they should at least be letting you know that they need a little...

These are the themes on the top of my list that I look for when I query & that influence the questions I ask before signing a contract:
(Please find rant and advice below from my POV)

Thank you Sophie ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thank you so much ☺️❤️

Sometimes it feels like everyone except me knows what they're doing 🤣 pretty sure we're all just making it up as we go