How to Find Publishing Companies and Freelancers You Can Trust

Authors hear so many stories of publishing companies, editors, and publicists who have scammed them out of money that it can be hard to feel any faith in the industry. Fortunately, a little knowledge goes a long way toward helping you avoid these bad actors.

Scammers thrive on the lack of public awareness about how publishing really works, so let’s push back with some information sharing.

What You Do and Don’t Need to Pay for in Publishing

First of all, you need to know that in traditional publishing, you do not need to pay your publisher anything. They make their money by producing an excellent book, distributing it widely, and marketing it well. On the other hand, in self-publishing, skilled freelance editors, publicists, designers, and illustrators all need to earn money for the work they do—and because they put in a lot of unpaid hours to run their businesses, the rates they charge need to be high enough to account for that. This is true of all self-employed people in all sectors.

Let’s be clear:

If you are pursuing traditional publishing, the only people you might decide to pay are an editor or book coach to level up your writing and a publicist if you want extra oomph in that area once your book is published. Anyone insisting you must pay to get your book traditionally published is scamming you.

If you are self-publishing and want a high-quality result, expect to pay well for editing, design, and, if necessary, illustration and publicity. Anyone offering you the moon for rock-bottom prices is lying about the quality of their end product.

If you choose hybrid publishing, you will pay your publisher to subsidize your printing and, depending on the package you choose, your editing, design, distribution, and marketing. While there is some level of transparency there, plan to find out exactly what you’re paying for, whether this company has a history of doing these things effectively, and whether their offerings are really the right fit for you.

If I can offer one more piece of advice:

Don’t decide whether to pursue traditional, hybrid, or self-publishing based on how companies’ marketing copy makes you feel. Talk to other authors; read about their experiences; think about what resources you have and what your goals are. Choose first, then research companies.

How to Find Out if a Publisher or Professional is Legit

If you want to check on a specific company or individual, here are your best resources:

• Search for their website. Is it high quality? Does the text sound like it was written by a human and not generative AI? Does it share real-sounding reviews? Does it have contact information and staff info? Do the search results turn up lots of other real references to the company? If yes, then the business is at least being run intentionally. Next you need to find out if its goals align with yours.
• Search their name on writerbeware.blog. This website is an author’s best friend for discovering known publishing scams and controversies.  
• In a search engine, search “[their name] + Reddit” in order to find threads where real people have discussed this person or company; you can learn a lot if previous clients have shared their experiences online.
• In a search engine, search “[their name] + Reviews” and look for review environments the company itself doesn’t control. However, be aware that universally glowing reviews without a lot of substance might indicate that these have been generated or paid for. Look for specificity and for tangible details about people’s experiences.
• Ask fellow members of an authors’ association. If you’re new to the world of publishing, joining an association and taking advantage of their educational resources can be the fastest way to learn from reliable, well-rounded, and up-to-date sources. Some of these organizations are national or regional while others are audience or genre based, like the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators or the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers’ Association. Membership may include access to an online community, in-person and virtual meetups, free or discounted webinars, reduced conference rates, online resources, member publications, etc. While some organizations restrict membership to published authors, some are open to all; others have an associate members’ tier for aspiring authors.

Beware of Unsolicited Email Marketing

Unless you’re a celebrity or a known expert on a subject, there’s only one motivation for a company to spontaneously reach out about publishing your book: to extract money from you. Many “marketers” that send cold emails to published authors have the same goal.

If you receive an email out of the blue saying that a company would love to publish your book, or that a marketer would love to promote it, be suspicious. If someone claims to work in media and offers you a pay-to-play interview or other promotion, be very suspicious. Even if they do publish or feature you, it will likely be in a cheap, ineffective way that doesn’t reach readers.  

Hallmarks of a genuine email:

• The sender knows your name, your book’s name (if relevant), and a current email address that you give out to real contacts.
• They tell you how they found out about you and why you or your work are relevant to them.
• If they have a pitch to make, they keep it brief, are transparent about what they want from you, and link their company so you can learn more.
• Their email address matches their name and/or company.

Hallmarks of a scammy email (you might see one or many of these things):

• The sender seems to work for a company but doesn’t name them.
• The sender does name their company but doesn’t link to them or use their logo in their signature.
• The sender claims to be someone famous or senior enough that you’d expect them to have a subordinate writing this kind of correspondence.  
• The sender’s email address doesn’t match their name or company.
• The sender is using a gmail account instead of a branded email.
• They’re offering services you haven’t heard of and can’t find easily when you search them online.
• They’re offering pie-in-the-sky services like Hollywood movie deals.
• They’re asking money for things that should be free, like media interviews and book reviews.
• The email is a hard pitch full of marketing speak.
• The email makes you feel anxious that you will lose out if you don’t do what they say.
• The email references “your book” instead of naming your work specifically.
• They’re offering marketing/publicity opportunities without telling you anything about their audience.
• If you have a published book, the text launches into extended, glowing praise of it that reads more like a book report or review than regular communication. Often, these highly personalized-sounding emails are generated by feeding your existing marketing copy into an AI chatbot.

A Note about Freelance Marketplaces

First, it bears stating that some accomplished editors, designers, and illustrators have built good careers and provided excellent services through marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork. However, you should also know that these websites can easily create a race-to-the-bottom model in which clients shop around based on price alone, so freelancers are pushed to provide services at unsustainable rates. This results either in earnest, young freelancers getting exploited or in clients receiving low-quality work—sometimes even AI-produced work. If you use one of these marketplaces, be sure to seek out trustworthy reviews and work samples.

Reliable Ways to find Traditional Publishing Companies

• Look up your regional or national publisher’s association and review the membership list. While some very small and new publishers won’t have association memberships, most benefit from joining at least one. Examples include the Association of Canadian Publishers, the Association of American Publishers, and the Ontario Book Publishers Organization.
• Talk to career authors, or review the bibliographies of established authors in your genre.
• Look at which publishers are successfully getting their books reviewed in your genre’s most influential review journals.
• If you want to target the big companies, seek an agent first. Review their list of clients and the books they’ve sold to publishers to make sure they have the right contacts for your genre.
• Check out university presses. They aren’t the right fit for every project, but you’d be surprised at their versatility.

Reliable Ways to find Skilled Freelancers

• Look for freelancers through professional associations like Editors Canada and the Editorial Freelancers’ Association.Ask other authors for recommendations, especially authors writing in the same niche and for the same audience as you.
• Review the freelancer’s website in detail and make sure it showcases the skill being marketed (i.e., an editor’s site is well written; a designer’s site has excellent visuals). Look for reviews and testimonials from previous clients.
• If the freelancer has created an online presence to showcase their authority (e.g., social media accounts, a newsletter, or a blog like this one), check whether their content gives you confidence in them.
• For a publicist, find out what kind of publicity opportunities they would seek out on your behalf and make sure those are both realistic and aligned with the target audience of your book.
• For editors, you may be able to request a sample edit before committing. Be prepared that because of past abuses, some editors will charge a small fee for this. The presence or absence of a sample edit fee is not a marker of whether or not the editor is trustworthy.
• For a designer or illustrator, review their portfolio. A drastic lack of consistency in the portfolio may be a red flag.
• Many serious freelancers offer free discovery calls so you can discuss your goals and make sure the project is a good fit. Don’t skip this opportunity to discuss their approach and get their measure.

As for Hybrid Publishers and Self-Publishing Operations…

This part of the industry is rapidly evolving. It’s best suited to authors who either aren’t looking for broad distribution or are ready to make authorship a business venture with lots of self-driven marketing and promotion. Here are some things to know as of August 2025:

• Amazon and Ingram are the two major players in self-publishing if you want widespread distribution of your ebook and/or print book. However, be aware that while they make it possible for people to buy your book from anywhere, that doesn’t mean that people will find out about your book without extra marketing work from you. This is even true when you pay Ingram to make distribution to bookstores possible. The stores can find and stock your book, but you are the only one with a vested interest in telling them about it.
• If you want to print your self-published book in bulk and sell or distribute copies yourself, you have tons of options for printers—and those printers will give you more format options than you’ll find at print-on-demand services. The quality of your physical book is limited only by your budget. Do your homework, get quotes from multiple companies, and seek lots of advice from authors who have done it before. Make sure you review printed samples before you pull the trigger on the full print run.
• Hybrid publishing gives you higher royalties than traditional publishing does, but hybrid companies tend to have less reach than traditional ones, so you’ll still need to be prepared to do lots of marketing and promotion if you want lots of sales. You might be offered a package that includes editing and marketing, but the quality of these services is variable. Seek out reviews, make sure the company is being transparent about their offerings, and reflect on whether they’re the right fit for you before you commit.

In Conclusion

Publishing can seem like a closed book, but there are many ways to get a peek at it, whether that’s through reading publisher association websites, talking to authors, reading discussion threads, or seeking out blogs, videos, and interviews with people who work in the industry. Every time you learn more, you’re better armed against scams that count on writers not knowing what to expect.