Publishing 101:
1) It's called commercial publishing. Get into the habit of using that term. "Traditional" is a meaningless term used by scammers to make writers feel safe before they get robbed blind.
'Traditional' publishing is from the BAD old days when writers had to pay to publish. NEVERMORE! Money flows TOWARD the writer!
2) A reputable publisher doesn't go looking for writers. They're snowed under by submissions from writers who found them first. If you post on social sites, don't be surprised if the vanities contact you--they troll sites looking for fresh meat.
3) Do NOT look for a book publisher online. Put "book publisher" into a search and most of them will be vanity houses and scammers on the results page.
4) You go into a bookstore (the bad guys can't get books into 'em) find books like yours and follow submission guidelines to the letter.
5) But BEFORE you do that, get your book workshopped. Avail yourself of AW's resources: all the other writers here. Check out the SHARE YOUR WORK forum or ask around for a betareader.
The feedback you get is the stuff an acquisitions editor would tell you if she had the time.
Then you rewrite and workshop some more. It took me 25 rewrites and two years work before my first book was up to pro standards and worth buying. I'd have shortened that time had AW been around then!
6) Here's how you check ANY publisher: put the name into a search engine + "complaints" or "ripoff" and see what other writers have to say about them.
Sounds like you heard from Strategic Book Group which is run by a slimebag we call "Bouncing Bobby Fletcher." He's got a ton of business names because each time one gets shut down, he starts up another. The Florida attorney general's office is gathering evidence to nail his sorry hide to the wall and we're all waiting and hoping for that day to come soon.
SBG has it's own forum in the BBG Checks area. It's entertaining, in a grim way!
Just a heads up.
