However, If your are dealing with a reputable, well-established company, overly distrustful behavior WILL sour them toward a professional relationship with you. Keep in mind that if, say Random House got a reputation for ripping off their authors, there would not be a great number of authors willing to do business with them. Publishing companies are not ignorant of this. In general, ripping people off, though there are a great number of anecdotes and stories, is actually very rare thing and generally between and among individuals rather than by big companies when it does happen.