Things to consider when signing a publishing deal
How can you get your songs exploited? You can start your own publishing business and make your own connections, but that obviously takes hard work. Nevertheless, it can be done.
Do you want to sell your tracks as exclusive or non-exclusive? Non-exclusive allows you to peddle them in many different places basically forever, but an exclusive cannot be sold to anyone else again. An exclusive track is usually wanted by reputable and major companies.
What is the term and does it renew itself? Can you look at your publisher's books and conduct an audit? When can you do this? Does the publisher have a good track record and can you talk to other composers signed there?