There have been more busts lately in the Twin Cities, and that will probably remain the case until after the Super Bowl. I recommend that you only contact providers that have a least a dozen reviews here.

Quality providers will want some screening information from you, and if you are reluctant to give that out you may have trouble booking with anyone. In that case, you should sign up with P411 and then seek out newbie-friendly providers there, assuming that they have enough reviews here. P411 will verify your information but not share it with anyone, and many providers will view your P411 membership favorably though they may still want other information for verification. (Your P411 ID# includes letters or numbers that match up to some of the ID that you verified with, like maybe a short sequence of numbers that is part of your drivers license number.)

If your worried more about discretion, then you want a provider who has her own incall location that you can visit. Some providers use a hotel room for incall, but then so do the police when they are conducting a sting. If you are more worried about law enforcement than discretion, you could request incall at your home or your hotel room instead.

I was nervous when I started out with this hobby about 20 years ago, but things are better now for both providers and johns due to reviews, screening, etc. I was away from the hobby for a long time, so the differences were very noticeable when I came back. I've seen 25 providers over the years, and never got busted.

... the "FAQ for Newbies" board, which has a link to TER's Instruction Manual as the first thread and also a link to the Self-Help Guide at the top right corner.  Lots of good tips in those.  Plus lots of threads that should answer questions you have about getting started.  The other great thing about the Newbie board is that responders are required to be civil and helpful to Newbies with questions.   That's not the case on other TER boards.  

I am still very new and green to this hobby. I think it took a better part of a year for me to take the next step from looking and lusting to contacting and emailing. The number of providers I have seen can be counted on on hand, and only have wrote reviews on two (so you can judge how green I am). Vin and Knots advice are very useful and only thing short that I did not follow was getting a P411 account. I just am not comfortable enough to provide that personal information, even if they say they destroy everything.  

I also think that who you choose to see first is very important, and there will be providers who will not answer or see someone new. Don't get discourage or lower your bar too much. I was very happy with my first choice, and have seen her more than once.  

Paranoia is real, I still arrive early and drive around the area just to get my nerves down. To Vin's point, sticking with someone who has a dozen or more reviews "should" keep you safe(r) than say looking for someone on other sites. The only thing I struggle with really is the guilt (but the pretty ladies certainly helps with that : D)

Just some tips for newbies that I've picked up through experience and listening to other people:

1.  Check out the newbie board; lots of good info there
2.  Get the VIP membership so you can see the review details and have access to the PM system
3.  Spend some time learning how to use the search functions for both reviews and the discussion board so you can identify ladies you would be interested in seeing based on the criteria that matter most to you (ex: looks, menu, rates, etc.)
4.  Figure out what kind of verification the ladies you would like to see require and how you can meet those requirements.  Some ladies are very particular.  Others are more flexible.  It's OK to contact them about it if you are not sure; just remember to be discreet.  Any  explicit questions will likely get you disconnect or otherwise ignored.
5.  Some ladies advertise here or on other sites that they are newbie friendly; keep an eye out for that.
6.  Consider joining a site such as P411 that pre-screens potential clients.  Some escorts will accept membership in such sites as satisfactory verification.
7.  If you are still puzzled by something after having done research, please feel free to ask questions.  I think for the most part we are willing to help out so long as we think you are not just freeloading on what others have learned.
8.  Develop a bit of a thick skin; some people are going to be jerks regardless.
9.  If an ad or offer looks TGTBT, it's probably TGTBT.
10. If you find yourself in any situation that doesn't feel quite right, trust your instincts and walk away.
11. As a newcomer, stick with well-reviewed ladies.  It's harder when you are inexperienced to figure out who the legit providers are from the fakes and scammers when they don't have reviews.
12.  Google is very useful.  Searching on a phone number or other info from an ad in Google can sometimes save you a lot of grief. Google Image Search is another very useful tool to search for other places where pictures in an ad are being used.
13. To help uncover ads that are using someone else pics Google Image Search and Tineye are useful tools.  Much better to find out ahead of time that the girl you are thinking of calling is using the pics from some porn star or model or that the pics have been used in ads from one side of the country to the other.
14.  Get an anonymous hobby email that is not through your work, school, or anything connected to your real life (yahoo, hotmail, gmail, etc.) and use it for all your hobby email activity and for nothing else.  Be sure you include nothing that identifies who you really are when you create it.
15.  Get a prepaid phone that you use for nothing else other than hobby phone calls and pay cash for it and whatever refill minutes you buy.