The Scoop #6 - From the mouths... (warning: language)

The biggest blows to your career can come from multiple directions. One of the worst though, at least in our minds, come from your fellow authors. These would be those spiteful, conniving, vengeful assholes who think nothing of ruining your reputation just so they can find a little pleasure in their day. They only do this because they know for a FACT they are not even half the author you are, they are not even half the human being you are and because they want to feel better about themselves and their too pitiful little lives. It is a sad thought to know someone you might consider a friend is actually the one both stabbing you in the back but also twisting the blade.

It is also the truth. Because your fellow authors, one's you may chat with on a daily basis and who you might call "friend", are the ones that know just what to say to ruin your career. Oh, and they don't even care if they have to bend the truth a little or a lot, hell they'll even make shit up too if it serves their purposes. But they are not dumb, not by a long shot. They are complete and total idiots and morons, there's no doubt about that, but not dumb. They know just who to pass a word to, say just the right thing to have someone asking "what do you mean?" and then they can dish. But it always comes with the infamous and eye rolling precursor "now this may just be rumor but I heard..." insert smack talk here.

And there is not a fucking thing you can do about it. It's that simple. People will talk shit about you behind your back to those you are either trying to establish a working relationship with or are working with now just because they are jealous little ho's. We're sorry about the language (mostly) but it's the damned truth! If these people had even a smidgen of an ounce of self-worth they would never, ever feel the need to attack another human being in this manner. But then again, we're talking about self-centred ass wipes without a grain of a conscience being worse than a group of teenage girls who just saw the captain of the football team giving the "unpopular" girl a bit of attention instead of mooning over their primped and spoiled "cheerleader", and so damned fake, asses.

Straight up fact - women can be bitches, men can be assholes, you can even switch those roles around. But not everyone is that way. Some of the nicest people (on the surface anyway) on the planet would sell your soul, yours not theirs, for a few bucks while some of the biggest jerks (appearance/attitude wise) have some of the biggest hearts of gold around and would give you the shirt off their backs. No matter what - don't judge a book by it's cover, don't talk about your business (and by business we mean what you're doing to make money) with another person you don't trust implicitly and never online and don't ever, ever, smack talk about someone to anyone else. That shit will bite you so hard and you will come out smelling like shite!

There is our two cents on this topic with, we are so absolutely sure, more to come in the days and weeks and months to come.

The Moderator

The Scoop #5 - Be careful what you say

No matter where you say it, or why, you need to be careful of your words. We're not talking about slinging insults or "your mama's so fat..." jokes, we're talking about discussing your stories.

Not everyone out there is your friend. Even a "friend" may not be a true friend. So always be very careful about what you reveal about a book/story you are writing before you have it submitted to your publisher. We've been lucky and never had this happen to us but we're more than sure there are authors out there who have had a story idea/premise stolen through a conversation with a "friend".

We're not saying don't talk about your newest project, just don't reveal too much. What is too much? Good question, for example please see the below dramatic re-enactment provided to you by the people at FOX. Okay, we're kidding!

• Too much - I'm writing a new story about a man who wakes up with amnesia in a foreign land and yet knows the language. He has all these crazy ass skills, like hand to hand combat and weapons training, that just come to him when he needs them. People are out to kill him and he's trying to figure out who this mysterious government group is that apparently he belongs to, or did because they think he's dead. He races around the world trying to figure out who he is while taking out their agents and other officials trying to stop him. He kidnaps this French girl who assists him and they do this crazy drive through the city taking out vehicles and driving down stair cases. (In case you're wondering and didn't get the reference - we hijacked The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum for this demonstration)
• Enough - I'm writing a new story, it will be action packed and you'll never know where the danger is coming from. Which will be on several fronts, both supposed friends and foes will be after my character, it will be quite a ride.

As you will see in the "Too much" example, you've basically handed a plot line to someone out there. And if you do not have a copyright on it at that moment, you do not own it. Now, yes you thought it up (in this case we borrowed Robert Ludlum's premise) but can you prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt that someone else didn't think of it sooner? Someone who then wrote it before you and submitted it before you did thereby getting copyright on it before you did. Likely not. Yes, the technological age has many amazing and great benefits. But for every benefit there is an asshole out there that has figured a way around it all and will screw you over.

So, better to taunt and tease a little by giving your readers, fans and potential "friend" just enough to whet the appetite but not enough to let them grab it and run. So, be careful what you say and to whom. You never know who might be a wolf in sheep's clothing. Sad to say, yes, but better mildly paranoid then out your next book.

The Moderator

The Scoop #4 - The clique mentality

Oh, how we fucking hate this. It's not bad enough we all had to suffer through the clique's in high school, now we have to do it in the business world too.

All publishers have clique's, it's a fact no matter how much they deny it. There are some "good" clique's and then there are the ones that we will be discussing.

• Genre Clique's - These are not necessarily bad, but can go that way if the people involved don't keep their heads out of their asses. This clique is based specifically around the genre's in which author's write. For example: Historical Romance, Mystery, Fantasy, Paranormal, Erotic are just some of the many genre's. In most cases, but not all, these clique's are geared toward assisting writers in these specific genre's and they do tend to be helpful. From providing help over blocks, assistance in research to just reading something that isn't working for you and providing a second (or third) set of eyes to help you figure out why this isn't working.
• Ass Kissing Clique's - These are bad, bad, bad clique's. Like in high school these clique's are a group of people that revolve around one central figure and generally can't think for themselves. They always look to the central figure, or leader, of the clique for how to behave and what to say in any given situation. This is the clique that if you are not on the inside you are on the outside and acts much like Sheeple (which we covered in The Scoop #3). These are "yes" men and women who, like a group of high schoolers, really don't have the mentality to stand up for anyone because then they wouldn't be "popular" any more. These are also the ones we often refer to in our posts as the Golden Ones.

The above are just two of the clique's most seen but there are clique's within clique's, sub-genre's if you will, that can be potential holes to fall into. No matter what you do as an author remain true to yourself. Think for yourself and be yourself. While this will not always be popular, who said life was fair?, at least at the end of the day you can feel good about yourself and what you did that day. Which is better than wanting to crawl into a little hole and hide because you compromised your own integrity.

The second clique from above is more likely to be found in smaller, more intimate publishing houses. Think under 100 authors. Any of the bigger houses it's harder to find these clique's but they do exist, it's just not as noticeable and obvious and therefore a little trickier to navigate. Unfortunately if you are a part of a smaller publishing house and you are not in the clique than you are pretty much screwed. Because those inside the clique will gleefully and with permission make your life and career hell. Not that you'll be able to prove anything, but you have to remember that they are going to do whatever is necessary to ingratiate themselves further with the leader of their pack of assholes.

Just don't get sucked in. If they are into making snide and snotty comments that ride the line of bullying, always be chipper and cheerful, don't give them anything they can use as fodder against you. Remember, because they are sadistic brats they will be reading all your posts looking for an opening to dig into and be shit heads. If they step up their game to outright bullying and such, screen shots and report their asses to anyone and everyone you can think of. While it won't stop them from coming back at you at a later date, at least they know you are onto them. The downside of that of course is they will likely come back with a strategy that is harder to prove.

That's all we've got on this topic, for now. Sadly there are enough assholes out in the world of writing that we will end up with more over time.

The Moderator

The Scoop #3 - Beware the sheeple

Sheeple:  A group of people who have a sheep like mentality and follow the leader blindly

Do not be sheeple people! Sheeple are much like lemmings, they blindly follow along with the group and never question "why" something is happening.

In the author trade (and other places too so no one feels left out/offended) we refer to these people as "yes" wo/men, or "brown nosers". They don't question anything and just do whatever the higher ups say. They have zero thoughts for themselves and actually, in most cases, find it comforting when someone else takes control and guides them along. Though they can be some of the most vicious and spiteful people on the planet when they are stabbing you in the back.

Now, this is NOT like working for a company with a project leader - for example. A project leader expects certain things from their people and yet also expects questions and answers that may or may not be what they want to hear. They are looking for communication and dialogue - this is not what a sheeple herder wants. The herder of the sheeple expects complete and total loyalty and if not, then you are branded a trouble maker and basically ostracized.

Becoming the black sheep of the sheeple community also means that you need to be doubly aware of your surroundings and who you speak to and who can see what of your public persona. It also means being extremely careful about what you say about certain things in all arenas. Sheeple are easily offended and assume everything is about them or their herder. Which means if you make some flippant, off the cuff and, to your mind, humorous comment about something (with no names, no real details) they will become offended and start a war on-line. They will also tattle on you faster than you can say Yankee Doodle Dandy. Which then brings the herder, who may or may not be your publisher, into the picture and now you get to deal with them.

They will NOT have gotten the entire story or, more than likely, anything truthful from their sheeple informant. But you will be at fault. Plain and simple. You will be the bad guy and the sheeple will demand restitution, aka - the apology in a public format. If you can't avoid getting into a sheeple confrontation, likely you won't because these are basically douche bags with sticks so far up their asses they have splinters on their tongues, try and pacify the herder. Show them the original post and ask how that appears in any way offensive to a reasonable, functional and logic based adult with the mentality of an adult (not a 13 year old in 40 year old body for example). You may still be required to pass along an apology but tell them, flat out, that while you will give the apparently injured party a private, off-line apology for the fact they have no sense of humour, you won't be doing it on-line because you and the other 90 people that commented on the post had no trouble seeing the humour in it nor did they see it as a dig at anyone.

While this likely will pacify the herder of the sheeple and, if you are lucky, the sheeple in question, don't bet on it. But, whatever you do, stick to your guns as long as you are 100% positive you have done absolutely nothing wrong. And ensure you get screen shots of all the sheeple interaction, you may need it later if they decide to erase their portion of the conversation because they are that low and slimy.

The Moderator

Contract Information

Since this post kind of hits many of our normal tags from Rules, to Insider Info and even into The Scoop, we felt we'd leave this in the "General" realm and just give it multiple tags.

The below links are from an authors website (Tymber Dalton). Please note: We are NOT promoting her as an author. We are NOT promoting her works by any of her pseudonym's. And we are NOT promoting any of her publishers.

We were pointed toward her by one of our Moderators and, after reading the posts we've supplied links for, felt the need to share them with you. She is quite knowledgeable about contracts as her husband used to practice law and has a few years experience that also allows her to know what she's talking about. Now, she is NOT a lawyer, just married to a man who used to practice law and what she has to say is sound advice but in no way admissible in a court of law. However, if you read through each of the articles we've supplied links for, you will see she has provided quite a bit of information to assist you in untangling the legal web a hokey publisher can weave.

We found the articles detailed, intriguing and with a very unique and informative spin to them. But if you happen to buy her books that's fine too, that's just not the purpose of this post or why we are supplying her links.

Pop Quiz: Contracts

A Bad Publishing Contract Deconstructed, Part 1

A Bad Publishing Contract Deconstructed, Part 2 - The Ugly Truth

A Bad Publishing Contract Deconstructed, Part 3 - The Uglier Truth

And since you may not also remember these other links that she supplied here they are again nice and clear:

The Passive Voice (Contract Counsel)

Writer Beware

Preditors & Editors

Duration of Copyright (USA) things to know and understand

There you have it. Some more information about contracts spelled out in a manner that makes sense for those of us who get the urge to fall asleep the moment we see legal documents. Hopefully this extra information will help you to avoid pitfalls that some of us have had to learn the hard way. Now, one last time, the author that supplied the deconstruct of the contract in question is NOT a lawyer. She has been in the business a while and has a husband who practised law so she is knowledgeable but not, in any way, shape or form a lawyer. If you ever have a question about a contract, ask your own lawyer.

The Moderator

The Scoop #2 - Beware the trap

No, we are not making fun of Star Wars - we like Star Wars, so heads in the game here. We're talking about the trap you never see coming until it snaps closed around you and you realize just how screwed you are. It can appear as literally anything and from anyone. The worst is from someone you trust, your publisher or another author. They ask for assistance with something, seems harmless enough and you end up sucked in and doing it all on your own.

Just like high school/college where you got to do the project because you were actually serious about getting good grades while your partner was more concerned with a boy/girl friend or a party. There you are scrambling to do the work of two, or more, people in the same time frame as everyone else. But this is so much worse. Yes in high school/college it meant a grade. But out here in your professional life it can mean your very reputation.

If anyone, ever, asks you to lend a hand with something tell them you want to see what they are proposing in writing. Like with anything else in your professional life you need to have something that clearly states the boundaries of the task. At which point you then start to ask questions of each detail and, do it in an email that they have to send back to you with any questions or concerns or general stupification clarified. This way you have a guide as to just what you are required to do, a clear list of details that need seeing to and what the end result needs to be. If they send you a short little piddle explanation that is more confusing than not, say no.

We will repeat that for those in the back row. If it sounds too good to be true or like they are trying to foist something on you no one else wants to do...

SAY NO!

All it will do is miff them but really, if they aren't going to give you guidance than fuck 'em. Yup, that's right, fuck 'em. Pass it on to some other sucker thank you very much. And that is all there is to that.

The Moderator

PS - We should mention that if someone sends you something and you've sent in questions but they are now ignoring you on all fronts. RUN!!

The Scoop #1 - Author vs Author

As much as this sounds like a possible UFC match title, it's not actually. This is something that quite a few, but not all we will emphasis, authors have faced. It's a battle that rarely has a "winner", more often than not it's two losers pouting in their respective corners.

These fights tend to be public, usually on a social media site. The reason these happen you ask, because when you are typing or texting there is no emotion to your words. What you thought to be cute and amusing when you typed it, the other person could well see as an insult or slight against them. Unless this person knows you very well, as in they've met you in person often, you've done things together and they know you, they could very well misinterpret your message. It can also come across wrong depending on their mood when they read it. If they were having a bad day and read what you wrote, it could just rub them the wrong way.

There is only one stance to take in a situation like this. And it doesn't matter if you are the author that got the message that rubbed you wrong or wrote a comment to another author that rubbed them the wrong way - walk away.That's right, and because it's so important, we'll repeat it in all caps. WALK AWAY! Don't reply until you can either see it for what it was meant to be or until you private message the person to ask them what the hell. Whatever you do, DO NOT REPLY ON THE PUBLIC FORUM with your first instinctual response.

Why? It's actually very simple. Everyone -your audience of readers, your publisher and every person you've ever friended- can potentially see this interaction. If they see you getting into a pissing match with another author this doesn't reflect good on you. It doesn't look good for the other author but they can play the wounded party in this interaction and gain sympathy.

Don't think it can't happen, it can. We've seen it happen on more than one occasion. Especially if it's between you and, a term we've often coined, the Golden Ones of your publishing house. These Golden Ones are up on a pedestal because they have their noses so far up your publishers ass that you can't tell one from the other. Brown nosing if you haven't clued into our drift here.

When you say anything that this Golden One deems uncalled for, below the belt or any other number of clichéd sayings, you are at fault. Even though you know you're not, you are in the eyes of the publisher. Because this Golden One has run off to tattle and gain sympathy behind the scenes before you can even contemplate defending yourself. Which, by this point, is now useless. Anything you say from this point forward is now just another nail in your coffin.

Yes, there are actually publishers out there with the moral code of a nest of vipers. And you will never be able to prove a damn thing - another fact you should know before engaging the enemy. Best to not let them get to you, best to just brush off their comments for the idiotic drivel it is and just walk away.

This is hard, we know it is, but it's the best advice we can offer. If you engage with another author in a verbal battle you won't be coming out all shiny and pristine. While it's hard to resist tossing back a comment to an author with the mentality of a spoiled three year old in the midst of a temper tantrum, it really is best to turn the other cheek.

Now, there is another side to all this. If they are attacking you in a manner that basically boils down to bullying or threats, report them to the site you are on and also to your publisher. But ensure you have a screen shot of the offending material to prove your case on the off chance they decide to delete the post because they just clued into what they've done. This screen shot will allow you to prove not only to your publisher and the site the acts of this person, but if it comes down to it, you can file it with your lawyer should further action be required down the road.

The Moderator

A new category - The Scoop

We've tried to figure out where to put a few of the topics and tips we want to share but they really weren't fitting under the other categories so we came up with "The Scoop". This category will be a little more relaxed and should be taken as both a cautionary tale and some comic relief. It will basically cover all the categories we currently have with a twist, gossip darlings, gossip!

Okay, not really ... but sort of.

It's a category that will provide you, as a new author, with some interesting details and nuggets of wisdom that we all wish we'd had when we started out. Sadly we all had to learn the hard way, as with everything else we post on the site, just how naive we all were to begin with. It will cover topics that we just couldn't fit into a category or covered too many of them at once. It will hopefully give you the wisdom you need to never repeat our mistakes and hopefully allow you to step away just a little bit wiser than we weren't at the same point you're in now.

The Moderator