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
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