Is there a publishing industry blacklist and, if so, is there any way to deal with it?

Derimed

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Please delete, if you don't mind; thank you.
 
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Belle_91

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I don't think you have anything to worry about. If you've made public comments on twitter or another public social media platform that are racist, homophobic, etc., then yes, I'd be worried. But I highly doubt when you get a book deal that a publisher is going to call your school. Besides, let's say they did (which I think is highly unlikely) then you could sue the school for defamation of character.

I think, if anything, you'd have to worry about is maybe your sinister co-workers writing a few bad book reviews. IF that happens (big IF) again you can let the publisher deal with it.

Basically, what I'm trying to say, is breathe. I have anxiety, too. But I highly doubt a publisher will take the time to call your school. It's not like a job interview where you might have used someone in your school as a reference.

I think the people who have to worry are the bigots that make comments that can be traced back to them. That doesn't sound like you. :)
 

AW Admin

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There's no blacklist. Think about it: some of the biggest names in publishing (Orson Scott Card, J. K. Rowling, etc. etc.) are personally objectionable.

They are not their books. Their books sell.

No gives a damn about your grad school performance other than you may potentially have some extra cred in submission.

Also: Grad school is hell. It just is.
 

VeryBigBeard

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If you're doing agent research, remember that you want an agent who wants to work with you, who wants to rep you longer term, and who will be comfortable advising you on difficult career decisions, including PR.

I keep telling people: The question about an agent isn't "Is he so bad I should cross him off my list?" It's "Is he good enough to put on my list?"

Go to a bookstore. Find books like yours. Find out who represented them. Get those agents' guidelines. Follow them to the letter.

Meanwhile, write another book.

Be professional and polite, but it's about your interests--that's what you're asking an agent to represent.

I don't think there are blacklists. It would take far, far too much work, for one. It's hard enough for agents to keep track of queries as it is. Plus, any agent who decided to create one would be hurting themselves more than anyone else, for the reasons AW Admin mentioned. An agent who doesn't sell isn't an agent for long, nor an agent you want.

There are a few agents--and more than a few writers and journalists--who, IMHO, spend way too much time on Twitter considering 99.9% of the business we're in does not happen on that app. Everyone's got their own priorities and approaches, of course. We're all adults here. But ask yourself: do you want your agent fighting Twitter wars on your behalf or do you want your agent selling books? Different people will rightly have different priorities, but you're entirely free to choose who you query, just as anyone, including an agent, is free to choose who they want to or don't want to work with.

I sympathize with the grad school thing, and have had the same thing happen. You know how much it ended up mattering? Not a jot. The person who did the bad-mouthing is long on to other things and nobody cares about people who gossip anyway. While I can't know why I may or may not have gotten certain jobs I've applied for, I'm better off not knowing. If someone really does care about petty stuff, I don't care to work with them.

Beware reading anything into rejection. It's part and parcel of being a writer, and there's only madness in trying to read the tea leaves.
 

frimble3

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These grad school bullies you mention were aiming for some other field, not writing?
So, who's going to solicit, or listen to, their opinion?
Don't worry, keep writing! And, stay away from Twitter and most other social media. They are full of people saying, or responding to, mean things.
 

ChaseJxyz

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The only thing that I can think of that is akin to a blacklist is if an agent/editor has a "I'm never working with this person again" list. Generally you have to be a supreme douche to the agent/editor in question. People being bullies in school aren't going to have the clout to get agents/editors to listen to them about stuff like this, unless a close family member/best friend is one of those people, then maybe they might listen. But there's so, so many agents out there. There is no way that they can hunt them all down to do that.

If you're really worried about this, you can have a different name you use as an author so that they won't know that it's you.
 

Putputt

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Most people aren't going to go to great lengths to blacklist anyone because:
1. Most of us don't have any pull. What agent or editor is going to listen to some random caller about some random writer who may or may not query them in the future?
2. Most people have our own shit to deal with.
3. Most people are lazy? Heh. I don't think anyone is sitting around pondering how to blacklist others...unless we're talking like someone who has an unhealthy obsession with you, but that would be the exception rather than the rule, I would think.

Also, what AW Admin said about shitty people continuing to have writing careers.