On Cliques and Cabals

Lately there has been a lot of talk about the "YA Mafia."  

Now, on one hand, this is hilarious, because, come on...the idea of a
bunch of YA authors sitting around like a scene out of Goodfellas is pure gold.

On the other hand, the underlying conversation is troubling.  And the underlying conversation seems to be this:

1.  knowing the right people can help your career.

2.  ticking off the wrong people will hurt your career.

(Also, a lot of people are behaving very badly, but I won't address...