Ways to Ruin A Career Before It Starts…

In perusing my favorite blogs over the weekend, I found a post on the Bookends blog titled "Please Stop."  Of course, when you read something that like, you wonder, "Am I doing something and not knowing it?"  So you click. I did.  

Here is the gist of the post from Jessica Faust at Bookends Agency: 

"at least 20 times by now that I have received the exact same query, for the exact same book from the exact same author, but interestingly, all from different email addresses. The email arrives at least a couple of times a week and sometimes daily. I have already rejected one of these emails, asked the author to stop submitting in another, and deleted the rest."

All I can say is Wow.  Does the person sending these actually believe it's going to benefit their career?  Jessica's comments do not say the author's name, but they do describe the story.  She also intimates that this might be making its way to other agents as well.  Not the best business practice.

I would say that this definitely tops the list of "Ways to Ruin a Career Before It Starts." — Making a bad name for yourself that has nothing to do with your writing. Just this past weekend I gave a workshop on Branding and Promotion, and one of the things we discussed was Networking and Making a Name for Yourself.  There are ways to network badly… and there are ways to build a name for yourself that you don't want to have. 

Who wants authors, agents or editors to hear your name and groan? Or roll their eyes?  Or see you coming down the hallway at a conference and run the other direction?

So, this post is partly shaking my head in surprise at what people will do, and mostly opening up the discussion just for fun. What are some of the WORST things you can think of doing to "make a name" for yourself?  My top favorite at the moment would be running up to your desired agent at a conference, sitting on their lap and giving them a big kiss.  Couldn't you see the moment?  And the million camera phones snapping that moment forever…soon to be posted on every blog known to writers?

You might as well jump up and down on the couch and declare your love while you're at it.

So come on…let's be silly.  I want outlandish, funny, stupid, bizarre — whatever you can come up.