A group of unpublished authors is called a ....

[Paul Whybrow]

After having a mammoth final (hah!) editing session of my three completed novels, I set to thinking about collective nouns.

My Cornish detective is quite a spiritual chap, a bit of an animist, for he's investigating murders in the wild landscape and interacting with wildlife, trees and ancient monuments. I'm something of a naturalist myself, so I've had my protagonist observe clatters of jackdaws, a murder of crows and a charm of goldfinches.

I wondered what collective nouns could be applied to writing.

For unpublished authors: a hopefulness—or maybe a hopelessness....or maybe a determination.

For literary agents: a snub—a fussiness—an indifference.

For already established authors: a smugness—a routine—a predictableness.

For publishers: a pomposity—a complaisance—a fleecing.

Any more ideas?

 

[Marc Joan]

A pedantry of editors

 

[James Marinero]

Unpublished authors? How about a bottlebottom?

 

[Katie-Ellen]

A hermitage of authors, published or not

 

[KG Christopher]

How about a 'cringe' of unpublished romantic genre writers.

 

[Peggy Lou]

A coven for fantasy writers, published or not?

 

[Quillwitch]

Unpublished? A flotsam of course.

 

[Peggy Lou]

Unpublished? A flotsam of course.

Spot on.

 

[David Newrick]

How about a collective term for booksellers?

Saints?

 

[Robinne Weiss]

And don't forget your readers--a cosy of readers, perhaps?

 

[KG Christopher]

writers who specialise in humorous stories with auction houses as a backdrop...

A funny lot of writers

(boom boom).

 

[KG Christopher]

Writers who's genre is catwalk celebrety murder mysteries using horticultural props...

A drop dead gorgeous bunch of writers.

(shall I stop now?)