Author Worship

This topic has come up a lot lately - author worship in fandom, and this is yet another thing like RPS that I can't quite comprehend. I have only seen one fan club devoted to a fanfic author (mailing list & site) but I hear that these things exist in great numbers.

That got me thinking - who is responsible for generating author worship? The rec sites like Best of Trek/YMMV/Our Boys and others like them? Don't get me wrong, I adore these kinds of sites - especially YMMV and Our Boys which makes it easy to wade through a new fandom, but at the same time, someone out there has either a) decided someone is worthy of attention and recc'ing or b) agreed with everyone else that this is a good story/author.

Or is author worship the result of mailing list phenomenon?
Meaning, someone posts and then gets lots of FB, and voila, they are automatically elevated to a pedestal? Or is it a measure of "prolific = quality" and therefore, generating that "instant name recognition", and so all of a sudden this person is a "must-read" author because you simply cannot get away from the stories/poems etc?

I just find the idea of author worship clubs really intriguing. I mean, what would be your reaction if someone said, "Hey, can I start a fan club about you and your writing?" Personally, I'd feel way pressured and then just weirded out by the thought people were actually devoting large chunks of their time to talking about me or my stories.

I just made some comments to the Best of Trek site about what I thought the best fics of the year were. Now, admittedly, those are *my* judgement of what is quality and not necessarily anyone else's. Heck, might not even be Best of Trek's idea of good fic, but if you asked me what you should read in Trek, well, I would point you to my links page and of course, YMMV. But that's my point exactly - the authors whom I admire and rec may not be the same ones Trek fandom in general gives adulation to.

I certainly have not seen fan clubs devoted to Trek authors (well, with the exception of that one, but it doesn't count if you start your own and then don't even want to talk about yourself!!!;-)) and with the exception of the ASC/ASCEML awards and Best of Trek, I don't know that Trek authors get the same kind of recognition that they might get in other fandoms.

I'm rambling now and dinner calls... but feel free to discuss ;-) Yes, even you with the fan club ::eg::