I Was Born With The Wrong Name :(

[AgentPete]

I’ve been wracking(sp?) my brains trying to work out whyYouTube now automatically demonetises Pop-Up Submissions and no longer suggests it to viewers who its algorithm thinks may like us… this has had a huge impact on our viewer numbers. I just put the latest show through a 3rd party service that claims it can work out what’s wrong… this is the result!!!

 

[Jonny]

Ooh! Matron. Quick, get down to the Deed Poll Office.

But on a more serious note, that's just bloody crazy. Who sets their 'decency' policy? The Puritans?

Can you appeal this nonsense in any way?

 

[Jonny]

Was the "erotic" black mark because it was mentioned in a blurb? I seem to recall it was on Sunday.

Jeez!!!! This is utterly crazy.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

That's bonkers. Can't it SPELL? (Think it's 'racking', Peter )

 

[Barbara]

Put an 'r' into your name between the 'o' and the 'x'. Might trigger the more accepted algorithms targeting wine connoisseurs.

Seriously though, this is bonkers.

 

[Ancora Imparo]

Doesn't U-tube have anyone in charge? You're not the only Cox in the world, Pete, so I'm guessing they must have some procedure in place to sort this... unless they're wilfully obstructive.

 

[RK Wallis]

I’ve been wracking(sp?) my brains trying to work out whyYouTube now automatically demonetises Pop-Up Submissions and no longer suggests it to viewers who its algorithm thinks may like us… this has had a huge impact on our viewer numbers. I just put the latest show through a 3rd party service that claims it can work out what’s wrong… this is the result!!!
View attachment 7918

How utterly frustrating! I hope @Ancora Imparo is right.

 

[AgentPete]

I’m guessing that YouTube does speech recognition, looking for a whole host of naughty words, and black-marking accordingly. Also, their algorithm was clearly changed a few weeks ago, which is when we started to have this problem.

What currently happens is that the show is “demonetised” almost immediately after live transmission. I then appeal it, and it’s queued for human review. This typically takes 1 – 3 days, sometimes more... which is a killer.

The show is always eventually reinstated. But in the intervening time, the damage has been done, because YouTube's recommendation algorithm won’t suggest it to anyone.

 

[Eva Ulian]

Right, from now on, we will review only children's submission, let's see if that will keep it clean enough for their algorithms.

 

[CageSage]

You could change your name on the site to AgentPete with a link to either your agency or Litopia. And you could write up a note that denies responsibility for content of submissions.

And wracking is the correct spelling for this if you're referring to a storm-wracked brain, but the more common usage is now rack (from the same etymological base, because the seaweed used to be laid on a rack to dry). The seaweed is still wrack (it was called wrack and ruin, whence from the image of a ship wrecked upon the coastal rocks, sporting long drifts of wrack).

 

[Steve C]

I just put the latest show through a 3rd party service that claims it can work out what’s wrong… this is the result!!!

How reliable is this 3rd party? Erotic is probably not a great keyword as youtube is pretty clean-cut but Cox/Cocks seems silly.

 

[AgentPete]

How reliable is this 3rd party? Erotic is probably not a great keyword as youtube is pretty clean-cut but Cox/Cocks seems silly.

I just don’t know. That is the great problem, YouTube’s algorithm is an impenetrable black box.

I don’t think there’s much to be done about this in the short term, we have a new show going up soon, and then Pop-Ups will have a reformatting. Perhaps by then this silliness will be over…

But it underscores the need to build our own organic audience, and not rely on the vagaries of a corporate algorithm.

 

[Steve C]

After posting above that youtube is clean-cut I double-checked. If you search the site for 'erotic girls' you get pages of porn!!
'Erotic' doesn't seem to harm the search for girls.
On purely educational grounds I shall continue my search for 'sexy girls' + 'naughty girls' + 'bedroom eroticism' etc. It may take a few years to examine all the results after which I will report back with my conclusions.

 

[AgentPete]

It's well-concealed, I've never seen any suggestion of porn in my "suggested" list of videos they automatically produce. It's that very list that is the problem for us now, they are simply not including us on it. Important to stress that the videos they suggest for one person will be quite different to those they suggest to another, based on what they think they know about you. The number of new videos on YT is so vast that you don't stand much chance if you don't get "suggested" in the first few minutes.

 

[CageSage]

Maybe it's worth considering changing the title of the show to something that is unambiguous and clear to the purpose. I can't think of one at the moment, and I understand why 'pop-up' and 'submissions' but maybe if there was another word to indicate/define the purpose -- anyone have ideas/suggestions?

 

[Steve C]

Live Literary Critiques (from Litopia.com/ Redhammer/Your Colleagues/Whatever)
Or maybe: Online Literary Critiques

Lots of writers want critiques and I am sure search for them whereas they probably don't think pop-up subs actually exist so don't look for it.

 

[AgentPete]

We're pretty invested in the "Pop-Up" name, but wide open to a longer overall title, eg Pop-up Submissions featuring live literary Critiques or whatever hits the right keywords... Any suggestions?

 

[Hannah F]

Pop-up Submissions featuring live literary Critiques

I like that - says what it is.

 

[Steve C]

Pop-Up Submissions
Live Online Literary Critiques (for Budding Authors)

 

[CageSage]

Pop-up Submissions for Budding Authors
Pop-up Author Submissions

I worry about using the word 'literary', and maybe 'live' with 'pop-up' (which implies it might happen on the day the sub is rec'd). And shorter is easier to remember and search for, so I like the Author Submissions - good call @Steve C

 

[Steve C]

Pop-up Submissions. Book Critiques from Litopia.com

 

[Jonny]

Pop-up Submissions. Pitch a bestseller

Pop-up Submissions. "Pitch me your bestseller"

Pop-up Submissions. From pitch to bestseller

Pop-up Submissions. From first pitch to bookstore

 

[RK Wallis]

Pop-up Submissions. "Pitch me your bestseller"

I like that, but I like @Steve's "critique too...

When I google, the popular name big Youtubers are using is "first page critiques" or "Literary agent critiques first page." You want to tap into what people are searching and take advantage of the audiences for these Youtubers, who want feedback.

So I think you need "critique" in there...

"Experienced agent critiques 3 pages"? If we distinguish how our critiques are more (the other agent querying are only in their 20s). And we distinguish how we look at more than 1 page...

Just an idea

 

[Hannah F]

I like that, but I like @Steve's "critique too...

When I google, the popular name big Youtubers are using is "first page critiques" or "Literary agent critiques first page." You want to tap into what people are searching and take advantage of the audiences for these Youtubers, who want feedback.

So I think you need "critique" in there...

"Experienced agent critiques 3 pages"? If we distinguish how our critiques are more (the other agent querying are only in their 20s). And we distinguish how we look at more than 1 page...

Just an idea

I watched one of those on iwriterly. She had an agent friend critiquing who had a bell when she wanted the reading to stop. She mostly pressed the bell by the second or third line or, for the slightly luckier, by the second paragraph! Pop-Ups is much more author friendly, but the title does need to be short and snappy.

Pop-up Submissions. Pitch a bestseller

Pop-up Submissions. "Pitch me your bestseller"

Pop-up Submissions. From pitch to bestseller

Pop-up Submissions. From first pitch to bookstore

Dangerous. They might think bestseller is a promise.

 

[Hannah F]

I think "critique" should be in the title because that's what many budding authors are looking for.

I like that, but I like @Steve's "critique too...

When I google, the popular name big Youtubers are using is "first page critiques" or "Literary agent critiques first page." You want to tap into what people are searching and take advantage of the audiences for these Youtubers, who want feedback.

So I think you need "critique" in there...

"Experienced agent critiques 3 pages"? If we distinguish how our critiques are more (the other agent querying are only in their 20s). And we distinguish how we look at more than 1 page...

Just an idea

Can't say "3 pages" because that depends on format.

 

[Hannah F]

I like "Pop-Up Submissions: literary critiques for budding authors".

I don't think you need to dumb down. If "literary critique" puts people off, they're maybe not ready to submit.

 

[RK Wallis]

I watched one of those on iwriterly. She had an agent friend critiquing who had a bell when she wanted the reading to stop. She mostly pressed the bell by the second or third line or, for the slightly luckier, by the second paragraph! Pop-Ups is much more author friendly, but the title does need to be short and snappy.

Yep, I've watched them all, and it was the word "critique" that drew me.

 

[Jonny]

I watched 5 minutes of one, which in all honesty, was dire - BUT- its viewing numbers were good 10K+

 

[RK Wallis]

Iwriterly has 83K subscribers so if we could gain some of those viewers, we'd be set...

 

[AgentPete]

Thank you everyone so much... great ideas here, I'm going to steadily punch all of them into the keyword optimisation tool I've got and see what it comes up with. Thanks again

I watched 5 minutes of one, which in all honesty, was dire - BUT- its viewing numbers were good 10K+

Yes, I must admit it makes me go a bit green to see some of the viewer numbers folk are achieving without actually delivering anything of real value. We try so hard to deliver lots of value (and I'm including the Genius Room in this) and it would be nice to see that recognised in the numbers. That's my aim for this year.