I have some news about Pop-Ups that is a bit sad. Finally, after spending much time and thought on how the format might be developed and adapted, I’ve come to the conclusion that for the moment, we should put the show on indefinite hiatus.
Pop-Ups has evolved hugely throughout its existence. I can’t quite believe we started the show five years ago! To be frank, I don’t like to look back too far: the early stuff was (ahem) rough… actually, very rough
The show has changed enormously – I’d like to think, it’s improved enormously – as we’ve gone along. A major milestone occurred when we succeeded in getting a team of very talented Litopians together to record always-impressive narrations… THANK YOU, Emily and every narrator. You were and are a total class act.
Huge thanks, too, to Kate and Rachel for all your hard and productive work in discovering and booking so many great guests.
Pop-Ups was and is a collaborative effort, not least by virtue of the folk in the Litopia Lounge and their perceptive and frequently hilarious live comments. I think we’ve all had a pretty good time doing it, and that was always part of the plan.
On the down side, a show like Pop-Ups is never going to build a large audience. We struggled to get more than a few thousand viewers, tiny in YouTube’s universe. If you look at other “book” type videos, you’ll find that’s pretty typical. Only a few manage to break through.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking very hard about alternative formatting that would retain the essence of Pop-Ups but make it more likely for “general viewers” to pick up and stay with. I think some of the alternative formats came pretty close – and elements of them may well be used at some point in the future.
Judging by their comments, we’ve helped a lot of authors over the years to develop their work into a more compelling proposition, sometimes leading to publication. And we’ve also given Litopians an insight from the other side of the desk: when you see a submission from the point of vciew of an agent or publisher, it’s often an eye-opening experience.
What I’ll miss most, though, is the great company of the chat room / Genius Room / Litopia Lounge. My Sundays have a Litopia Lounge hole in them now, and nothing can replace that.
I’d like to feel that whatever video events we might do in the future, there will be a central place for the Genius Room.
The upside is that I now have more time to spend on core Litopia activities. The first Huddle South happened yesterday and was an unqualified success. It will be going monthly initially, and may even go weekly as the demand builds. Also, I have a ton of essential Litopia video seminars that are just waiting for me to have time to record and produce.
Again, I want to give everyone involved in Pop-Ups over the years a huge virtual hug. The shows will remain on YouTube as a testament to your great talent, your unfailing good humour and your great camaraderie. This is just the end of one chapter, the book is still being written!
p.
Pop-Ups has evolved hugely throughout its existence. I can’t quite believe we started the show five years ago! To be frank, I don’t like to look back too far: the early stuff was (ahem) rough… actually, very rough
The show has changed enormously – I’d like to think, it’s improved enormously – as we’ve gone along. A major milestone occurred when we succeeded in getting a team of very talented Litopians together to record always-impressive narrations… THANK YOU, Emily and every narrator. You were and are a total class act.
Huge thanks, too, to Kate and Rachel for all your hard and productive work in discovering and booking so many great guests.
Pop-Ups was and is a collaborative effort, not least by virtue of the folk in the Litopia Lounge and their perceptive and frequently hilarious live comments. I think we’ve all had a pretty good time doing it, and that was always part of the plan.
On the down side, a show like Pop-Ups is never going to build a large audience. We struggled to get more than a few thousand viewers, tiny in YouTube’s universe. If you look at other “book” type videos, you’ll find that’s pretty typical. Only a few manage to break through.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking very hard about alternative formatting that would retain the essence of Pop-Ups but make it more likely for “general viewers” to pick up and stay with. I think some of the alternative formats came pretty close – and elements of them may well be used at some point in the future.
Judging by their comments, we’ve helped a lot of authors over the years to develop their work into a more compelling proposition, sometimes leading to publication. And we’ve also given Litopians an insight from the other side of the desk: when you see a submission from the point of vciew of an agent or publisher, it’s often an eye-opening experience.
What I’ll miss most, though, is the great company of the chat room / Genius Room / Litopia Lounge. My Sundays have a Litopia Lounge hole in them now, and nothing can replace that.
I’d like to feel that whatever video events we might do in the future, there will be a central place for the Genius Room.
The upside is that I now have more time to spend on core Litopia activities. The first Huddle South happened yesterday and was an unqualified success. It will be going monthly initially, and may even go weekly as the demand builds. Also, I have a ton of essential Litopia video seminars that are just waiting for me to have time to record and produce.
Again, I want to give everyone involved in Pop-Ups over the years a huge virtual hug. The shows will remain on YouTube as a testament to your great talent, your unfailing good humour and your great camaraderie. This is just the end of one chapter, the book is still being written!
p.
