RIP Genius Room… What’s Next? You Decide!

[AgentPete]

Note… this is not an ordinary thread… you can post your thoughts, comments and suggestions in the usual way, but in addition you can also upvote or downvote other folks’ suggestions. So if you like someone else’s suggestion… click on the upvote arrow… and vice versa.

It’s official – we’re no longer calling Pop-Up Submission’s Genius Room the Genius Room.

Not that its denizens are any less intelligent. It’s just that, likie most authors, they’re kinda shy and don’t like vaunting their acuity.

So… what shall we now call the-room-formerly-known-as-Genius?

Over to you…!

 

[Mel L]

The Literati?

 

[AgentPete]

Build the mental image of a pub. The kind of pub Pete would have in brick and mortar if he had the chance. Just say the Pub, but give it new names as inspired. "The Book and Worm." "The Big Head." "The Published Publican" And in the pub are the beta readers. The Blushing Betas.

Pub does hint at publish.

See, the sensible side of me (yeah, there is one sometimes) says we should go with "The Litopians". It's clean, simple, on brand, and does the job.
The other part of me says... mmm... pub names...!

 

[Pamela Jo]

See, the sensible side of me (yeah, there is one sometimes) says we should go with "The Litopians". It's clean, simple, on brand, and does the job.
The other part of me says... mmm... pub names...!

Do you want boring, staid submitters? What kind of clientele do yu want at your pub? I appreciate yu wanting our opinions but Litopia is your creative mind. I enjoy watching it come out and play.

 

[AgentPete]

Do you want boring, staid submitters? What kind of clientele do yu want at your pub? I appreciate yu wanting our opinions but Litopia is your creative mind. I enjoy watching it come out and play.

I don't want to scare anyone away
[Tongue-out-of-cheek-mode] Never forget how risky / dangerous it feels, esp for a first-timer, to show their work in public, especially on YouTube… Calling it “The Slaughtered Lamb” might possibly not set quite the right vibe…
(anyone get the reference…?)

 

[Eva Ulian]

"Litopian Laboratory Room" which can easily be referred to as the "Lab Room". Labotory, I think gives a more rounded feeling of being "worked" at, than Crit. Tank gives a sense of "waste", "sewerage" ... we do want to keep our dignity, don't we?

 

[Hannah F]

The Pick and Shovel. (Only joking).

 

[Hannah F]

The chatter Box

 

[Hannah F]

The Unravellers

 

[Hannah F]

The cookie bar

 

[Katie-Ellen]

The members are Litopia's very own resident think tank of readers and writers. Lots of fun and witty ideas here, and Lounge or Chat room is just fine, though perhaps a little laid back, not so much singularly task focused, which Pop-Ups very much is.

Lab...yes, we're analyzing, for sure, but we're responding, not editing, and so not experimenting as such. Lab conveys team effort. Pop-Ups works as a team; Peter, panel and Litopians, and on that basis 'Lab' would work very well. But for the submitting writer, the furrow is ploughed alone, at least until an editor takes it on for publication. Pop-Ups is a collaborative feedback and reviewing exercise but not a writing workshop.

Pub names; ingenious suggestions. (The Slaughtered Lamb. Peter is being naughtyyyy) The Pen and Ink? It probably is a real pub name somewhere (funny how 'The Laptop'' just wouldn't cut it the same way.)

'The Writers Room'. Or- lacking the auditory alliteration- just 'The Think Tank' is a mighty dull, prosaic suggestion in comparison with these far more inventive ideas. Businesslike, simple (pedestrian, yes, dull, staid)

But this is a serious and possibly anxious experience for the writers submitting, and keeping it simple/boring keeps the focus of gravitas and respect for their public exposure, and the creative limelight firmly fixed on them.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Genius Room worked. Did anyone outside of Litopia object? Did anyone take the title without a grain of salt? Did anyone demand to see our IQ tests? Does anyone outside of Litopia care?

Make up a new name, but why? No hook. No story. Tag line with nothing attached. What is our goal? Wider recognition of Litopia as a writers' resource? Then let's turn our focus outward and give up navel gazing.

 

[Brooke]

Genius Room worked. Did anyone outside of Litopia object? Did anyone take the title without a grain of salt? Did anyone demand to see our IQ tests? Does anyone outside of Litopia care?

Make up a new name, but why? No hook. No story. Tag line with nothing attached. What is our goal? Wider recognition of Litopia as a writers' resource? Then let's turn our focus outward and give up navel gazing.

i definitely agree with what you're saying here, peyton. there's nothing really wrong with "genius room" unless you're a newcomer with social anxiety who doesn't want to call themself a genius (which, okay, might have been the reason i've tiptoed around it myself).
but there are also better names out there than "the genius room," and i think it's great that we have a chance to switch to one of those better names now. something warmer and friendlier (and maybe alluding to the actual point of the event) would be great! personally, i'm on board with the idea of giving it a pub vibe-- with "pub" being short for "publishing," of course . i've no ideas myself, but there are a lot of great possible names in this thread already!

 

[RK Wallis]

See, the sensible side of me (yeah, there is one sometimes) says we should go with "The Litopians". It's clean, simple, on brand, and does the job.
The other part of me says... mmm... pub names...!

What about 'the Litopian nook'? like a 'book nook.' It invokes a cosy feeling and writers/readers shouldn't feel daunted by the name.

 

[Pamela Jo]

Peyton hit on the perfect solution. The Ingenious Room and the Ingenues.

If we want to be really accurate - Popups offers Beta readers. A room full of juicy, luscious beta readers to try ideas on. Not critics. That is an important distinction.
Popups also gives writers a clear understanding of:
A. Why it is so very important to research and submit to the right agent or publisher.
B. Why it's necessary to know your reader and the market.
C. Why you never start with your MC waking up or looking in a mirror.

Pub Name: Planet Beta

 

[Eva Ulian]

The Literati?

People who felt ill at ease with being called a "genius" will feel the same with "Literati" - some people can't handle it, because perhaps they do think they really are geniuses or literatis. It's like when someone is being praised and instead of saying thank you, they say "it was nothing - I don't deserve it". The rest of us know full well we're not flabbing geniuses that's why we like the name.

 

[Mel L]

Seriously, the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to not search for the pub name but stick with something that reflects the value to those submitting.
While I agree with @Peyton Stafford that the Genius Room was perfectly fine (given that no one took that seriously), if we are going to change the name I would align with @Pamela Jo 's suggestion: 'The Beta Room'.
I think the idea of a 'room' where we are all hanging out off-stage, like a green room, makes it fun and brings the show to life. Beta reading is the value we bring to the authors' submissions. Hot off the press reactions to what we are hearing/reading live. Plus, every writer knows they need betas. So the name really says it all!

 

[Eva Ulian]

Seriously, the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to not search for the pub name but stick with something that reflects the value to those submitting.
While I agree with @Peyton Stafford that the Genius Room was perfectly fine (given that no one took that seriously), if we are going to change the name I would align with @Pamela Jo 's suggestion: 'The Beta Room'.
I think the idea of a 'room' where we are all hanging out off-stage, like a green room, makes it fun and brings the show to life. Beta reading is the value we bring to the authors' submissions. Hot off the press reactions to what we are hearing/reading live. Plus, every writer knows they need betas. So the name really says it all!

I don't know Mel. Having to revert to the dull "Beta Room" after the sparkling "Genius room", makes me feel all hollow inside- yek

 

[Mel L]

I don't know Mel. Having to revert to the dull "Beta Room" after the sparkling "Genius room", makes me feel all hollow inside- yek

Yes but as @Katie-Ellen points out above, it is not about us sparkling wits of ex-genii fame but those who are submitting. Keeping it simple if dull lets them know it's not all just quips and giggles.

 

[Eva Ulian]

Yes but as @Katie-Ellen points out above, it is not about us sparkling wits of ex-genii fame but those who are submitting. Keeping it simple if dull lets them know it's not all just quips and giggles.

True. But I also think that the word "genius" piqued viewers and authors submitting - would "Beta" have a similar pull? Also, Beta may give the impression all that is said is written on stone and fatal - whereas Genius can be taken with a pinch of salt and less imposing.

 

[AgentPete]

Let's go with the Litopians. If I get a bit itchy after a time, I may be tempted to go the pub route, maybe even changing the name each week.

That's the funny thing about the net, it’s incredibly transient. Things that are bright and shiny today seem dull and lacklustre tomorrow. It requires constant reinvention just to appear interesting. Ugh.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Litopians is good. It is to the point. It is businesslike, rolling up the sleeves. It's staying 'on brand' and it has gravitas.

 

[MattScho]

The Nightmare Closet, just to be fun

 

[LA Thomas]

Litopia Librarians?

 

[ChandlerJules]

LitCatCritiques

 

[ChandlerJules]

LitCat Corner

 

[ChandlerJules]

Popup Reader Reviews

 

[ChandlerJules]

LitCat Crew

 

[Eva Ulian]

Yeah.... "Litopians" sounded lush today on Pop-Ups

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Peyton hit on the perfect solution. The Ingenious Room and the Ingenues.

If we want to be really accurate - Popups offers Beta readers. A room full of juicy, luscious beta readers to try ideas on. Not critics. That is an important distinction.
Popups also gives writers a clear understanding of:
A. Why it is so very important to research and submit to the right agent or publisher.
B. Why it's necessary to know your reader and the market.
C. Why you never start with your MC waking up or looking in a mirror.

Pub Name: Planet Beta

Sorry, but Planet Beta sounds like a science fiction story set in a world without alphas.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

See, the sensible side of me (yeah, there is one sometimes) says we should go with "The Litopians". It's clean, simple, on brand, and does the job.
The other part of me says... mmm... pub names...!

Litopians in perfect, at least for now. And it sounded good on today's show.