As some of you already know, I’m at the naming stage of getting my fantasy editor biz going, and in that spirit I thought I’d post a few choices I’ve come up with thus far. You’ll see an obvious trend happening, and it’s because specific fantasy-related words do quite well as far as how often they’re searched. Also, I’ve been wisely instructed to be clear, not clever. This means Editor or Editing will likely be in the name, because I can’t think of any clearer words to say what I do. By no means, however, is my list of choices below IT. If you have any ideas, please don’t hold back! I’m sure there are words I haven’t thought of. Your perspective would be great!
Keeping in mind the very interesting conversation about my target market in the comments at my “Fantasy Freak” post a couple of days ago, I have come up with these names so far:
- QuestEditing
- WriteQuest Editing
- MagicMarks Editing
- WordQuest Editing
- SharpSword Editing
- MagicQuest Editing
- Magiquest Editing
- SpellQuest Editing
- PubQuest Editing
- TrollQuest Editing (Er, troll or tromping troll has been my nickname for a few years. Don’t ask. But it has nothing to do with looks.)
Anyone have any inspiration they can pass my way to help? I’d really appreciate it!
MagicMarks Editing – Where dragons are roped and reined, not whipped and chained.
Shawn: I laughed out loud at that one! Thanks!
I am, after all, all about animal welfare, not cruelty!
I haven’t even been thinking about a tagline, yet. Hmmm.
Aardvark Editing
AAA Editing
Is That a Manuscript in Your Pocket Or Are You Just Happy To See Me Editing
Steph’s Editing and Tree Stump Removals
Editing, Editing, Beer Swilling, and Editing
Steph & Ricardo’s Fantasy Island Editing and Little Person Staffing Company
Steph’s Editing & Dragon Extermination Company
Make Me Your Fantasy (editor)
I could go on if for some reason none of these meet your fancy.
Bretthead: I have déja-vu!
Make Me Your Fantasy (Editor) is hilarious!! So is #3. #5 could be very accurate, if I was so inclined to like beer. I try, I really do. Academic editing does very nearly drive me to drink.
How about EDITquest or editQUEST or something like that?
And then put a subtitle below it, something like:
editQUEST
Fantasy Editor – have sword, will travel
And no, you don’t look like a troll!
(I know as I looked at your Flickr stream – I really like “Summer Reading” and “Yard Cop”, though I looked at all of them)
@ Brett: Glad you liked the photos. Tons more but I haven’t uploaded them. “Summer Reading” is one of my very favourites, too.
Oooo, I like the “have sword will travel”! Makes me think of travelling to distant storylands…and of course, the pen as sword suggestion also works.
I also like your suggestion of putting “edit” in front. I’ll add it to my list and consider the caps as well!
editQUEST
Fantasy Editor – have sword, will travel — I’m likin’ it!
Thank you! Thank you, everyone, for your ideas so far! This is so much fun for me, and I’m glad you’re getting involved. It helps to be inspired by others!
EditQuest is a ringer. Love that. Taglines are great too, you’ll have fun thinking up those.
Keep in mind that a domain/business name should be short and snappy. Three syllables is best. Four is okay. By five, you’d better have a damned good name to deserve it. Six? Out.
@ James: Wondered what you thought about Brett’s suggestion. I love it. The whole thing, tagline and all.
Does it work on the SEO side of things, or whatever? Will I be “relevant,” according to Google, and all that stuff?
LavenderQuest Editing
Uh oh. Guess I’m still stuck.
Beth: AHAHAHAHA!!
Go eat some mangled bread with strawberry preserves, why don’t you? Might help.
EditQuest actually has my vote.
Unless you really, really like LavenderQuest.
It has a ring as well, yes?
Guess not.
Beth, we’ll get you using Lavender at some point, I know it! It does have a ring, just not the right tone for fantasy editing!
Cool, we’re getting some EditQuesters! My hubby is meh on it, but it’s because he’s very practical and serious. But I like EditQuest. And the tagline, too.
My one worry is that people would search for editor rather than edit. And those searching for quest aren’t typically looking for an editor.
I don’t know. Do those things matter?
Thought Wizard
Story Master
Saga Quest
Gate Keeper Editing
The Free Lancer
The Writing Castle
Thunder Fruck
(Just throwing around some random words here, to help you brainstorm).
Actually, I’m half-wasted right now (Brett was just over, and we pounded back a few pints!)
- Friar
@Friar: Ahahahahaha! You’re half wasted? Too funny!! Okay, and that is the biggest compliment that even when you’re wasted you visit me AND come up with names…
Thunder Fruck?!
Have to be honest – I’m not sure about EditQuest. I don’t like the conjunction of the T and the Q in the middle; slightly awkward to pronounce correctly, with all the consonants in the right place. But maybe that’s just my British received pronunciation.
I prefer SpellQuest, although I can see how you’d want to keep the word ‘edit’ (or ‘editor’) in there. And as for taglines – I keep coming back to something along the lines of “The red pen is mightier than the sword” (with apologies to Edward Bulwer-Lytton).
Hawthorn: It’s quite all right not to like EditQuest! I appreciate your honesty! I want it.
It’s interesting about the pronunciation, actually, and I too wonder if it might have to do with your British pronunciation (not that that’s a fault, English is one of my very fave accents!!) because it doesn’t bother me. In fact, that might even be why I like it, the sound of it!
I have played around with a tagline just like yours, but since it’s fantasy writing, I don’t want to imply that the sword sucks in any way, or is lesser! Also, if the red pen is mightier than the sword (takes precedence over their story), does that mean I’m going to be marking the hell out of their stories? It makes me think of this one prof I had. She left no white space on my papers and I finally had to confront her about it, at least to tell her I’d prefer if she discussed things with me than mark up with so much red. It made me cry!!
The last thing I want to do is intimidate, you know what I mean?
Thank you for your suggestions. I love the discussion and being forced to really deliberate over this! What I do like about your tagline suggestion is that it thwarts convention.
I see your point – and I had a tutor at University like that, too. Except my subject back then was Maths, and he just used to cross out huge chunks of calculation or proof. I changed subject shortly after.
Maybe, since it’s fantasy you’re aiming at, you could use quills, scrolls, parchments etc rather than pens in your tagline. Just, for heavens’ sake, don’t put a picture of a large-breasted scantily-clad warrior woman on your homepage. Otherwise I might have to call the Cliche Police…
Hawthorn: what do you mean? I was totally going for the ginormous-breasted scantily-clad warrior!! I was going to have not one but several, all over the banner. And maybe a few on the sidelines, swinging their loin cloths…
Just kidding! (I’ve always wondered about that. The worst battles with the most evil demons: hmmm, let’s not wear much at all. No danger there! Never mind practicality: let’s go for sex appeal!)
Oy, math. My worst and most feared subject.
@steph et al,
Glad you liked EditQuest (and variations of capitals / lower case), I thought it was neat.
And by the same token, Hawthorn has a point also – and I like the idea of quills.
@ Brett: I do too. Colin keeps mentioning stuff like that, and scrolls. My only reservation would be if it’s in the domain name how well searched that would be.
But all these things can certainly be worked into the text of the site, too!
@ Steph
Just in case, here are some names you SHOULDN’T PICK:
Elf Piss Wordsmithing
Dragon Pellets Industries
Nounz R Us
Thoughts and Snots
Fog Duckers Editing
The Shittery
…….
(Sorry, it’s just Friday afternoon…I’m LOSIN’ it here!)
Friar: again with the laughs!! While you’re losing it at work, I’ve spent the day howling!
Dragon Pellets?! The Shittery? (I can’t take that one. Isn’t this the Widget Factory’s nickname?)
These names are hilarious!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!
@Steph
Oh, no, I would NEVER MAKE FUN of the Widget Factory.
I LOVE MY JOB. I LOVE THE COMPANY. I LOVE THE LEADERS who run the place.
(In case Uncle Big Brother is listening)
Friar: You’re supposed to keep out that last sentence!! If they are listening, they’ll know you’re lying!!
Uh-oh.
Doubleplus Un-good
If I behave, maybe my chocolate rations will increase to 25 grams a week.
Have you seen that Simpsons episode where they end up in a Big Brother sort of facility (I think Flanders is Big Brother), and the all end up getting lobotomies? I think it’s a Halloween one. Anyway, that’s what you just reminded me of!
mmm…chocolate…
HAHAHAH
Yeah, I saw that one. They’re all forced to wear stupid green Flanders sweaters. Moe talks to his brain in a jar!
Brett and I watched 1984 a few months ago (over beers). It’s amazing the parallels between movie and “some” work places I know!
No kidding!! Orwell was a visionary!