Choosing a name is not that simple. I remember choosing names for my children … and how fraught that was … we wanted to get the right names that suited them. Choosing a name for the publishing house has been just as difficult. I wanted to get the right name too.
There are trials and tribulations to choosing a name for a company, a website, a book title, a character in the book. It is such a personal thing, but it’s also pubic as it will be in the public eye for anyone to see.
The title of my book has just been finalised. It has been through so many different iterations. Something snappy I said. What about a question? No! A cryptic sentence? Something humorous?
But final title is simple and says just what the book is about. Nothing flashy or humorous or clever. Not at all what I’d intended, but simple is sometimes not a bad thing. The title and book cover will be revealed soon!
What about the website? A publishing imprint? The logo?
I was told that I must have an author website. Should it be my own name? But I decided that I’d not go this way. The books will publicise my name as author, anyway. Books offered will not only be published by me but by others too.
The website and the publishing imprint I decided would have the same name. One does not have to have a publishing imprint, but it provides a professional look. I searched the internet for domain names and many that I wanted were already taken. I went backwards and forwards asking myself … why not my own name? The reason that I didn’t choose my it is because the publishing company will be available for my children, for my siblings, for my nephews and nieces. Many of them are professionals. Many of them write or tell me that they dabble. One day they may want to produce a book and I hope this publishing company will be a vehicle to encourage them to share their work.
One of my brother’s passed away earlier this year. I wanted to pay tribute to him by naming the publishing company after him. He shared some of his poems and versus with me many years ago. He wrote beautifully. His affectionate name for many of the family was ‘bub’ so I thought I’d find a name with those three letters. I searched domain names but, sadly, too many had those letters. I tried many variations of the letters, but it didn’t sit well. I tried variations of my initials “ceegee”, “geecee”, and others, but no, there are already ceegees …
I put it ‘out there’ to the family and we voted. My Mum and Dad ran a boarding house which they called HilFran House. A blend of their names – Hilda and Francis. Years after the boarding house closed, the name stuck and many of their friends referred to my parents as HilFran. It sat well with me. It sat well as a domain name.
Hence the name HilFran Publishing was born.
Postmodern Jukebox – Mr Postman
And so for now … Hasta la vista!
Cecily
Feature image by Ylanite Koppens from Pexels
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