Why we say "hallo" at DraftEd

Hallo! Working as an editor in an academic editing company for over three years can, in may ways, prepare one to become an independent or a freelance editor. With that kind of experience and a bit of editorial education, one can feel confident that they are ready to take on clients on their own. I did not have the luxury of that confidence.

 

I felt I needed to work in more than just one editing company. I felt I needed to work in different environments - different corporate cultures, different clients - and on different editorial projects before I could even think of doing something on my own. I also wanted to educate myself on editing in more depth. Of course, I also had to process my own imposter syndrome.

 

And so after working with Enago as an academic editor, and a few different employers and editorial projects later (more on this in subsequent posts), I took a step into the unknown. I became a small business owner. Yes, being a freelance editor means owning an editing business. And there were no doubts about having Tanvi as the co-founder of that business!

 

The business name was not easy to think of. But after a lot of brainstorming and shortlisting, we picked DraftEd. Writing and editing is an iterative process and can be frustrating. We wanted a name that can convey that a draft is not just something the author has come up with. It's a crucial element of any author-editor relationship, a relationship which is essentially a series of conversations. Writing is a conversation. Editing is a conversation. Without a draft, this conversation wouldn't happen. Et voila, DraftEd, editors of your drafts.

 

Also, it's easier than using my own name. The number of times my name has been misspelt and mispronounced and joked about... Ugh.

Once I had the business name sorted, I started the arduous process of making my website, which quite frankly is still a work in progress.

 

Despite all the revisions, one thing we did stick with is the greeting on our home page. It's "hallo" instead of "hello" and it's deliberate. It's a nod to our son, Kavi (pronounced kuh-vee, not kaa-vee; I'm hoping his name won't be butchered like mine has been over the years).

 

We read a lot of Winnie the Pooh stories aloud for Kavi during pregnancy, and we noticed little bumps and kicks while we read them. In all the stories, Pooh says "hallo" a lot. And it just stuck. It's how we greet Kavi now. We wanted to incorporate that on the website so that Kavi becomes a part of DraftEd too, in his own small way.

 

And that is why, it is and will remain hallo for us. So here we are. Hallo, this is DraftEd Editorial Services. We edit books, scholarly papers, reports, and a host of other things. We work with academic and non-academic clients. We do a bit more than editing - we understand you and your difficulties. We can even cross some language barriers. Most importantly, we help you give shape to your vision. And we help you make your lives a tiny bit easier. Want to know more? Want to work with us? Get in touch, we are well-behaved.