Thursday, February 9, 2012

What's in a Name?

I don't think you guys know how much I really love this blog. I don't even think I really knew until right now.

In case you missed the hub-bub, last night I discovered there's a blog tour company that uses the Red Hot Book name. And I freaked out. My blog name isn't trademarked. But I am Red Hot Books. As the only person who posts or reviews on the blog, every single thing you see with the name "Red Hot Books" comes from me. Not only on the blog, but on Facebook, Amazon, Goodreads and Twitter. But with my discovery, I realized there was suddenly something out there under the Red Hot Book moniker that WASN'T me. And I had no control over it at all. And it scared me.

I sent an email to the Info section of the tour site just before midnight, then tossed and turned over it for most of the night. I woke up and checked my email. I came to work and checked my email again. I hit Twitter, knowing my blogging buddies would make me feel better, and they did. Then I posted here and got even more support. You guys are awesome.

So I need to tell you now that the issue is being resolved. The woman who launched the tour company has graciously agreed to change the name. Which she didn't have to do... which was part of why I was so freaked out. She didn't have to do it. In fact, it puts her out quite a bit to change her name, her graphics and the things affiliated with her tour business. But she is doing it, because I asked her to.

I don't know what the new name of the book tour company will be, but I hope that my drama doesn't stop you from working with her, if you were already so inclined. Starting and running your own business is tough enough. I would never want to interfere with someone's livelihood, especially someone who is working to accommodate me. I wish her nothing but success and I truly apologize if I caused her or her business any harm.

Anyway, this whole experience has really hit home for me what this blog --and all of you-- mean to me. Thank you for visiting, posting, tweeting and chatting with me every day. Thank you for being people with whom I can share my love of books and sexy men. Thank you for supporting Red Hot Books. I love you.

Labels: ,

13 Comments:

At Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 3:34:00 PM CST , Blogger miki said...

I'm really happy for you and also for her because that shows that she is a good person and i don't think it will harm her job quite the opposite

i'm really happy

 
At Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 4:19:00 PM CST , Anonymous Anonymous said...

That was really nice of her and I totally understand where you're coming from. My blog is something important to me. I put a lot of hours into it and I'd have the same reaction you did if I found someone else using its name. I'm glad you had a happy ending to all of this!!

 
At Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 4:20:00 PM CST , Blogger Jen at Red Hot Books said...

Me too. Thanks Miki!

 
At Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 4:22:00 PM CST , Blogger Jen at Red Hot Books said...

I am too. I hope it turns out ok for her as well.

 
At Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 7:36:00 PM CST , Blogger Avadonja said...

That was really accommodating of her. I wonder if there's a commonlaw-esque version of tm simply from usage over a certain period of time. I grew up hating my first name. I was in my 20's before I realized it suited me because I defined it, it didn't define me.
Glad everything worked out for you.

 
At Friday, February 10, 2012 at 12:48:00 AM CST , Blogger Kaetrin said...

Excellent news for you and kudos to the lady who changed her business name. :)

 
At Friday, February 10, 2012 at 1:48:00 AM CST , Blogger Lauren B said...

What a difficult experiennce but I think you handled it very well and it is truly gracious of the blog tour site to change the name.

Well done and I'm glad it has sorted itself out.

 
At Friday, February 10, 2012 at 11:06:00 AM CST , Blogger Jen at Red Hot Books said...

It's a lovely name!!

I don't think there is anything legally that gives me any power over the use of my blog name, which is really scary when I think about how much I have invested in it. And it makes me even more appreciative of the fact that she was willing to make the changes anyway.

 
At Friday, February 10, 2012 at 11:09:00 AM CST , Blogger Jen at Red Hot Books said...

Thank you. Me too!

 
At Friday, February 10, 2012 at 3:53:00 PM CST , Blogger Sophia Rose said...

That was awesome kind of her and I'm glad it worked out for you.

 
At Monday, February 13, 2012 at 8:29:00 AM CST , Blogger The_Book_Queen said...

I'm so glad that things worked out well for you--and for the woman with the tour company.

Reading your post got me to thinking--and so I naturally started googling and binging away with my blog name and my username....

Turns out there are about three or four others using 'The Book Queen' or some variation of it (such as one, Ms. Book Queen). Kind of made me mad, as all of them were started AFTER mine. But as I don't know any of them, and I don't wish to start any problems, I won't bring it up...At this point. If it becomes an issue later on, I will. Becuase I've been working for YEARS to turn TBQ into a book lover and reviewer that many sites and people know (and I don't mean to sound arrogant in anyway!).

I know many would say tha perhaps TBQ is not a very original name to come up with, so why such a big deal, but to me, it is (or was) original when I started it back in 2006, and it means a lot to me. It's who I am, more so, I think, than my given name, which I don't use online outside of talking to close friends.

It's a big deal to me when I've had a review or two quoted in print under The_Book_Queen. I'd prefer not to have others thinking that it is some other blogger.

Okay, that's my little rant for the week! LOL. Maybe even the month! Sorry for taking up so much time and space here. Really, all I started out trying to say was "Glad it worked out for you" and "It's kind of happened to me as well". :)

Enjoy!
TBQ

 
At Monday, February 13, 2012 at 3:19:00 PM CST , Blogger Jen at Red Hot Books said...

First of all, you can take up all the space you like... I won't complain!

I understand how you feel. It's scary and frustrating to know how little we can control the names we have nurtured with our whole hearts. I'm sorry you are going through this. Are they new blogs? Maybe they would be amenable to making a change. People can surprise you! If not, I'm sending hugs and sympathy your way. :(

 
At Monday, February 13, 2012 at 10:07:00 PM CST , Blogger Twimom227 said...

WOW! I can only imagine the tossing and turning. I'm glad it all worked out!

 

Post a Comment

This is an award free zone. But your comments are welcomed and appreciated!

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home