The Sharks Are Circling

Here’s a little heads up for those of you thinking of starting a freelance business or who are in the process. Once you get your business registered with the state and federal government, they will sell your information faster than you can blink, and it can lead to some confusing and potentially expensive junk mail disguised as important invoices. But let’s back up a little.

I intended to register my business with a PO Box address, because I work out of my home and didn’t want to have my home address floating around. Unfortunately, the government registration process requires a physical address for your business. I dutifully filled out all my information thinking “If I provide a mailing address, that will the one the government will use (and sell, rent, trade, list or whatever else they’ve done with it). Not so surprisingly, my home mailbox was almost immediately flooded with offers for business banking, supplies, tax services, etc.

While this was annoying, it wasn’t worrisome until I trademarked my logo and business name. That was when the real sharks started to smell blood and almost got me to part with some hard-earned (and too scarce) cash. I started receiving very official-looking documents with important-sounding titles, like “Registration of the International Trademark Renewal” (that’s one I just received yesterday). These documents are setup like an invoice with an amount due, a due date, and a claim that this money is needed to register your trademark in a particular country or database.

What kept me from just sending in a check to “protect my business” was the outrageous amount they demanded, which was far more than registering the trademark with the government had cost (the one I received yesterday asked for $2,327 USD). When I received the first one of these, my heart about stopped, and I frantically searched the front and back of the document for the fine print. It was well hidden, but all of these “invoices” have a little clause that explains this is actually an offer not a bill.

The moral of the story is learn from my panic attack, and don’t let these sharks scare you or get any of your business’s cash. If you receive these offers, just tear them up. If you’re are worried about trademarking or registering your business, and the business is in the US, go to the US Patent and Trademark Office’s site for info (USPTO.gov).

Changes at The Reading Panda

Hey everyone,

So it is probably pretty obvious to most of you that regular book reviews just aren't happening at The Reading Panda right now. There is a reason for this, and I’ll let you decide whether or not it is a good one.

I may have shared this already, but a little over seven months ago, I made the move to freelancing full time as an editor. While I am beyond excited to be pursuing a career I’ve dreamed about for ages, now that I dedicate all my time to reading, critiquing, and providing feedback, when I sit down and read a book I’m not editing, I just want to read and enjoy it, not pick it apart. So, I’ve been less than motivated to put up reviews.

I am, however, still a great lover of books and all things writing, and I love talking about the craziness that this freelance life is turning out to be. To that end, I think The Reading Panda blog is going to morph into more of a conversational blog about the freelance experience, editing, writing tips (when I have ’em), and books—because even if I’m not reviewing them, I still find books exciting and want to talk about them.

I hope some of you will find this journey interesting and maybe even helpful if you’re considering taking the freelance leap. If not, writing this all out will probably be somewhat therapeutic for me, because let’s face it, I can’t afford to go to therapy now that I’m freelancing.