My name is Teresa Thomas Bohannon.
Sixteen years ago I was a divorced mother of two who had managed to support herself and her two young sons by working at a homeshopping cable tv station, selling gemstones and jewelry. In those days I was known as the Queen of the Gemstone Dungeon because when I wasn't on the air, I spent my time locked up in the Vault room which was full of huge bank style safes which were filled with gemstones, rare coins and jewelry. It was my off air job to made sure that our customers received the exact item they purchased and also to make sure that any returns were not lesser quality substitutes. Then one day I (along with everyone else who worked there and made over minimum wage) suddenly lost my job.
Sixteen years ago I was a divorced mother of two who had managed to support herself and her two young sons by working at a homeshopping cable tv station, selling gemstones and jewelry. In those days I was known as the Queen of the Gemstone Dungeon because when I wasn't on the air, I spent my time locked up in the Vault room which was full of huge bank style safes which were filled with gemstones, rare coins and jewelry. It was my off air job to made sure that our customers received the exact item they purchased and also to make sure that any returns were not lesser quality substitutes. Then one day I (along with everyone else who worked there and made over minimum wage) suddenly lost my job.
I had been a computer nerd since 1985 when my mom purchased me a Tandy 1000 computer to replace the old typewriter I used for writing my stories. Anyway, making the transition from the old computer bulletin boards to the new-fangled internet was a pretty-much a snap for me, and so I started my online business in November of 1995 with a little help from a HTML for Dummies book as an out of work, divorced mom with two young sons and no child support.
I named my company Spun Silk Web Design and explained the name by paraphrasing Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz...
"Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...Oh My...
Spiders, and Webs and Silks...Oh My"
Spiders, and Webs and Silks...Oh My"
After all, the Internet was, especially in those days, in many ways not unlike the mythical Land of Oz, a strange and wondrous place filled with strange and wondrous sights...a place of beauty and adventure where good and evil abode. A place where chaos occasionally reigned supreme, and hopefully a place from which we would all return safely and somewhat wiser for the experience. But all paraphrasing aside the Land of Oz was not really what I had in mind when I decided upon Spun Silk Web Design as the name for my company.
So, if not because spiders, webs and silks all seem to fit together, or because of any nebulous parallels between Oz and the Internet, then why Spun Silk? The answer was and is really quite simple. Silk, (and spider silk in particular) despite it's beautiful, delicate, often artistic appearance is the strongest natural fiber known....and like silk, Spun Silk Web Design has endured throughout the years since--although to be perfectly honest, not as my primary source of income.
So why am I here today? Well, because last year I decided that I need to revitalize my aging business and see what all the "new" new-fangled fuss was about. I quickly figured out one thing, the players may have changed, and the available technology is a dream come true compared to what I was used to working with, but the rules of Internet Marketing are still pretty much the same. So since I've been there, done that and worn the T-Shirt out now I want to help other men and women make their dreams come true and build a business network of people working together to help each other....
That's it, pure and simple, and the best way to do that is to give others with dreams of owning their own business a hand up by using the experience and the expertise I've developed over the past ten years to provide them with honest, easily affordable opportunities and the ongoing support they need to succeed.
So here I am, and here you are. There's strength in numbers, so I hope you'll decide to join me and if not I wish you the best of luck anyway and sincerely welcome you to this wondrous place. I hope you learn to love it as much as I do; and, of course, that you find your way safely home again.
***
So what in the world does that have to do with why we are here today; because in late 2010, I decided to enter the world of independent publishing--and I started with the very first book I ever wrote, my beloved Regency Romance, A Very Merry Chase. And that, as it turns out, was the easy part! The real work, it seems, is not really in writing or editing--at least not if you've already been doing it, more or less, for 35 years--the real work, as it turns out, is actually in promoting the books.
Now this part wasn't quite a difficult for me as it was for some other people out there, because I have been working online for over 15 years now. However, it did mean that I had to figure out how to put all of the skills I had learned over the years working online to good use as a book promoter. And that, is why I am here today. I decided that as long as I was going to have to jump through dozens of hoops, and spend hours of perfectly good writing time promoting my book, I might as well help some other authors--particularly women authors--along the way.
And so there you have it. MyLadyWeb, which was originally dedicated to women's business and women's history is now transformed into a haven for writers who want to promote their books, with a bit of women's history tossed into the mix for fun and wisdom. So, here at MyLadyWeb.Com I'll freely share what I've learned and invite other women authors and professional book promoters and reviewers to do so as well. I'll also offer complimentary interviews and other tools to help newly fledged and aspiring authors to promote their books online. Plus there will be the opportunity for guest reviews--because I'm too soft-hearted to ever review books myself :) And as time passes, I'm sure there will be other additions and innovations. So, come along with us for the ride and enjoy!
A Very Merry Chase on Amazon
A Very Merry Chase on Barnes and Noble
Smiles and Good Fortune,
***
So what in the world does that have to do with why we are here today; because in late 2010, I decided to enter the world of independent publishing--and I started with the very first book I ever wrote, my beloved Regency Romance, A Very Merry Chase. And that, as it turns out, was the easy part! The real work, it seems, is not really in writing or editing--at least not if you've already been doing it, more or less, for 35 years--the real work, as it turns out, is actually in promoting the books.
Now this part wasn't quite a difficult for me as it was for some other people out there, because I have been working online for over 15 years now. However, it did mean that I had to figure out how to put all of the skills I had learned over the years working online to good use as a book promoter. And that, is why I am here today. I decided that as long as I was going to have to jump through dozens of hoops, and spend hours of perfectly good writing time promoting my book, I might as well help some other authors--particularly women authors--along the way.
And so there you have it. MyLadyWeb, which was originally dedicated to women's business and women's history is now transformed into a haven for writers who want to promote their books, with a bit of women's history tossed into the mix for fun and wisdom. So, here at MyLadyWeb.Com I'll freely share what I've learned and invite other women authors and professional book promoters and reviewers to do so as well. I'll also offer complimentary interviews and other tools to help newly fledged and aspiring authors to promote their books online. Plus there will be the opportunity for guest reviews--because I'm too soft-hearted to ever review books myself :) And as time passes, I'm sure there will be other additions and innovations. So, come along with us for the ride and enjoy!
A Very Merry Chase on Amazon
A Very Merry Chase on Barnes and Noble
Smiles and Good Fortune,
Teresa
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It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent.
– W. Somerset Maugham (1874 ? 1965) Of Human Bondage, 1915It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent.
