• Home
  • About
  • My Books
    • These Boys Are Killing Me: Travels and Travails With Sons Who Take Risks
    • Afterlife in Harlem
    • Sugar Hill: Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem
  • Reviews By Terry
  • Blog
    • Audio/Video Interviews
  • Events
  • Contact
[email protected]
Terry Baker Mulligan Terry Baker Mulligan Terry Baker Mulligan Terry Baker Mulligan
  • Home
  • About
  • My Books
    • These Boys Are Killing Me: Travels and Travails With Sons Who Take Risks
    • Afterlife in Harlem
    • Sugar Hill: Where the Sun Rose Over Harlem
  • Reviews By Terry
  • Blog
    • Audio/Video Interviews
  • Events
  • Contact

Choosing Your Author Name Should be a No-Brainer, Right? Not Necessarily

Oct 30, 2011 |

I wonder how many other writers struggle with their author name. My book documents Sugar Hill, Harlem during the doo-wop era, when stickball reigned, the Apollo was the hottest ticket in town, and I was a skinny kid named Jeanie Baker. In the public school system, proper etiquette meant first names only, so from 8:30 to 3 o’clock, I became Theresa Baker. Having two names was cool. Then, in the 1960s, while I was at college, America shrugged off all vestiges of the formal ‘50s and suddenly Theresa turned into Terry.

I handled multiple identities quite well, but then one day a voice on the phone asked for Jean. “Sorry, wrong number,” I said and hung up. Fortunately, he called back. It was Marshall, my shy, freckled-face friend from the old neighborhood, who was in town performing in a summer theater production of “The Wiz.”

Now I’m Mrs. Terry Mulligan and technology, not stickball, reigns. In today’s publishing world, if you want to sell a book, the Internet and social media are your new best friends. That entails choosing a domain name. I chose terrybakermulligan.com.  But Theresa Jean Baker is still who I am.

Share

Recent Posts

  • Heartbreak and Hope
  • *****Book Review: Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
  • ****Review, Red at the Bone, by Jacqueline Woodson
  • ***Book Review: Take Me With You, by Catherine Ryan Hyde
  • Books Have Tremendous Power to Teach and Take Us Places

Categories

  • Blog
  • Book Reviews by Terry
  • Events
  • Uncategorized

Stay Connected

Contact

  • Terry Baker Mulligan
  • terrymulnyc@gmail.com

Menu:

  • Home
  • Reviews By Terry
  • Terry’s Blog
  • Terry’s Events
  • About
  • Contact

Fresh from my blog

  • Heartbreak and Hope
  • *****Book Review: Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
  • ****Review, Red at the Bone, by Jacqueline Woodson

© 2021 · Terry Baker Mulligan Web Development by Sunshine Multimedia Consultants