Writers Tricks of the Trade Volume 7, Issue 4 Winter 2018 | Page 21

Life Stories
A N U NEXPECTED T URN :
H OW R ADIO F OUND M E
J AMES K ELLY , H OST OF A SPECTS OF W RITING
I began writing at an early age, but did not take it seriously until I was almost
40. I released my first book, The Emblem in 1995. It was a self-published govern-
ment espionage novel. This was before the giants of the internet like Amazon Kin-
dle, Create Space, Ingram Sparks and Lighting Source even existed. Self-publishing
was not the norm.
As a self-published author, it wasn’t easy to get your book into a store. Perhaps
ignorance of the business was my best ally. At that time I found myself making
phone calls and approaching bookstore chains that I never would have if I under-
stood how they acquired their inventory. Independent stores were the most re-
ceptive. Nonetheless, I somehow managed to get Barnes and Noble, and the now
defunct Borders Books, to carry my effort as a novelist. My first book signing event
at a local Borders Books was so successful it turned into a monthly lecture on self-
publishing. 77 attended – not Ann Rice noteworthy, but not shabby, either. I called
the lecture event “Aspects of Writing.” Little did I know that my monthly meeting
at that Borders Books would become the foundation for what eventually turned
into a radio show. The lecture series lasted for a year and a half. Several of the in-
dividuals who attended my lecture group went on to write and self-publish their
own work. I have maintained a longs