How a Single Tweet Affected My Life - and the importance of your own creative radar

Before I share my story and timeline about how a single tweet affected my life, here is the moral of this story: Always have your creative radar turned on – and act on what that radar is picking up.

Here goes.

June 2019 – I see a tweet about a new book, Bird Therapy. It catches by eye because I love photographing birds, which is good therapy. I am always thinking, “How can I apply that idea to photography?” The idea of Photo Therapy immediately shows up on my creative radar. It was fairly obvious.

July 2019 – I start writing Photo Therapy (my 40th book), with the idea of producing a words-only book – because I do not want the reader to be distracted by pretty photographs. I want the reader to slow down and think about their photographs, not mine. I think I am finished at 20,000 words, but keep going and finish with 35,000 words.

September 2019 Photo Therapy is published on Amazon - in paperback and as an ebook. I am surprised at the positive response. It becomes my best-selling photography book - again, one with no photographs.

November 2019 – After receiving dozens of emails about Photo Therapy, the idea of a sequel shows up on my creative radar. I start writing Photo Quest – with the goal of helping photographers find their creative and artistic voice.

March 2020 – Many emails show up in my inbox about Photo Therapy. To give readers a place to share their ideas and photographs, I start the Photo Therapy Facebook Group. In less than a month we have 1,000 members. (Today, I spend more than two hours a day on that page, trying to comment on as many photographs as possible.)

May 2020 Photo Quest is published on Amazon. It’s another words-only (55,000) book. One difference between the two books is that in Photo Quest I have an All-Star team (36) of Photo Mentors who also share their words of wisdom. Here, too, the reaction exceeds by expectations.

So my friends, as I said: Always have your creative radar turned on – and act on what that radar picks up.