So using my photos and a bird-watcher friend’s photos, I put together a booklet about the parks of Hudson County and the birds that could be seen there.  Success has a lot to do with being in the right place with a good idea at the right time.  As it turned out, Hudson County was hoping to make itself look a bit greener than it looked in most people’s minds. Most people thought of the county as industrial, we had the largest chromium waste dump in the U.S. (But it is slowly being cleaned up.)  New high-rise apartment buildings were going up on what was being called the “Gold Coast” –a place right across from New York City.

                I went to the County Department of Tourism and pitched the booklet, Wild Birds in the Parks of Hudson County. They liked it. They published it.  They paid me enough to cover a month’s rent. (Rents are very high in Hudson County!)  From that time on, I held bird walks, gave bird talks and organized bird video showings.  Ten-thousand copies of the book went out to realtors, grade schools and visitors to Hudson County.  The county was nice enough to put my name and my fellow bird experts and photographers names on the cover. It was a nice bit of recognition to go with the paycheck.  These days, everything is going online; booklets are not as popular.  Just the same, you can find that opening and get your work published somewhere. That first time is your first flight into more opportunity to write and get published. Face the challenge and get going!