Justin Halpern, the creator of the Twitter account Shit My Dad Says, which is also the inspiration for the upcoming CBS sitcom $#*! My Dad Says starring William Shatner, — spoke with mediabistro.com’s E.B. Boyd about how he parlayed the popular feed into book and television deals.

The interview is part of mediabistro.com’s Profit From Your Passion series running all month long. This week focuses on media careers and tips for comedy lovers. Here, Halpern recalls when his Twitter feed first became popular:

When did you first realize your Twitter feed might actually lead to something much bigger?

At first, I didn’t even know how to check @ replies. I didn’t think there would be any, so I never learned how to check them. Then I figured it out and started scrolling through them. I was getting so many, and I saw one that said, “Hey, I think there might be a book in this. If you get this, please Direct Message me.” I did, and then I talked to the guy on the phone. He was like, “What do you think about doing a book about this?” And I was like, “I haven’t even told my dad that this is going on.”

Read the full interview here.

More from Profit From Your Passion:
How To Be Funny Online — Even When You’re Not
How To Pitch: Mad