Though I’ve been a nonfictionist for close to twenty years, I have a hard time calling myself a “journalist,” even a “reporter.” To me, reporters are the people who FOIA, who know what’s public record and what’s not, cover the cops, wear grease-stained shirts, and have been laid off by not one, but two, Gannett properties. They are watch dogs.

When I pitch myself to people on my innumerable, anxiety-inducing cold calls, it’s usually as “writer” and never “journalist,” especially in this media climate where saying “journalist” might get you shiner. So to say I’m “reporting” on a book … even that’s a stretch. I feel like a fraud. Reporting is for reporters, the real heroes covering school boards, city councils, and cops.

For frauds like me, there’s a way cooler term, used by lawyers, to call reporting: discovery1.

You sniff out where you want to go and you discover things along the way. You can even call yourself an explorer, and isn’t that pretty rad?

I’ve “discovered” dozens of potential story beats that I never knew existed even when I wrote my proposal for The Gift. It’s some of the best part of this night-terror-inducing mess. There’s wonder in the unknown. For instance, nearly to the day, Steve Prefontaine, in 1973, won races on the same afternoons that Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. Words used to describe “Big Red” could very well have been said about Pre. “He knows he is good. He is one big mass of energy, always ready and eager to run. Yes, I think he knows he is a champion.”

Cool detail … buuuuuuut … how does that thread into the narrative? That’s a topic for another Substackah. Stuff of this nature has been the joy of discovery. What other beats are out there? This is why you have to, as Robert Caro’s editor told him, turn every page. The equivalent is going on newspapers.com and sifting through hundreds of articles that are repeats, but occasionally you stumble on ONE column from some obscure paper that adds that extra bit of seasoning.2 

There’s a balance, right? You might have a cool idea, and you want to convince an editor or an agent to buy your idea, but you haven’t done enough discovery to reveal that there is, in fact, more there. But if you do too much, you run the risk of “wasting” a lot of time in the extreme likelihood that a gatekeeper will pass. THAT SAID, you can never go wrong by doing TOO much, however you do define too much. Better to err on the side of too much than too little.

If things go well, the research leads to more discovery, more nuance, more names,3 and a richer experience for reporter writer and reader.

The Books

1. Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport that Wasn’t Built for Us by Alison Desir. There are books and there are important books.

2. Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of NIKE by Phil Knight (ghost written by J.R. Moehringer). A suprisingly good book, say what you will of NIKE. Knight is honest about his failure to launch and his struggles as a budding entrepreneur. It’s funny in places and, at times, unflattering. The invisible hand of Moehringer is magical here. More on him in “The Other Stuff.”

3. The John McPhee Reader, specifically the introduction written by William L. Howarth. McPhee is something of a writer’s writer. I’ve long wanted to do a podcast called … The John McPhee Readers, where I speak with a different writer for each of McPhee’s books. Why he matters to us. Why he’s such a master. It’s in the idea bucket, but, as you might surmise, time isn’t on my side … and I drink too much. Like way too much, which is why I love this NA beer. Use promo code BRENDANO20 at checkout for a discount! I don’t get any money.

4. Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World by John Vaillant. Yay! We’re all gonna die!

The Other Stuff

5. J.R. Moehringer un-ghosted in a great essay for The New Yorker.

6. Madeline Bodin, of Ep. 349 fame, recapped Atavist editor-in-chief Seyward Darby’s “revving the story engine” talk from the Power of Narrative Conference.

7. Becca Rothfeld basically tells writers to STFO. I invited her on the podcast, but after reading this essay, I might rescind my invite.

8. Roy Peter Clark breaks down the best ledes from the Pulitzers.

9. Suzanne Biro tracked her progress. How did it go?

10. It’s nice to David Grann, the storyteller’s storyteller, having his requisite moment(s) in the sun. A Grann book is a capital E Event. Like Laura Hillenbrand, Grann’s books go straight to the big screen, with big directors, you might even say a one-man book-to-movie machine, per The Ringer.

11. This is the end.

Support the podcast

If you have a few bucks to spare, Patreon is where it’s at. I’m trying to sweeten the pot for patrons, but everyone seems pretty content just by chipping in a few bucks. No complaints there! No matter, I’ll keep trying to offer any goodies I can think of that’ll show my appreciation for that support. Patreon.com/cnfpod

Free ways to support the show? Kind reviews on Apple Podcasts help validate the show for the wayward CNFer. And, as always, linking up to the show and sharing it with your writer pals.

Thanks for reading, CNFers.

Stay wild,

b.r.o.

PS: If I were to make this rage-against-the-algorithm missive more frequent, it would like take a slightly different form each time. First of the month is what you’re used to. The next “issue” would likely be trials and tribulations from book writing/research, maybe a “best of” CNF Pod from that month, etc. The aim, as always, will be to add value and maybe a chuckle here and there. This poll will be live for a week. Thanks, CNFers!