Our panel of journalists-turned-authors detail how reporting helped them author books. Check out mb's transcript excerpt from the panel discussion, "From Journo to Big Book: How Five Journalists Became Authors" held in New York on June 28, 2006. Panelists included: Shari Goldhagen, author of Family and Other Accidents; Sebastian Junger, author of A Death in Belmont and The Perfect Storm; David Margolick, author of Beyond Glory; and Julian Rubinstein, author of The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber. The panel was moderated by Tom Zoellner, author of The Heartless Stone.

Tom Zoellner: A question that I certainly had when I was contemplating a book while working for a paper is, you know, not only where do you find the time, but how do you find the motivation at the end of a workday?

David Margolick: You can't do a book unless you love it. And so the problem is often motivating yourself to do the day job. A book is like a love affair. It goes on for many, many years. It has its ups and downs. It's something you have to commit yourself to, and really love. And you just, you have no business taking on something that you don't really want to do. And the nice thing is that you don't have to worry about the 90 percent of the drek that you'd normally have to write about. Because you've chosen something that you love, and that you can't wait to get back to. At least that was the situation with me. I never felt at the end of the day, "Oh, God, I've got to pick up the book and start working on it." I always looked forward to it.

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