Watch replay: Mike Hixenbaugh of NBC News on his book writing process, from pitch to print

If you’re a working journalist covering a beat with perseverance and nuance, keep going. Your dedication could lead to a book that will document an important time in history.

Just ask Mike Hixenbaugh, a senior investigative reporter for NBC News and a busy dad of four who never thought he’d have the time or the means to write a book. As it turns out, his deep reporting on the culture, race and identity wars sweeping school boards across America caught the eye of a literary agent, who helped Hixenbaugh land a successful book deal.

Hixenbaugh’s book, “They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms,” got released in May to much acclaim. At a Society for Features Journalism webinar on July 10, Hixenbaugh described his book journey with candor and explained how other journalists can transform their own beats into works of nonfiction.

You can watch a recording of the hourlong webinar here.

The virtual event was moderated by Robert Morast, an SFJ board member and the Transformation and Technology Editor for the San Francisco Chronicle. Hixenbaugh shared details with Morast about his writing schedule, his encounters with editors and fact-checkers, his most successful reporting techniques with potentially combative sources, and his tips for journalists who need to find literary agents themselves. He also talked about how happy it makes him to see “They Came for the Schools” on library bookshelves.

“In newspapers, we’re telling the first draft of history,” Hixenbaugh said. “With this, it feels like I am telling a fuller, richer draft and it’s going to exist in the world on a much longer scale, not hidden behind a paywall or in some newspaper archive that most people can’t get to. … It’s really gratifying to have done that.”

Huge thanks to Hixenbaugh for sharing his story, and thank you to everyone who attended the webinar. Stay tuned for more events like this one!

Laura T. Coffey is president of the Society for Features Journalism and a longtime editor and feature writer. She’s also the author of the bestselling nonfiction book “My Old Dog: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts.”  Connect with Laura here.