Nerv with Ryan Williams (Mushrooms, Mycology, and Mycelium)

Jonah Keri is a NY Times best-selling author, sports writer for ESPN's Grantland, and told me some fantastic stories on this week's show.  He has been a paid journalist his entire professional life and he details his journey as a writer. Jonah dives into how he started his podcast, writes his best-selling books, and how he wound-up working for Bill Simmons at Grantland.

Great Jonah Keri quotes:

“Somebody is always paying attention to what you’re doing somewhere.”

"One of my favorite quotes is by Branch Rickey: 'Luck is the residue of design.'  Meaning you need a lot of luck in life, but if you work hard and you have a baseline level of skill - things will come to you."

What you'll learn from this episode:

  • Jonah's book writing process, how long it takes him to research and interview subjects  
  • How his girlfriend helped him get back into baseball during Major League Baseball's '94-'95 season
  • How he bookd early guests like Rickey Henderson, Evan Longoria, and Death Cab's Ben Gibbard for his podcast
  • The story behind his first job as a sports writer
  • How posting on baseball message boards helped him land his first book deal
  • How he connected with Bill Simmons to start writing for Grantland 

Connect with us:

  • Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanjwill/
  • Stories from The Influencer Economy website:  http://www.influencereconomy.com

Connecti with Jonah:

  • Jonah writes on Grantland:  http://grantland.com
  • Find Jonah on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jonahkeri
  • Joah Keri’s “Extra 2%” NY Times Best-seller: http://amzn.to/dmz0hk 
  • His new Montreal Expose book “Up Up & Away!”  goo.gl/EwWQtS 

 

Direct download: Jonah_keri_FIN.mp3
Category:careers -- posted at: 2:03pm PST