Finding Your Footing in Science Writing

Science writing is a career best suited to those who prefer telling others about science rather than sitting at the bench themselves. Wide-ranging in nature, science writing includes journalism, writing for science-based advocacy organizations, writing for government agencies, textbook writing, reporting on clinical trials, regulatory writing for drug companies or the Food and Drug Administration, and writing patient education materials for organizations of health professionals. The author is an award-winning freelance science writer whose own path from doctorate to science writer, chronicled here, was nothing short of circuitous. She offers suggestions on getting started and retaining a foothold in academia. She recommends knowing your audience, roaming outside your comfort zone, having fun with words, and experiencing the highs of a journalist’s byline.