Careers in Science Writing

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Careers in Science Writing

• Nick Zagorski, PhD
• Science Writer
• American Society for Biochemistry
• and Molecular Biology

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What is Science Writing?
The art of making science accessible and
interesting to non-experts
Chimps Trade Meat for the Chance of Sex
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The Progression of Science
Lethargus is a C. elegans sleep-like state David
M. Raizen, John E. Zimmerman, Matthew H. Maycock,
Uyen D. Ta, Young-jai You, Meera V. Sundaram
Allan I. Pack, Nature 451, 569572 (2008)

• The Raw Science
• The source material research, award, milestone,
  personal story

• Promotional Writing
• Press releases and announcements put out by
  universities, journals, societies, etc.
• Used as a means of generating both scientific
  awareness and "brand recognition
• Generally plain, direct, and fact-filled

PHILADELPHIA Researchers at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine report in this
weeks advanced online edition of Nature that
the roundworm C. elegans, a staple of laboratory
research, may be key in unlocking one of the
central biological mysteries why we sleep.
A man coming off his night shift gets into his
car. He knows it's the most dangerous part of his
day, a time when his body aches for sleep.

• Education Entertainment
• Stories and news bits found in magazines,
  journal front matter, web pages
• Generally more creative and free-flowing
• Used to entertain and inform readers

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The Life of an ASBMB Writer

• Help promote the Society and its journals (JBC,
  JLR, MCP), by
• Writing and distributing short press tips on
  interesting journal articles, award
  announcements, or other member news
• Assisting media or University PIOs with queries
• Looking at new outlets to distribute ASBMB news
  to wider audience
• Also work on other Journal operations
• Writing short summaries for JBC Papers of the
  Week
• Assisting researchers in preparing special
  articles like minireviews, thematic series, etc.

• Contribute stories to our monthly member magazine
  ASBMB Today, such as
• biographies of some of our members
• topical QAs with prominent researchers
• in-depth profiles of research centers across the
  country
• meeting or conference recaps
• Also involved in some editorial processes, such
  as
• Helping propose and select cover images
• Assisting in editorial planning (future issue
  content, etc.)
• Suggesting ideas to add, enhance, or revise
  content

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The Life of an ASBMB Writer, cont

• What do I do in the course of my duties?
• Continually communicate with various people in
  the science community (professors, post-docs,
  students, etc.) about science-related topics
• Read a lot of journal articles
• Attend scientific conferences
• Conduct Internet Research
• Of course, lots of writing, re-writing, and
  re-re-writing
• Seem Familiar?

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Science WritingNot so Alternative?

• Communicating science - scientists do it all the
  time
• Writing and revising grants and research articles
• Preparing presentations for lab meeting
• Preparing and discussing posters at meetings
• Talking about the direction of your project to
  your committee, colleagues, or collaborators. 

Next to the actual experiments and results,
reading, writing, listening and talking about
those results is the most time-consuming and
essential part of any investigators career
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Science Writing The Good, the Bad

• Pros
• A career where you can still remain on
• the leading edge of science, but also
• see the forest for the trees.
• Publication immortality and the thrill of
• the byline
• Its generally a casual career.
• Good travel opportunities
• A degree of freedom and independence
• And a chance to achieve mainstream fame

• Cons
• Not one of the most financially rewarding career
  options, at least at first
• Carpal tunnel, eye strain, other discomforts of
  constant typing.
• Dealing with criticism on many fronts

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and the Uncertain

• The world of science writing is currently
  undergoing a significant transition
• --from communications to communications 2.0
• The traditional model of science writing is
  disappearing
• Science reporters, university PIOs, even
  scientists are shifting
• (sometimes reluctantly) to new media to get the
  
• message across.
• Blogging
• RSS Feeds/ e-News
• Podcasts/ Video
• Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter)
• Open Access/Instant Publication
• What this means
• as you plan a career in science writing,
  understand the need to communicate
• through diverse media
• it does not mean that science writing careers are
  dying. While some old jobs
• are dying, new ones are emerging.

Raw Science
PR/PIOs
Writers/ Reporters
Public
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Science Communications Still Many Options
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A Brief Look Ahead
Advancing Your Career in Science
Communications Masthead Progression From
writer to editor Progression of length from
short articles to feature stories to books
Progression of format from the pages to the
waves Progression of Fields cut the
science from science writer
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Is Science Writing/Communications For Me?
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The Science Writer Self-Test
How much do you enjoy the writing and
presentation aspects of your research? Are you
genuinely excited about speaking or having a
poster at an upcoming conference? Do you look
forward to writing the Discussion portion of your
papers? Do you enjoy writing grants, relishing
the challenge of presenting your work as the most
important thing going on in biomedical research
today? How are your communication skills
outside the lab? Do you find it easy to
explain your work to friends and family? Do you
contribute to (or even host) blogs, science or
otherwise? If you answer yes to any of these
questions, then science writing may be right for
you.
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Taking the Plunge

• Masters Programs in Science Writing/Journalism
• typically 1-2 years, seminar style, writing
  intensive
• Johns Hopkins, MIT, UC-Santa Cruz three of the
  more noted ones, but dozens of graduate programs
  across the country
• Pros help provide seamless transition,
  networking web
• Cons more school?
• 2. Science writing internships/fellowships
• typically 3-6 months, paid (usually), hands-on
  training
• offered by many journals, magazines, science
  societies, government agencies
• Pros great way to test out science writing w/o
  commitment
• Cons time too short?
• 3. Jump right into the job search
• Pros start building career and earning
  power
• Cons competitive job market

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The Catch-22 of the Clips
Whatever choice you may ultimately pursue, all of
them are fraught with the same obstacle to
aspiring science writers published writing
samples Your degrees, skill set, and cover
letter all look great, but like any creative
field, your portfolio is key to getting that
offer/interview There are plenty of
opportunities for freelance writing, but this
field is just as competitive (if not more) than
the job market. And this field tends to favor
established writers. So, how do you get writing
samples as a full-time student/post-doc?
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How to Get a Foot in the Door

• Campus Connections Can Culminate in Clips
• Your lab, department, other programs lots of
  exciting science going on, lots of potential
  story ideas to uncover. Peruse the bulletin
  boards, go to lectures, talk with friends.
• If you happen to smell out a good story? Consider
  University publications
• University communications/media office
• Student newspaper
• Local city papers
• Consider other opportunities as well
• In the class take some introductory journalism
  courses
• In the lab ask your mentor about
  writing/co-writing a review article.
• If all else fails, use a scientific paper you
  wrote or a portion of your thesis good writing
  crosses boundaries

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How to Get Another Foot in the Door

• Become a communicator, not just a writer
• -science writing jobs are becoming multi-faceted
  develop or enhance skills in other media
• Photography
• Web Design
• Graphic Design
• Audio/Video
• Try it on your own, or take a class... again,
  make use of the campus
• connection
• If you can, put these talents to use so potential
  employers can see them
• Re-design your lab webpage
• Work on a personal webpage or blog

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Dont Forget to Network

• Science Communications is very much a career
  where Who you know is just as important as What
  you know.
• Start embedding yourself into the memories of
  potential contacts and colleagues
• Invited speakers at career workshops and
  seminars
• Meet the Press
• Get to know your University Media Team
• Cold call people for advice
• Join scientific societies, join campus groups
• And dont forget the scientists!

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In the meantime, Nurture

• Offer to help write/edit your labs papers
• Take some writing classes even if just for fun
• get those thoughts out there contribute to
  science blogs and forums
• Crosswords keep that writers mind sharp
  expand your vocabulary

Read, watch, listen science absorb react Some
possibilities Charles Darwin On the Origin of
Species Brian Greene The Elegant
Universe James Watson The Double Helix
Dava Sobel Longitude, Galileos
Daughter Paul de Kruif Microbe Hunters
Michael Pollan The Botany of
Desire, Omnivores Dilemma New York Times
Science Section NPR Science
Friday and All Things Considered Front Matter
of Science and Nature An Inconvenient Truth Best
American Science Writing Series Discovery
Network Both TV and Web
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Some FAQs

• Im an early-mid stage graduate student who
  really thinks science writing is the way to go.
  So, do I even need to stick around to finish my
  PhD?
• Im interested in learning more about freelancing
  to build my clips portfolio or as a possible
  career path. Any suggestions?
• I love science writing, but I love being a
  scientist too which path is better?

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Helpful Links
General Resources/Career Advice Science Careers
http//sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/ (advanced
search ? exact phrase science writing) Bio
Career Center http//www.biocareercenter.com/index
.html ASBMB www.asbmb.org (Careers Education
menu ? Career Development) National Association
of Science Writers (NASW) www.nasw.org Council
for the Advancement of Science Writing (CASW)
http//casw.org/ (also regional science writing
groups DC, Philly, San Diego, Northern
California, Northwest) Seminar on science
writing and the new media http//www.eurekalert.
org/seminar/2008/video.php Schools/Internships/Jo
bs http//www.journalism.wisc.edu/dsc/index.html
(Fairly robust directory of science writing grad
programs) If you want to take a direct plunge to
film http//naturefilm.montana.edu/index.php AAA
S Mass Media Fellowship http//www.aaas.org/progr
ams/education/MassMedia/ Other AAAS internships
http//www.aaas.org/careercenter/internships/ Natu
re http//www.nature.com/npg_/work/internship.htm
l Science News http//www.sciencenews.org/view/pa
ge/id/32647/title/Internships NPR
http//www.npr.org/about/jobs/intern/index.html
(specifically the Science Desk internship) The
Jackson Lab http//education.jax.org/science_writ
er.html National Cancer Institute
https//hcip.nci.nih.gov/ SLAC National
Accelerator http//www-group.slac.stanford.edu/co
m/science_writing_internship.htm
http//www.mediabistro.com/ http//www.journalis
mjobs.com/ (geared to all media jobs, but can
specify for science health)
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One last Helpful Link
nzagorski_at_asbmb.org