What I learned as science writer/ editor

In partnership with

A very Happy New Year to you.

Thank you for signing up for The Science Freelancer and diligently checking the gigs that I sent your way in 2024. I did not meet the target for 2024 but I have decided to run the newsletter anyways.

If you’d like to continue supporting this newsletter,

January is bit hectic for me, so the gigs newsletter won’t be a regular thing this month but I will be regular starting February. I have lined up some interesting interviews for you in the meantime.

Science writing/ communication isn’t just about interviewing great minds and simplifying the science while working from a cozy room up in the mountains. Often, it is about where will the next project come from and how much money is left in the bank.

In the world of LinkedIn, where every writer seems to be making $100,000 or more by doing just one simple thing for six months straight, it is easy to wonder, if one ended up doing the wrong thing.

So, I set out to look for more honest voices on LinkedIn and asking them to share their story and how freelancing has been for them.

Today’s edition is one such story from Michael Scott Long, a freelance writer/ editor based in Richland, Washington and with bylines in some of the most prestigious publications of the world.

But Michael is one of the rare voices who does not go on LinkedIn to say how he makes $10k a month or how his course will give you access to the unending stream of clients who will tumble over each other to hire you.

What does he have to say then? Well let’s hear from Michael directly.

What have been my experiences as a freelance science writer and editor? First, let me introduce my professional background.

I have a PhD in analytical chemistry. PNAS, J Am Chem Soc, and others have published my research. As a writer and an editor, I work on academic journal articles, grants, reports, press releases, technology reviews, textbooks, and a myriad of publisher ancillary materials. Nature, U.S. ABC News, and others have published my science writing. Although my academic specialty is analytical chemistry, I’ve competently written on gender dysphoria, relativistic physics, and business finance.

“Freelance” simply means that I work on a per-project basis. My initial main motivation for pursuing such employment is that it enabled me to work from anywhere; this was before COVID-19 made such arrangements common.

With time, I also began to appreciate the ability to easily end my association with abusive employers; I’m thinking of the one that demanded I go outside to search for an unsecured internet connection in the middle of the snowy winter night to start / complete a new editing project within a few hours. That remains the only time I’ve quit on the spot. I also appreciate the broad diversity of skills I’ve quickly developed; unlikely in conventional employment.

Stop Being the Best-Kept Secret in Your Industry

Turn trending ideas into social media attention (we detect them for you).
This attention into followers.
And followers into customers.

Turn ONE conversation into WEEKS of authority-building content, that actually sounds like you. From idea to monetization.

Start your risk-free 7-day trial.

There are also disadvantages to freelance work. One is that I have to pay way more in taxes than a conventional salaried employee. Imagine my irritation when, in 2014, I got a U.S. federal tax bill at a rate of 19% on a total income of ca. USD 10,000. Two, the uncertainty of the work can make financial planning difficult. I’ve gotten used to clients abruptly ending our collaboration, often without notice, simply by going incommunicado with me—even clients that I helped publish in Science.

I initially figured that if I continued to plug away at freelance work, and got high-visibility work samples, eventually I’d make sufficient income. It hasn’t necessarily turned out that way. I published in Nature a news feature on my undergraduate chemistry teaching strategies. U.S. ABC News shared one of my electrical engineering research press releases. I authored a public health report for the Washington State Academy of Sciences. I’ve helped researchers publish in Science, Nature, and PNAS; and obtain an NIH P01 grant.

Most of this is verifiable; not under a non-disclosure agreement. Yet I still have a hard time finding work that pays me appropriately. Here’s a tip: I won’t comprehensively edit high-level yet quite garbled science at a pay rate of $5 per 1000 words. Who accepts such a low pay rate? That won’t even pay for beans and crackers—well, maybe, but nothing else.

What would I recommend to scientists who are considering freelance writing / editing employment?

One, have substantial savings; there will be at least occasional lean times.

Two, get initial work through trusted connections who are invested in your success. Otherwise, your employment search will simply consist of screaming into the void.

Three, consider that having a PhD opens some doors but closes others, by getting you auto-branded as “over-qualified.”

You can share your comments on the topic by clicking on this post. If you’d like to talk to Michael directly about this, here’s his LinkedIn Profile.

You can also support this newsletter by clicking ads.

Writers, stop wasting your time!

How much time do you spend manually updating your portfolio? And how often is it still outdated?

With Authory, that’s a thing of the past. Authory creates a beautiful, self-updating portfolio that automatically pulls in your new articles as you publish them, no matter where.

And that’s not all: Authory also backs up all your published articles automatically, so you never have to worry about losing your work.

Join thousands of writers who already use Authory to impress potential clients and employers.

Get your free portfolio today

Thank you for reading.

The gigs edition of the newsletter will be back next Saturday.

Regards

Ameya