by Rosrin WuithiranAward-winning medical writer Nancy Monson has been writing professionally for the past 20 years. Writing for both consumers and medical professionals, she has covered medical topics for websites, videos, blogs, and more. Her articles range in topics in health, nutrition, psychology, and medicine and have appeared in
Woman’s Day,
Glamour, and
Fitness, among many titles. She has also written health books such as
Craft to Heal: Soothing Your Soul with Sewing, Painting, and Other Pastimes and
The Smart Guide to Boosting Your Energy. Nancy also offers a medical freelance writing how-to book,
Just What the Doctor Ordered: An Insider’s Guide to Medical Writing at
www.medicalwritingbook.com.
She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the Association of Health Care Journalists. You can find her writing porfolio at
www.nancymonson.com. WOW
! is excited to speak with Nancy about the world of medical writing.
WOW: Welcome, Nancy! What steered you into the field of medical writing?Nancy: I actually fell into the field about 25 years ago. I originally wanted to be an actress, but I always had a facility for writing.
WOW: So how did you get started in medical writing?Nancy: I got a job as a freelance typist for a New York City medical communications company, working evenings, so I had days free to go to acting auditions. Over the course of several years, a couple of editors at the company realized I had potential and gave me opportunities to go to medical meetings and report on presentations, and taught me to edit medical materials.
WOW: That's great they encouraged you to get into the field. Do you have a medical degree?Nancy: No. I have a Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude in communications from Boston University’s College of Communications.
WOW: Did not having a degree cause a problem? Did editors inquire whether you had the sufficient background to write on medical subjects?Nancy: No, not really, because I started when the medical communications industry was still fairly young and that wasn’t an issue. They were looking more for editors and writers and were willing to teach people the medicine. I’ve since been in the business for so long and I have so much experience that it’s not an issue. I also have a lot of contacts who know I’m very competent and dependable. However, it appears that advanced degrees are being requested more and more of medical writers.
WOW: How difficult is it to find references and experts to support findings and statistics for your articles?Nancy: It’s not difficult thanks to the Internet—it used to be a lot harder when I physically had to go to a medical library and do research. T
Besides impressing others by being able to say, "Oh, I'm a freelance writer," or "Yes, I've been published in Family Circle," there are other reasons why pursuing a freelance writing career or even working part-time as a freelancer are good for you as a writer.
- Flexibility: One of the best benefits of being a freelancer is the flexibility. I'm not going to tell you it's easy--because it's not. You'll work hard, and you'll work long hours; sometimes just to get one article finished or five query letters researched and sent in. But you can generally do this work at 5:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m.--whatever your schedule calls for. Freelancing is perfect for stay-at-home parents who have a different schedule almost every day or even writers working day jobs but hoping some time to freelance full time. I would say my favorite thing about freelancing, besides how interesting it is to write different articles and meet a wide variety of people, is the flexibility!
- Extra income: That's the joy of freelancing--you get paid--or at least, you are supposed to. And in real, live money--not copies and not t-shirts or other merchandise. Whether you write for small or large markets, glossy magazines or your local paper, a paycheck should accompany your hard work. It's hard for me to tell you how much you should get for your submission--until you break into the national magazines, you are probably not going to be funding your child's college education. But you could easily fund next year's Christmas purchases or that cruise vacation that you wanted to take with consistent querying of small to medium-size markets. And I always encourage my students to go for the glory--why not send in that query to O the Oprah Magazine first before you send it to a regional woman's magazine? You never know when an editor might love your idea.
- Your resume: If you're freelancing while you're working on your memoir, a nonfiction book proposal, or your novel, you're also building your resume or platform and collecting clips. You also probably have a bio included in several of these freelance publications, where you can list your blog, your website, your upcoming work, and so on. Any exposure you can get for your upcoming work is great. Any networking you can do while freelancing is doubly great. And finally, you are getting all types of writing and publishing experience that is invaluable during these experiences.
If I haven't convinced you yet, then here's a reason I know will convince you to give freelancing a try. (smiles) You become better at TRIVIA! (Think of all the trivia nights you can attend--people will be fighting over you to be on their team.) You are bound to learn interesting tidbits of information about your community, history, sports, and so on while researching and writing articles. In other words, you are building your trivia knowledge.
We’re just five days away from Dictionary Day, the annual celebration of all things lexicographical held every 16th of October. Commemorating the anniversary of Noah Webster’s birth in 1758, it’s largely an opportunity for US school teachers to organize classroom activities encouraging students to build their dictionary skills and to exult in the joy of words. Those of us who are out of school can celebrate too, of course. We’ll have some dictionary-themed fun on OUPblog next week, but I thought I’d kick things off with a look at some of the great names in the Anglo-American tradition of lexicography. Just about everyone knows about Webster, who published the first truly American dictionaries in 1806 and 1828, but let’s also pay homage to some other dictionary doyens who might not be quite as well known to the public. (more…)
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Great interview. I'm glad to hear you don't have to have a medical degree.
Nancy, you mentioned magazines you write for... do you write for any websites too?
Thanks,
Liz
I am just dipping my toes into the medical writing pool. I just finished an article for the Springfield Business Journal on medical advancements. I spent two weeks talking to clinicians and researchers about their work in cardiology, neurology and orthopedics. I had one compliment my writing and he also referred me to the American Medical Writers Assocaition. I have also written an article on sleep disorders.
I am a former EMT and sleep technician who has had an overwhelming passion for medicine my entire life. I wanted to be a neurosurgeon when I was younger. Instead, I became a writer. However, I'm afraid that and my two articles aren't enough to compete in this competitive market. Plus, I've read the bios of some of the writers on the American Medical Writers Association web site.
How hard is it to break into this field without an advanced degree today? My degrees are in legal studies and anthropology, not exactly hard sciences. This is an area I want to explore in my depth. WOW ought to offer a class on medical writing.
*more depth
Fantastic information. Thanks for sharing! When I began freelancing, I wrote for a health and fitness magazine. No medical degree. :) I've also written a number of health-related articles for regional publications. My experience has been research, research, research; find qualified experts, especially for regional markets; and use strong examples.