It is the stuff that commercials (and dreams) are made of; work from home and earn 6 figures.

Make your own schedule; work when you want! But is it really that simple? Is it realistic? Today, we’ll talk about medical writers’ working conditions and the issues that they face.

How do they maintain a good work-life balance?

Is their job stressful?

How do they keep their customers?

3 MAIN TAKEAWAYS

1. They struggle with very tight deadlines.
2. They feel like they don’t manage to reach a good work-life balance.
3. They navigate between feast and famine cycles of assignments.

Here’s what three medical writers had to share

Lisa. M. working in a mid-size Clinical Research Organization:

Deadlines are stressful and I may overcommit.

Johanna Galyen, RN BSN, Freelance Medical Writer at Glowing Still:

WORKING CONDITIONS – my working conditions are what I make of them.

My family affectionately calls my office the dungeon because I’m tucked away in the basement of our home. I work when I want and around my schedule. I’m a mother of 4 children and I homeschool them as well, so I work between history and science lessons some days.

There are late nights and early mornings of work when I’m on deadline, but I prefer rearranging my schedule to meet my deadlines than having to clock-in so many hours at the hospital like I used to do.

FREELANCE CHALLENGES – Finding good clients is really hard.

I have to work for each one and it has taken me months and months to cultivate these relationships. It can be a feast of work or famine of nothing, and if you are a freelancer, you have to be ok with the fact you may not always have work. Additionally, I have to always be finding new relationships and growing them.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE – This is tough, especially when money is tight and I know I have to work to make money.

But I know my children and husband will suffer if I spend 8 hours a day hidden in my office and then get all upset when there aren’t any groceries in the refrigerator or clean laundry. I’m STILL a work-at-home mom and chores have to be done. So I have to plan and schedule out my time and be very flexible. Mostly, there comes a point that I just have to walk away from the work and know that I will pick it up later. There’s no point destroying my health.

Jill A. Freelance medical writer since 1995

Working in the US as a freelancer, my biggest problem is HEALTH INSURANCE.

I would love to retire (I’m 62), but I can’t because it costs so much. I need to work to get health insurance. How nuts is that!

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

I don’t feel like I have balance like that right now. As a solo practitioner, I usually have 3-4 steady clients. But those clients are not as reliable as they were in the past.

Examples: I write a newsletter about new drugs for one of them. The US government shutdown meant that no new drugs got approved between December 21, 2018 and late January 2019.

On February 20^th, I got my first assignment from that client. So I had a 6-week hiatus from a steady 10-15 hours/week job due to something completely out of my control. Another client just announced a 50% cut in my budget because of financial problems. They apparently have not transitioned quickly enough from a print-based book to an online/app presence.

Here are 4 simple rules to follow to avoid such pitfalls:

Rule #1 – Don’t be ready to do anything for your clients

If working after 6 pm or weekends is not good for you (it’s actually bad for most of us!), let your clients know that they can only reach you within a specific schedule.

It can be difficult to initially set boundaries for clients, as we all want to appear available and willing to work, but good boundaries can actually make the relationship stronger. You both know what is required, and what you can offer.

You both know what is required, and what you can offer.

REMEMBER: If they have requirements as clients, you are also allowed to have requirements as service providers!

Rule #2 – Block time slots in your schedule for exercising

Your health is just as important as the health of your readers. So make sure you have set times to get away from work.

Fiona Wallace also mentioned it in her article on CRAs CRA Burnout: How Big A Problem Is It, Really?: “This tricks your stress response into down-regulation. CRAs have a sedentary lifestyle due to office work and traveling. Reduced exercise does not lower stress hormones, so the body can remain in a fight-or-flight status.”

Get up and stretch, run a mile, go out to lunch with a friend or whatever makes you happy! And never accept work in these slots!

Rule #3 – Set up an automatic response when you’re too busy

Automatic responses are not just for vacations or international travel. They are also helpful for times that you are busy with work.

Chatty (and needy) clients can interrupt you and slow you down with details that can wait. Let your clients know that you are not currently available for urgent projects or memos but that you’ll be fully available from next Thursday for example.

Rule #4 – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

We’ve all had that one client that pays really well, and it is easy to forget to be actively looking for new clients.

However, what if your preferred customer, which sends you 80% of your projects at a good rate, goes bankrupt? You’ll lose most of your income, and set you back for weeks! To avoid this painful scenario, always keep looking for other customers and don’t forget to nurture relationships with your existing clients. Big or little, they deserve your attention.

Do you know someone who might find this article interesting? Don’t hesitate to forward it to them! Let me know in the comments your thoughts about this important issue, and let’s learn together!

Did you like this article? Do you want to be notified when new articles come up? Subscribe to MedPharmaTranslator’s newsletter to get advice on easy ways to find a good translator, Medcomm industry and medical translation tips.

Post reviewed by Johanna Galyen from Glowing Still

Welcome to MedCommTalk – a series on medical communication

Interviews from professionals in the medical communications field with real answers to business difficulties.

Today, we’ll talk about medical writers’ clients. Who are they and how did they find them?

3 MAIN TAKEAWAYS

Out of 6 respondents:

1)    50% found their clients by sending prospecting emails or letters.

2)    33% didn’t have to look for clients as they were already part of their company’s project.

3)    33% found work via referrals.

These figures emphasize how important it is to build a strong network when you’re a freelance medical writer. Just knowing other medical writers can bring you quite a lot of work.

Also, the benefits of sending prospecting letters cannot be overlooked. Target your ideal clients and find ways to contact them. You can either meet them at medical conferences or other industry related events. If you think they might need your services, or send them a service offer if you think they might need your services. It is, however, recommended to get to know them first because a service offer is always more welcomed when it comes from someone you already know.

Today’s question is:

Who are your clients? If you work as a freelance medical writer, how did you find them?

Lisa. M. working in a mid-size Clinical Research Organization:

My clients are already part of my projects at work for medical writing for publication. I have been asked to participate on projects.

Johanna Galyen, Freelance medical writer at Glowing Still:

Primarily, I write for clients/companies who want articles or blogs for their medical websites from the perspective of a nurse or explaining difficult topics in a way that anyone could understand. Most of what I write is ghostwritten, and the doctor (or the company) takes the credit for what I write.

I didn’t find work from the people I used to work for in the past. I just started looking online wherever I could find writing gigs. Upwork, textbroker, and Writer’s Access have been my best places. Sometimes I get lucky, but usually, I average 1 paying client for 30-40 proposals I send in. Thankfully, some of them are on-going clients with lots of work so that helps. Others are just a one-time writing assignment.

 

Kitty W. Freelance writer

I am a freelance writer, but I only write medical content for my firm. I worked there in admin role before taking this new content-based job with them.

A freelance medical writer who wants to remain anonymous

My clients are Med comm shops and small to mid-size pharmaceutical companies.

Jill A. Freelance medical writer since 1995

I wrote about 10 letters to organizations that I thought would be a good fit back in 1995. I got 2-3 hits. One became a major client that sustained me for most of my career. They got bought by venture capital group about 5 years ago which led to me being let go (only outside consultant). The rest have come from word of mouth.

Joanna Pendergrass Freelance medical writer and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

My clients are primarily pet companies with websites that focus on pet owner education. I have found some clients, such as my pet insurance company clients, via a Google search. Other clients found me through LinkedIn and reached out to me via email. One of my clients was a referral from a colleague.

Do you know someone who might find this article interesting? Don’t hesitate to forward it to them! Let me know in the comments your thoughts about this important issue, and let’s learn together!

Did you like this article? Do you want to be notified when new articles come up? Subscribe to MedPharmaTranslator’s newsletter to get advice on easy ways to find a good translator, Medcomm industry and medical translation tips.

Post reviewed by Johanna Galyen from Glowing Still

Welcome to MedCommTalk – a series on medical communication

Interviews from professionals in the medical communications field with real answers to business difficulties.

MedComm Talk will be made out of interviews of professionals, such as medical writers and communication agencies in the medical communication field.

The aim of this series is to gather personal testimonials and opinions about what you actually do in your work. Let’s raise awareness together about medical communication and share the challenges you face in your work.

Medical writers – and translators – (mostly!) are passionate self-aware women and MedComm geniuses

Today, we’ll talk about medical writers’ background. I’ve interviewed 5 medical writers to learn more about how they came to medical writing. Here are their answers:

5 MAIN TAKEAWAYS

Out of 5 respondents:

1)    100% are women

2)    40% are or were nurses

3)    100% were not “born” medical writers. They all had or still have different jobs aside from medical writing. This shows that they are capable of constant self-reassessment.

4)    60% said that they would “never look back”, which shows their passion for medical writing.

5)    60% were asked by their employer to perform medical writing duties although they were not hired as medical writers. It shows that before even considering hiring a medical writer, companies look for people that might fit this function in their own staff.

Lisa. M. working in a mid-size Clinical Research Organization:

“I am a nurse who has worked in clinical research for 15 years. I am not a medical writer by title but I have participated in medical writing for clinical protocols and journals for clinical experience.”

Johanna Galyen, Freelance medical writer at Glowing Still:

“I’m slowly switching over from marriage blogging to medical writing. Initially, marriage was my only focus, but I wasn’t able to get any profit from it. So I started to look at using my nursing experience as a way to write for companies. $6,000+ dollars of income later, I realized that maybe I should switch my website over to that as well.”

Kitty W. Freelance writer at a law firm that specializes in medical negligence and personal injury claims

“I have been a freelance writer for 5 years. Two years ago I began working in an entry-level admin role at a medical negligence and personal injury firm. They asked me to create a content-based role to help their marketing strategy after I was put forward for a paralegal role, and my CEO learned from my resume about my background as a journalist.”

A freelance medical writer who wants to remain anonymous

“My original career was as a preclinical bench scientist. I left in the mid-1970s due to a legal dispute that was settled out of court. I was a writer virtually from birth (beginning at the age of 3, I read everything I could get my hands on and began writing short stories and poems a few years later).

So, given my natural interests/skills and my training as a pharmacologist at one of the best medical schools in the country, medical writing seemed a good fit. I relocated to New York City with my first job at a medical advertising agency, and never looked back.”

Jill A. Freelance medical writer since 1995

“PharmD specializing in drug information. Five years of drug information paid for my learning curve with medical writing. In 1995, our resident got a little freelance job that he didn’t have time for. I snapped it up and never looked back.”

It’s interesting to note that there are similar trends in the translation industry:

1) About 70% of translators are women.

2) Many of them have another job alongside translating.

3) Many of them are not “born” translators and come from other industries.

4) Those who remain in the translation industry for longer than a couple of years are passionate about translation.

5) In many cases, companies will just ask one their employees to translate content although it’s not one of their qualifications. They will only look for a “real” translator if they deem the content as important enough. Most of the time, they will look for translation agencies and not for freelance translators. If you would like to learn more about this, I talk about this in one of my blog posts called 3 Reasons Why You Should Change Your Translator Search Strategy.

Are you a medical writer or translator? What’s your background?

Do you know someone who might find this article interesting? Don’t hesitate to forward it to them! Let me know in the comments your thoughts about this important issue, and let’s learn together!

Did you like this article? Do you want to be notified when new articles come up? Subscribe to MedPharmaTranslator’s newsletter to get advice on easy ways to find a good translator, Medcomm industry and medical translation tips.

Post reviewed by Johanna Galyen from Glowing Still