Wanted: Your input on science writing/editing presentation
simon frantz
Wednesday, 17 September 2008 19:08 UTC
Hello, I’ll be giving a presentation in the afternoon entitled Careers in science writing/editing, and in the spirit of these Web 2.0 surroundings I thought I would try an experiment to see if you would like to help shape the final presentation.
The presentation will cover general issues around getting into science journalism, the skills a scientist can bring to the trade, and what the job entails. However, if there is any specific area or issue in science writing you would like to be addressed, such as what training do you need, what makes a good science writer, or even whether blogging helps, please suggest it below.
I have no idea if this will work, but hopefully any comments below will help to create a final presentation that will be more in tune to your needs and requirements on the day.
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Replies
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Hi Simon,
talking about trainings sounds like a great idea, i am personally looking for the right one just now, so that would be very helpful!
Looking forward to your talk, see you on Friday!
David
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This is a great idea, Simon. I have cross-posted at the Ask the Nature Editor group, and suggested that interested members of that group come over here, as we get a lot of questions there from scientists who are considering editing or journalism careers (including internships, which are one way to discover a little about whether a proposed career change is in fact “for you”!).
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Dear Simon,
I just now saw your post, so hopefully I’m not too late to give you some feedback.First off, I would really like to know what a typical day as a science writer/editor at a major journal entails. Specifically I am interested in knowing how much time is spent reading, writing, discussing papers and how often one can work from home vs. at the office vs. out interviewing/talking to scientists?
Also, I would be very interested in how the writers/editors decide what is newsworthy and what simply deserves publication (and what is rejected).
I’m looking forward to your talk.
All the best,
Kara Cerveny -
Hi David,
Thanks very much for your suggestion, training is always a good area to cover. Just to make sure I understand you correctly, are you looking for training options for a career as a science journalist, science writer or a journal editor?
Look forward to meeting you too on Friday.
Simon
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Anonymous
@Maxine
Hi, lovely to hear from you. Thanks very much for cross-posting at the Ask the Nature Editor group. And I second your endorsement of internships at journals, newspapers, etc. You can not only discover whether such a career change is right for you, you can also make contacts that can help facilitate your career change.
Simon
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@Kara
Hi Kara,
No, it’s not too late to receive feedback. Thanks very much for your suggestions. It’s always interesting to find out what the day-to-day tasks are, and I’m happy to discuss them in the presentation.
See you on Friday,
Simon
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Hi Simon and all!
Simon, thanks for your reply. I guess i need as much a training about writing for the media, structuring an article, that sort of basics, as a training about editing. I am new to the whole publishing process and would enjoy having a wide view of it all. I also intend to apply for internships, which is i guess even more valuable than a good training (trying out the job, making contacts, all these things that a course doesn’t give you).
Thanks again
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David,
NPG offers internships for 6 months and some of our HR staff are coming to the event so may want to ask about them.
I’m pretty sure we’ve closed the applications for this year but you may be able to find out what type of expertise they look for in candidates and what the process is.Thanks
Andy
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@David
“I guess i need as much a training about writing for the media, structuring an article, that sort of basics, as a training about editing.”
No problems at all, I will run through the types of courses. Andy has mentioned the Nature Publishing Group internships, and I’ll mention some more in my talk.
Cheers,
Simon
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@ Andrew, sure that’d be good to talk to the HR people about internships and job openings. No worries about the application process being closed for this year, i am only available from April 2009 anyway!
@ Simon, ok, that sounds great. Thanks for that, really looking forward to it.
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