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Topic: Where to pitch med stories?
| Author | Message |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/7/2006 11:42:58 PM | show profile | email poster I have written medical stories for several major publications but I'm still struggling to find a publication that can use me on a regular basis. The publications I currently work for have extremely limited freelance opportunities (and a masthead bursting with health and science reporters ... sigh). I'm not interested in unknown publications or the type that make you rewrite your rewrites and offer you 35c a word -- been there, done that for way too long. Any suggestions much appreciated! |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/8/2006 3:25:24 AM | show profile P/S Yes, I realize membership to AvantGuild is an option. I guess I need to bite the bullet and part with $49! |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/8/2006 3:25:28 AM | show profile P/S Yes, I realize membership to AvantGuild is an option. I guess I need to bite the bullet and part with $49! |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 7/8/2006 11:10:59 AM | show profile By medical stories, do you mean health articles for consumers (there are tons of markets for that). --I have written medical stories for several major publications but I'm still struggling to find a publication that can use me on a regular basis. The publications I currently work for have extremely limited freelance opportunities (and a masthead bursting with health and science reporters ... sigh). I'm not interested in unknown publications or the type that make you rewrite your rewrites and offer you 35c a word -- been there, done that for way too long. Any suggestions much appreciated! .. |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/8/2006 12:21:34 PM | show profile Yes, I mean health stories for consumer publications. I have written for several major newspapers. Also had two brief reports published in Parents magazine, which I know is a good market for freelancers, but I haven't had any luck, so far in getting them to accept my ideas for features. Any suggestions, DribbleDrive, on this huge market you mention? Thanks. |
| Linda F | Posted – 7/8/2006 3:51:27 PM | show profile MedScribe, I recently gave a talk at Canyon Ranch about writing health and wellness articles. For the talk, I created a handout with a list of about 30 magazines that buy such articles, along with their URLs and, if I could find it, their e-mail formats. E-mail me at linda-eric@lserv.com and I'll be happy to send it to you the next time I'm at my computer (I'm away from home right now). Or, if enough people would like to see it, I can post the list here once I'm at my regular computer. Linda http://www.lindaformichelli.com http://renegadewriterblog.blogspot.com |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 7/8/2006 4:47:29 PM | show profile Just go to any large bookstore and start skimming through the women's, men's, health, sports sections, etc. and you'll find dozens of titles. --Yes, I mean health stories for consumer publications. I have written for several major newspapers. Also had two brief reports published in Parents magazine, which I know is a good market for freelancers, but I haven't had any luck, so far in getting them to accept my ideas for features. -- |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/8/2006 6:06:10 PM | show profile Thanks Linda F. I will e-mail you right away for that list. Thank you, Linda. MedScribe |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/8/2006 6:11:37 PM | show profile Going to bookstore ... Yes, thanks, DribbleDrive, I guess I needed to be more specific. I have gotten those magazine long ago. I'm an ex newspaper reporter so what I'm really looking for is more of a newsmagazine or big daily (U.S. News and World Report, New York Times Sunday Magazine, LA Times, Newsweek.) Would love to know IF they use freelance med writers and if so who should I approach. I do realize women's and health mags are much more dependent on freelancers but they tend to have a huge lead time and are far less news oriented. Plus to be honest with you, I'm not sure I really want to write the kind of articles they run, even if they'd agree to take me on to do so. (Thin Thighs in Thirty Days! Give Yourself a Pedicure! Ten Ways to Tackle Toddler Tandrums!) |
| Linda F | Posted – 7/9/2006 11:05:53 AM | show profile Got your e-mail, MedScribe! I'll send you the list when I get home tonight. I should warn you (and everyone else who might want the list), though, the list is mostly of newsstand health, women's, and men's mags. While many of them run a lot of "Lose Five Pounds in Five Days"-type pieces, they also reports on various diseases, do articles on alternative therapies, run health news pieces, debunk health myths, etc. Cheers, Linda http://www.lindaformichelli.com |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 7/9/2006 11:32:41 AM | show profile Newsmagazines and dailies tend not to use many freelancers. in my experience. The Los Angeles Times has a weekly health section that seems to be use them occasionally. But I wouldn't target these types of pubs for bread-and-butter work. --I'm an ex newspaper reporter so what I'm really looking for is more of a newsmagazine or big daily (U.S. News and World Report, New York Times Sunday Magazine, LA Times, Newsweek.) Would love to know IF they use freelance med writers and if so who should I approach. >> |
| Linda F | Posted – 7/9/2006 5:18:38 PM | show profile I thought of something else: Some pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and health organizations produce their own magazines through custom publishers. For example, I know Merck has a magazine, a does the foundation for juvenile diabetes research (I forget the exact name of the org). They pay as well as newsstand magazines and may run the more research-heavy pieces you're interested in. (For instance, I recently wrote an article on anxiety disorder research and treatment for one custom health pub.) |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/10/2006 2:18:55 PM | show profile Thanks again, Linda! I'm surprised to hear you say corporate writing for BigPharma pays about as much as the newsstand mags. Having written for both, I'd say I've gotten far more from the pharmaceuticals: $2 per word for Family Circle magazine vs. $50 p.h. for corporate. And that $50 p.h. covers every minute spent related to writing the article including the routine admin tasks that accompany any writing assignment. So a !,000 word article in FC equals maybe $2,000 vs. almost double for corporate. But I realize that might be far from typical! |
| Linda F | Posted – 7/10/2006 3:19:36 PM | show profile Hi, MedScribe, Oh, I didn't mean corporate writing! I meant freelancing for custom pubs put out by custom publishers for pharmaceutical companies, insurance agencies, etc. You work with editors at the custom publisher and write articles just like for newsstand mags. Another example is Neurology Now magazine published for the American Academy of Neuology by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. The Jan/Feb 2006 issue has profiles of celebs with Parkinson's and MS, but also, for example, an article on clinical trials of gene therapy for muscular dystrophy. I write for just one medical custom pub right now and am hopefully about to break into another. They both pay about as much as newsstand magazines. Cheers, Linda http://www.lindaformichelli.com |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 7/10/2006 4:30:23 PM | show profile I am shocked you got that small an hourly fee from pharmaceuticals, actually. I recently did some copywriting for a medical instruments company and charged $125 an hour -- which I thought was cheap. It's really hard to compare a per-word-rate and a per-hourly-rate since different writers can take vastly different amounts of time to produce a piece of work. Personally, for example, I can't imagine any 1,000 word article taking 40 full hours worth of work. I tend to be fast and hate to charge by the hour because I make more on a project basis. --Posted ? 7/10/2006 2:18:55 PM | show profile Thanks again, Linda! I'm surprised to hear you say corporate writing for BigPharma pays about as much as the newsstand mags. Having written for both, I'd say I've gotten far more from the pharmaceuticals: $2 per word for Family Circle magazine vs. $50 p.h. for corporate. And that $50 p.h. covers every minute spent related to writing the article including the routine admin tasks that accompany any writing assignment. So a !,000 word article in FC equals maybe $2,000 vs. almost double for corporate. But I realize that might be far from typical!// |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/10/2006 9:02:31 PM | show profile Linda, Actually I did something similar. I defined it as corporate writing because the pharmaceutical company ultimately pays for my time. I understand why others wouldn't definite it that way though. MedScribe |
| MedScribe | Posted – 7/10/2006 11:48:16 PM | show profile P/S to Linda Linda, It sounds like you are doing a great job of making a decent living out of writing. You're an inspiration and it's good to find you on this board! MedScribe |
| Linda F | Posted – 7/11/2006 4:58:37 PM | show profile Thank you, MedScribe! That was nice of you to say. This fall is the 10th anniversary of my first article sale, and I'm having a ball! Good luck to you and all the other health writers out there. Linda |
