Volume 52, Number 1, Winter, 2002-03

NCSWA WORKSHOP ON FREELANCE WRITING

In November, the Northern California Science Writers Association (NCSWA) sponsored a daylong workshop on freelance writing. Held at the conference center at San Francisco State University, the workshop featured panel sessions on writing for national magazines, book publishing, alternative markets, and the legal and financial sides of freelancing. About 100 people attended; one-quarter were students.

NASW member Jane Stevens opened the workshop with a lively recounting of her career writing for newspapers, magazines, and online outlets. She also offered light-hearted but useful advice to potential freelancers. (Rule #1: Never cry in the office. Only cry in the bathroom.)

Mike Bowker described his career as a successful freelance writer in the workshop’s closing address. He discussed the problems he faced in writing an upcoming book on the asbestos industry and how he resolved them. He urged science writers to find the human stories in the science they report; to give a social context to scientific discoveries. Science should not be reported as if it occurs in a social vacuum, he said.

In between the two talks, workshop attendees attended panel sessions, the heart of the workshop. Chaired by NCSWAns, and featuring successful freelance writers and other experts, the panels gave attendees a chance to ask specific questions about freelancing. Several panels were offered in both morning and afternoon sessions to allow attendees more freedom in choosing which to attend.

Workshop attendees also mingled freely with panelists during an extended lunch hour. NCSWA plans to post transcripts of the panels on its Web site www.ncswa.org.

Panelists included:

Writing for National Magazines: Anil Ananthaswamy, who writes for New Scientist; Sally Lehrman, who has written for Nature, Health, Rosie, Ms., Salon.com, and the Washington Post; Kathleen Wong, senior editor of California Wild; and Robert Irion (chair), who has written for Science, Discover, Astronomy, and New Scientist, among other magazines.

Writing Books: Robert Finn, author of Cancer Clinical Trials: Experimental Treatments and How They Can Help You; Michael Larsen, a San Francisco literary agent and author of How to Write a Book Proposal; Jay Wurts, who has co-authored a variety of books, including When Heaven and Earth Changed Places (made into the 1993 Oliver Stone film, Heaven & Earth); and Robert Aquinas McNally (chair), author or co-author of nine books, including Voices of the Rocks: A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes and Ancient Civilizations.

Alternative Markets: Robert Aquinas McNally, who, in addition to writing books, does corporate writing; and Mary Miller (chair), a Webcast producer, multimedia developer, and senior science writer at the Exploratorium science museum.

The Business of Freelancing: Millie Brown, an Oakland CPA and tax expert, and Susan Mueller, a freelance writer who has written extensively on technology and finances for the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, among other publications.

Contracts/Legal Issues: Donna Albrecht, a successful freelance writer and past national vice-president of ASJA; Bruce Hartford, a former secretary-treasurer of the National Writers Union (UAW/AFL-CIO) and current Web spinner for the NWU Web site (www.nwu.org); Bob Pimm, an attorney who specializes in publishing law, copyright, trademark, and licensing law for the computer, entertainment, and publishing industries; and Bruce Goldman (chair), a freelance writer.

By the end of the day, workshop attendees had learned how to approach a career as a freelance writer. They had a better idea of how to pitch themselves to editors and agents, how to manage their finances, and what to sign and what not to sign in a magazine contract. And they had seen many examples of successful freelancers, and heard how they do what they do.

The event cost about $2,000 to produce. NCSWA handled most of the costs, which allowed attendees to pay a nominal fee of only $10. The freelance workshop is the second in a series of professional development workshops NCSWA plans to offer once a year or so. Last year, it sponsored a daylong workshop on careers in science writing.

NCSWA sent notice of the workshop to all Bay-Area university and college writing programs. Hoping to broaden attendance, NCSWA also sent news releases to local chapters of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Writers Union, both of whom passed notice of the workshop on to their members.

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(Contributed by Sally Stephens)