MedicalWritersSpeak's podcast Emma Hitt Nichols, PhD

Learning a little bit of something each day is a bit like dollar-cost averaging in the field of investing: keep doing them consistently over time, and you will end up becoming very rich in both marketable skills and savings. It’s also always been my belief that the best investment you can possibly make—better than any mutual fund or stock market return—is in developing your own skills. Nobody can take them away from you. In this episode I talk about some of the things that are useful to learn as a freelance medical writer. 
Here are the 10 traits of successful freelance medical writers:
Focused on what the client and reader wants and needs Follows directions Follows formatting Responsive Well versed in AMA style and rules of editing Organized and mindful of time Cheerful/forgiving/flexible  Professional with clients on calls LinkedIn presence Lifelong learner Access “LinkedIn for Medical Writers” here.
Download the free AMA Style cheat sheet here
Download the free AMA style reference list here
Find out more information about how to get into freelance medical writing at 6weekcourse.com 
Does your company need medical writing assistance? Visit Nascentmc.com
Join VisualMedComms here. Learn how to make your medical and scientific communications visually appealing  and benefit from incorporating a new set of in-demand skills. Find out more about joining the membership below.

This week’s episode covers freelance medical writer success trait number 9, which is having a strong LinkedIn presence. I interviewed Dr. Kalpana Shankar a few months ago on this topic, and I think our conversation really covers most of what I would have to say (and includes several value bombs from Dr. Shankar), so I am reposting that here, along with a short intro on the topic.
If you are a freelance medical writer and are interested in getting more clients, LinkedIn is definitely the place to be. You can have a fully built profile within a day. If you need a little guidance on that, check out my “LinkedIn for Medical Writers” course.
Here are the 10 traits of successful freelance medical writers:
Focused on what the client and reader wants and needs Follows directions Follows formatting Responsive Well versed in AMA style and rules of editing Organized and mindful of time Cheerful/forgiving/flexible  Professional with clients on calls LinkedIn presence Lifelong learner Access “LinkedIn for Medical Writers” here.
Download the free AMA Style cheat sheet here
Download the free AMA style reference list here
Find out more information about how to get into freelance medical writing at 6weekcourse.com 
Does your company need medical writing assistance? Visit Nascentmc.com
Join VisualMedComms here

In this episode, I talk about the many things we have to remember to pull off a successful video conference call with a client, including what to wear, how to set up the video, and other minutiae involved in a professional client call. 

This is trait number 8 of the 10 traits of successful freelance medical writers.
Focused on what the client and reader wants and needs Follows directions Follows formatting Responsive Well versed in AMA style and rules of editing Organized and mindful of time Cheerful/forgiving/flexible  Professional with clients on calls LinkedIn presence Lifelong learner Download the free AMA Style cheat sheet here
Download the free AMA style reference list here
Course EDITING FOR MEDICAL WRITERS (Learn AMA Style https://learnamastyle.com/) Find out more information about how to get into freelance medical writing at 6weekcourse.com  Does your company need medical writing assistance? visit Nascentmc.com VisualMedComms is a new membership where you can learn how to make your medical and scientific communications visually appealing and benefit from incorporating a new set of in-demand skills to offer your clients. visualmedcomms.com  

This week I am talking about being cheerful, forgiving, and flexible--freelance medical writer success trait number 7. How far do you have to go in this regard? Is the customer or client always right? When should you cut ties with a client?
Here are the top 10 traits of successful medical writers as I see them:
Focused on what the client and reader wants and needs Follows directions Follows formatting Responsive Well versed in AMA style and rules of editing.  Organized and mindful of time. Cheerful/forgiving/flexible  Professional with clients on calls LinkedIn presence.  Lifelong learner You can listen to that overview episode here
Download the free AMA Style cheat sheet here
Download the free AMA style reference list here
Course EDITING FOR MEDICAL WRITERS (Learn AMA Style https://learnamastyle.com/) Find out more information about how to get into freelance medical writing at 6weekcourse.com Does your company need medical writing assistance? visit Nascentmc.com VisualMedComms is a new membership where you can learn how to make your medical and scientific communications visually appealing and benefit from incorporating a new set of in-demand skills to offer your clients. visualmedcomms.com

So this week I have a touch of Covid (thankfully, the seemingly milder Omicron variety). And YES I got 2 vaccinations and a booster! Anyway, I don’t want you having to listen to my croaky voice, except for in the intro sections!
I did a 3-part series on productivity a while back and thought I would repost the series as a single episode here as it pertains to success trait number 6, which is “organized and mindful of time.”


In the first of this 3-part series, I describe productivity hacks that everyone can use. In the second of this 3-part series, I talk about medical-writer specific productivity hacks. In the third of this 3-part series, I talk about delegating, the key to being uberproductive and having enough free time.  
Here are the top 10 traits of successful medical writers as I see them:
Focused on what the client and reader wants and needs Follows directions Follows formatting Responsive Well versed in AMA style and rules of editing.  Organized and mindful of time. Cheerful/forgiving/flexible  Professional with clients on calls LinkedIn presence.  Lifelong learner You can listen to that overview episode here
Download the free AMA Style cheat sheet here
Download the free AMA style reference list here
Course EDITING FOR MEDICAL WRITERS (Learn AMA Style https://learnamastyle.com/) Find out more information about how to get into freelance medical writing at 6weekcourse.com Does your company need medical writing assistance? visit Nascentmc.com VisualMedComms is a new membership where you can learn how to make your medical and scientific communications visually appealing and benefit from incorporating a new set of in-demand skills to offer your clients. visualmedcomms.com

Freelance Medical Writer Success Trait Number 5: Being well versed in the AMA Manual of Style and rules of writing and editing
In this week’s episode, I talk about the success trait number 5, and that is being well versed in the AMA Manual of Style and the rules of writing and editing.
Qualities like having a science background, being detail oriented and having the ability to sit quietly at a computer are a given and not included in the 10 traits. Here are the top 10 traits as I see them:
Focused on what the client and reader wants and needs Follows directions Follows formatting Responsive Well versed in AMA style and rules of editing.  Organized and mindful of time. Cheerful/forgiving/flexible  Professional with clients on calls LinkedIn presence.  Lifelong learner From today's episode: If you would like an advance review copy of Nick Nichols' (aka dear hubby) new legal thriller All We Hold Dear coming out March 1, 2022, please email nicknwrites@gmail.com and we will send you a copy. 
Here are some books I recommend:
On Writing by Stephen King Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott On Writing Well by William Zinsser The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White How to Write Bestselling Fiction by Dean Koontz War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield And my book Freelance Medical Writing Emma Hitt Nichols, PhD Download the AMA Style cheat sheet here
Download the AMA style reference list here
Course EDITING FOR MEDICAL WRITERS (Learn AMA Style https://learnamastyle.com/) Find out more information about how to get into freelance medical writing at 6weekcourse.com Does your company need medical writing assistance? visit Nascentmc.com VisualMedComms is a new membership where you can learn how to make your medical and scientific communications visually appealing and benefit from incorporating a new set of in-demand skills to offer your clients. visualmedcomms.com