Genevieve J. Long is a freelance medical writer and editor specializing in patient education, plain language, health literacy and marketing communications. She began her medical writing career as a manuscript editor at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Ore. Dr. Long has been active in the American Medical Writers Association since 2002 and is past president of AMWA-Northwest. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Oregon.
I often joke that editors and medical writers are creatures of a different “precision” breed. I’m equally amazed and frightened by the utter sense of detail orientation editing and medical writing require. Do you think this field attracts people with a natural disposition for it, or that it is shaped over time, or both?
In my case, I think it’s the former. I am that person who nudges a sofa cushion back into position when it’s out of place. On the other hand, I have a writer’s capacity to tolerate disorder for a certain period of time. Both my living room and my desk can be a happy jumble when, in the first case, my Labradors are with me and, when I’m working, I have a project spread out.
That said, I think many editors and writers evolve over time. As you become a better editor, you spot things you didn’t see when you were a beginner. This is what I tell my Medical Editing and Writing I students! You become pickier, but it also becomes easier. And then you reach that stage where improper capitalization galls you enough to send you on little tirades. Friends and family get used to this, for the most part.
What aspects of your experience do you feel are the most valuable to our students?
I was a teacher before I became a medical communicator, and I loved teaching from my first day. I was paid something like $600 a month, plus tuition remission, when I was a graduate teaching fellow in 1992. But I remember shaking my head in amazement that I was getting paid to spend time with students.
As a teacher, I’m an encourager. Anyone who wants to dig in to the material, explore the medical communications field, gather their courage and ask questions—that person can succeed. I’m here to cheerlead.
I’m also a pretty seasoned medical communicator by now. As a freelancer who worked in academia from 2002-2009, I’ve had a lot of clients, internal (in my medical school department) and external. I’m happy to share what goes on in both worlds – the types of real-world situations students might see.
In your opinion, what should people interesting in a career in Medical Editing and Writing know about this field or be interested in learning prior to seeking a college education?
You should love writing, reading, and health, science, or both. You should care deeply about at least one central aspect of the type of communication you do. For example, I changed careers to become a medical communicator. I did it because I wanted my writing to reach more people than it would have if I’d stayed in academia. I wanted to help people. Now, my greatest joy is writing patient education in plain language. Until very recently, most medical communicators came into this field by accident or as career changers. The book The Accidental Medical Writer, by my colleagues and role models Brian Bass and Cindy Kryder, is a good source for examples of that.
Is there any single piece of advice that you have received early in your career as a medical writer and editor that has proven to be key in your professional success?
Join the American Medical Writers Association. My first boss, Joan Randall, at Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health & Science University said when I was signing my contracts, “And of course, you’ll join the organization for medical writers – AMWA. The department will pay for your membership.” I’ve gotten education, advice, clients, inspiration – and I’ve made a number of friends and learned about volunteer work. All from AMWA. It’s been central to my career.
Many of our Editing and Medical Writing and Editing students have expressed a strong interest in learning more about the business of freelancing. As a response to this high demand you are currently designing a standalone course on the business of freelancing. You have, yourself, worked as a freelancer for over ten years. Can you tell us how you got started?
I wanted to be a writer from about the age of nine. When I decided not to become a literature professor, sometime in the late 1990s, I did a lot of reading and soul-searching and decided I wanted to start a freelance writing business. I told my former husband I wanted to be a freelance writer who worked at home. His response? “You and everyone else.” But when the medical school department where I worked offered me its first medical writing position, I asked for part-time hours so I could also start my freelance business. I took about one client at a time, but I set up an office, had business cards printed, and developed my first website. By the time the recession hit, and my position was eliminated in early 2009, I knew I wouldn’t look for another job – it was time to take the freelancing full-time. I’ve never looked back.
I’ve had absolutely wonderful mentors: Tom Lang, who teaches at the Graham School, as well as Lori De Milto, author of The Mighty Marketer, and Deborah Gordon, who leads a webinar on freelancing your way to a six-figure income. Without them, and so many other freelancers who told me I could do it, I wouldn’t have had the confidence to start my own business.
Are there any industry-specific trends you are interested in exploring at this time?
With the Affordable Care Act, the Plain Writing Act of 2010, the increasing use of mobile and social media to access and talk about health care, and the focus on patient-centered care I’m focused on patient education. Plain language. Understanding health literacy. There’s a lot of need out there, and right now, many companies are trying to fill the need by having people trained in regulatory or scientific writing write “plainly.” Patient education and health literacy are subspecialties of medical communication–they’re my passions—and we need more writers to pursue training in these areas.
Can you share one of your greatest professional achievements with us?
Taking my business full-time in the 2009 recession and doing well enough to make it a subchapter “S” corporation two years later.
…And one of your toughest professional reality calls?
There are two. The first came a couple of weeks after my position was eliminated at the medical school. It was the spring of 2009, a scary time for almost everyone. A former client offered me grant-writing work for $35 an hour. There was a lot of work, but doing it would put me way below the going rate for medical writing at that time, and it would take up all my time, so I wouldn’t be able to ramp up my freelance business. I said no, scary as it was, because I wanted to build the whole business, not just fill a gap. I felt guilty for saying no, but I’m so glad I did.
The second was this week. A client offered me a big job with a very tight turnaround. It’s a type of work I’d love to do, and the pay was high. But my travel schedule cut a couple more days off the short time frame, I already had a lot of work on my plate, and I knew taking that job meant living like a crazy person for a couple of weeks. And how good would the work be? I said no to that one, too, though it hurt to do it.
I hear that fly-fishing is a passion of yours. Please tell us more…
Standing in a river, casting a fly, is the perfect way to focus on nothing and everything at once. It’s very Zen. You understand that you’re just a pixel in the big picture of life.
I write a fly-fishing blog, Angling Woman, about being a newbie in an ancient sport and a woman in a sport where about ninety-five percent of participants are men. It’s very different from being a medical communicator – most of us are women. Fly fishing, scrambling down to the river, getting up early and fishing till the moon is up on summer nights – it brings me back into my body. As medical communicators, we tend to live in our heads. Our pleasures are intellectual – that might be why I write patient education, because it touches my heart. I recommend all medical communicators and other “screen-based knowledge workers” have a physical hobby. Get outdoors and recharge!
AGENDA
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FACULTY INTERVIEW: Genevieve Long
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