In response to a recent query from a university science student about how to start getting bylines, SJAA’s members offered a range of helpful suggestions:
- approach the university media/PR office and ask if you could do some writing for them. Universities produce a lot of content for their website and newsletters, and that can be an opportunity for students to try their hand at writing. I know university comms units are a lot more beefed up these days than when I went to uni, but it definitely can’t hurt to stick your head in their door and ask if you can do some work experience/writing for them.
- look at some of the scientific societies and the newsletters they produce, and contact them to ask if you can write for them. Depending on what you’re interested in, there’s orgs like the Australian Society for Medical Research, Australian Society for Microbiology, Genetics Society of Australasia etc. The British Medical Journal also has a student section that you could pitch an idea to or contact.
- There aren’t any specific courses in Australia on science journalism, but there are some online ones you might want to take a look at.
- Read science writing (and other journalism!). Like all the time. Find the science writers that you enjoy. Don’t try to emulate them, but pick apart their stories and what they do and try to pin down what you enjoy it. You’ll be a much better writer.
- Contact writers/editors you like and say ‘hey’. Say you liked something they wrote. Tweet at them. Email them. Say ‘hey’ at conferences. Be on their radar. The industry is small and often feels very much about who you know so why not be in that conversation?
- Write. Start a blog and develop your style. Write about things you like. No one will read it. That’s not the point. Point is just to develop and see if you really enjoy the process enough to want to do it all the time.
- I started writing when I was still in research – a lot of volunteer writing for blogs and also for the lab (not too deadline-driven, flexible, good way to practice). I also did a lot of unpaid internships, which were all great experiences but I wouldn’t recommend that widely as it was a real struggle financially. What I found was really helpful was that I just kept on writing/ pitching for practice, and doing a lot of institutional writing – there’s a nice constant style/ tone you develop – which helps to get more gigs when you get clips.
- I started writing for my university magazine! They didn’t have a science section, or it was verryyyy limited when I was a student at unimelb, so I helped them develop that. Then I got the itch and took a bunch of unpaid internships, which is less than ideal and obviously a privilege. Otherwise, I would say if you want to be a writer the best thing you can do is just start writing. Even if it means starting your own Medium account that no one follows (which I did). It helps when you start pitching to be able to show editors you know how to do what they want.
- Add yourself on the Young Australian Writers Facebook page page and SJAA. You’re more likely to be accepted if someone is actively looking for pitches. I would also recommend joining the university newspaper. Most have them and it allows you to do whatever you want, but not be exploited by someone making way too much money and paying you for exposure. I also think that Uni media teams are still good ways of getting science comms practice.
- I was working in science research at the time so I started writing features for the university media team, as well as newsletters for related research organisations, covering their conferences on Twitter and volunteering at the Australian Museum writing blogs as part of their science festival. I’d also say going along to science writing festivals, talks, events etc. such as Quantum Words really helped because meeting people in person made it slightly less daunting to pitch them ideas later!
- I was still working in science when I started out, so one thing I could do is write for The Conversation. I also wrote my own blog, which, as others have pointed out, is not about getting views or readers, but about practice and building up a collection of ‘clips’ that will help to convince an editor that you do, in fact, know how to write.