Health Journalism 2008: Finding success through the trades

By Tammy Worth
Freelance writer, Blue Springs, Mo.

Trade publications not only play an important role in disseminating medical information, but they can also be a lucrative and stable source of work for freelancers, according to a panel of writers and editors at the Saturday session "Freelance: Finding Success Through the Trades."

Writing for trades allows freelancers to delve deeper into topics than many shorter consumer assignments, said Lisa Gill, an independent journalist based in New York City. Gill also noted that the benefits include generous pay, regular work, on-time payment, and an editing process that allows for fast closure on stories.

Another benefit of working for trades is the ability to get ahead of the news, according to David Bronstein, editorial director for the Hospital Group of McMahon Publishing. He noted topics such as counterfeit medications, bariatric surgery, dangers of supplements and rural hospital staffing are often written about in trades well before they reach consumer publications.

Bronstein said freelancers gain exposure because many in the medical fields prefer to read trades over peer-reviewed journals. Trade publications, he said, are easier to read, timelier, more concise and cover areas like practice management that are absent from journals.

Writing for trades provides an opportunity to specialize in areas of interest including information technology, health care policy or practice management.

McMahon's nine publications are about 80 percent written by freelancers. Bronstein said he likes using freelancers who have written for consumer publications because they have a "good, concise style" that "helps liven content and improve readability."

Writers inexperienced with trades won't be sent out without a net. Most editors provide a potential source list and some background information on the topic. Mary Jo Dales, editorial director for International Medical News Group, said her editors help guide freelancers through the process.

McMahon's pay typically falls somewhere between 75 cents and $1 per word, Bronstein said. Dales said she prefers to pay per story rather than by the word, and pay depends upon the length and difficulty of the articles. A day-long conference coverage in which a writer stays on site and writes three stories per day, would net about $1,000 per day, she said.

But writing for trades isn't always rosy. First, unlike consumer publications, editors will run the copy by sources; second, because the writing is for practicing clinicians, it must be highly accurate; third, assignments are sometimes stalled if information is embargoed; and finally, major sources may not be as likely to return a call from someone writing for a a trade as they would from The New York Times.

Querying the editors is basically the same as pitching a consumer publication. Bronstein and Dales said they accept well-crafted pitches or offer assignments to writers who contact them with background information and writing samples.

Bronstein can be contacted at davidb@mcmahonmed.com. Dales can be reached at m.dales@elsevier.com.