THE FREE LANCE

by Tabitha M. Powledge

Meet the Editors

The meet-the-editors sessions at NASW's workshops are always a hit. So here's the annual report about the doings at this year's, held in Berkeley, February 15.

First, recurring themes. It is not news that all editors in the universe want fresh ideas and pieces they haven't read everywhere else. These were no exception, and they mentioned it often. Not so easy when we all read the same journals and get the same press releases. Another well-worn instruction: "We're looking for stories, not subjects."

A couple of trends may improve the freelance lot ever so slightly. Everybody now wants queries only by e-mail, and practically everybody pays at least $1 per word to start and more when you work your way up to a regular.

Somewhat less fabulous is the increasing expectation that writers will come up with a complete package that includes art. Back in my kindergarten days in this racket, a demand for pictures as well as words was the telltale sign of a less-than-top-drawer outlet-probably, horrors, a trade magazine or a country newspaper, but in any case a rag that could be counted on to pay poorly. Now everybody's doing it. Session organizer Aries Keck advised writers to be prepared to shoot pictures. Don't lose sight of the words, she said, but taking a digital camera along can add value to your story-and to the size of your check.

A related trend is not quite yet over the horizon. These editors don't take multimedia pieces now, but all of them expect to eventually, as their publications continue to expand their online offerings.

Finally, if the glorious freedom of freelancing fails to satisfy, internships have been a good route to staff jobs at these publications. All three have such programs, and all have hired people from them.

Popular Science

This monthly is the world's largest science and technology magazine, according to science editor Dawn Stover, dawn.stover@tmm.com. Circulation is 1.6 million; 80% of readers are male, middle class, have some college, and want to know how things work. In short, the magazine focuses heavily on technology-based guy stuff.

The easiest way to break in is via one of its several news sections, which are divided into science and technology, home technology, automotive technology, medicine and health, and home computers and consumer electronics. Decide which section your idea fits into and pitch it directly to the editor of that department. The magazine has a three-month lead time, so editors are not interested in chasing the news. One idea only per query, and be sure to answer these two questions: so what? and why now? If you don't hear back in a reasonable time, "feel free to pester the editor." Yes, she really said it.

News briefs are about 250 words; features run from 500-3,500. Department editors make their own decisions about news briefs; feature assignments are made by staff consensus. Accompany your query with art suggestions or, even better, examples; it will help your pitch succeed, and the magazine buys photos from writers.

The Web site buys very little freelance material at the moment, but Stover says staff is hoping the budget will go up soon (www.popsci.com). New owner AOLTime Warner is working on new contract forms for the magazine, Stover reports.

Science

You mine the papers in this journal all the time for story ideas of course, but News Editor Colin Norman, cnorman@aaas.org, pointed out that it's probably one of the largest markets there is for freelance science writing. About 40 percent of its front-of-the-book news and features come from freelances, a hefty 400-500 pages per year. Subjects cover "anything in which scientists are involved, from research to policy." The news section comprises mostly short pieces, 300-400 words, but can range up to 1000; it is very news-oriented, ranging from reports on hot papers to science policy. The News Focus section is for news-features, which generally run about one page, 1,000 words. Features must be topical, usually with a news peg-a look behind the headlines of recent events, including profiles. The section can handle features up to 9,000 words. "They have to be very special, but we have a lot of flexibility," he said.

Circulation is 150,000 and almost all readers are scientists, so the writing has to be pitched at people who know a lot; on the other hand, Norman pointed out, a piece on genetics must be accessible to an astrophysicist. E-mail pitches will be passed to a deputy editor; keep it brief and include clips. Science pays by the page, which works out to a little over $1 per word. Features pay about $1.25. Rates go up for steady contributors and can go up a lot for investigative reporting.

Science has moved heavily into online daily news in the form of ScienceNOW, which covers hot papers and breaking events. Pay is $225 per item, plus $25 for accompanying art.

ScienceNOW is edited by Erik Stokstad, estoksta@aaas.org. Writing for this online service is a good way to break into the magazine, which will adapt pieces or ask the writer for additional reporting (for additional money).

Science's publisher, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is also starting online magazines, one on signal transduction and another on the science of aging. Both will have news components. Contact for the Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE) is Evelyn Strauss, estrauss@aaas.org, and the pay is expected to be similar to ScienceNOW. The Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment is still sorting out its news component, Norman says. Inquiries should go to the senior editor, Brian Ray, bray@aaas.org.

The journal revised its contract a while back, now offering one that is praised by such stern critics as the American Society for Journalists and Authors as one of the best in the business. Especially notable are its indemnification provisions and the fact that the author retains copyright. The online contract is different, although Norman reported that it is also undergoing revision. At the moment, Web authors must relinquish copyright.

New Scientist

Based in the UK, New Scientist is a magazine about ideas, according to news editor Daniel Clery, dan.clery@rbi.co.uk. About a third of the readers are working scientists and another third are educated in scientific fields, but the magazine is aimed at leisure-time rather than professional reading. "We want to use science and technology to entertain and make them think," he said. "We want things that make people say 'Wow!'"

The news section runs pieces from 100-700 words in length. Breaking news and major announcements are usually handled by staff writers; the news editors welcome stories from freelances that come from sources off the beaten track, such as obscure journals or local stories in their area-especially anything that is quirky, fun, and irresistible. Features are 1,200-3,000 words long; the magazine wants entertaining pieces about science that are also gripping stories. Feature queries to Bob Holmes, bholmes@nasw.org.

The pitch should describe who you are and what the story is in couple of grafs. If you want to report on a paper, time things so that your piece can appear at the same time the journal does. Pay at the magazine is going up to $1.12 per word, Cleary reported, and for some pieces $1.25.

The Web site, www.newscientist.com, is a good way to break into the magazine; it publishes half a dozen news stories every day, running from 300-700 words, and pay is the same. Web queries to Damian Carrington, damian.carrington@rbi.co.uk.

Meet the Editors Again

This year, an innovation: a second Meet the Editors session, which featured additional publications and was designed for one-on-one colloquies between writer and editor. The experiment seems to have worked. Several of the editors reported satisfaction with the arrangement, and so, presumably, did the writer who scored an assignment on the spot.

Among those present:

Dawn Stover, Popular Science. See above.

Daniel Clery, New Scientist. Ditto.

Britt E. Erickson (202-872-4545, b_erickson@acs.org), associate editor of Environmental Science and Technology, from the American Chemical Society, pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/. The front of the book is written by freelances, and content is "anything that pertains to the environment." Pay is $440 for a 500-word news story.

Elizabeth Zubritsky (202-872-6039, e_zub@acs.org), associate editor of Analytical Chemistry, also from ACS, pubs.acs.org/ac/. Wants news and features, short and long. Topics include mass spectrometry, chromatography, proteomics, forensic applications, and food analysis, which she said makes the magazine "a little bit interdisciplinary." Pay is $450 plus 10 percent for Web publication for a 500-word story.

David Ehrenstein (301-209-3201, ehrenste@aps.org), editor, Physical Review Focus, from the American Physical Society, focus.aps.org. The online publication contains selections from APS physics journals explained for students and researchers in all fields of physics, and Ehrenstein was a bit apologetic about suggesting that potential writers probably should know some physics. $500 for 500 words.

Ivan Oransky (212-366-4900, ext 216, ivan@praxispress.com), editor in chief, Praxis Post, "a new magazine of medicine and culture." Online only: praxispost.com. Almost all freelance-written; wants profiles, reviews, and trends. Pays about 75 cents per word. Reviews pay $325 for 800-1,000 words.

Web Sites for the Rest of Us

Last issue's column (SW, Winter 2000-2001, pp. 21-22) explored whether freelance science writers need Web sites to promote their businesses, and whether those of us who have yet to put one together need to get on with it. What with one thing and another-skiing in Switzerland, surfing in Hawaii, winning the figure skating Grand Prix, sailing in the Caribbean, earning a living-I haven't yet done much about it, what a shocker. I have, however, moved the project forward ever so tentatively by embarking on the most enjoyable part of any science writer's working life: doing research.

Meaning that I've dug up a few URLs that look as if they will help my site-building process along once the demanding winter sports season is behind me. You may be raring to become an online presence instantly, however, so it seemed only right to share.

My assumption is that the more geek-like among us have been on the Web for years, and that if you're reading this, you are, like me, a novice. From my less-than-complete perusal, though, there are no sites just for ignoramuses like us. Web-builder sites are built mostly for professionals, or at least devotees. Still, if you hunt around on such sites, you can cobble together a primer.

A good place for beginners is always About.com, which began life as the Mining Company, and which specializes in information on hundreds of topics assembled by human beings who know something about them. To wit:

webdesign.about.com/compute/webdesign/mbody.htm is not, as you will see when you drop by this home page, aimed at beginners. But at least it acknowledges that everybody begins as a beginner, and indexes some material accordingly.

webdesign.about.com/compute/webdesign/library/weekly/aa051999.htm provides a brief overview of the process and lots of links. Most are not really for beginners, but information suitable for our consumption lurks there nonetheless.

webdesign.about.com/compute/webdesign/cs/designtips/index.htm contains, duh, design tips, and webdesign.about.com/compute/webdesign/cs/editors/index.htm is, also duh, about editors.

Turning now to CNET, which is really truly not for beginners. Still, here you'll find www.cnet.com/webbuilding/0-7250.html?tag=st.bl.3880.dir.7250, a collection of articles on the basics. Liberally defined. But there's also quite a nice primer on HTML at builder.com/Authoring/Basics/.

Enjoy, if possible.

#

Tabitha M. Powledge can be reached via e-mail at tam@nasw.org.