We are all riding high after meeting in Manchester at the EMWA conference in May 2013. It was wonderful to see so many colleagues coming together and enjoying the new-look events that EMWA offered us for the first time. Both the Symposium Day, and Kath's seminar about working in and on your business, proved a great success. As these two events were free member benefits, we feel sure you'll agree that EMWA is working hard to provide us all with a superb programme that represents excellent value.

In this issue of OOOO, Claudia keeps it light with a humorous analysis of how we freelancers spend our time compared with our employed colleagues. In the process, she dispels some myths about freelancing and flexibility, while highlighting the benefits of both employment options. Kath updates us on her experiences as a freelancer three years on from her original article and describes how life-coaching has helped her in several key areas of her life and business. In a separate article, Kath provides some tips on how to have a successful business trip. Raquel gives us the low down on a selection of time tools available to help us work around the clock in our regular Toolbox feature.

Our Freelance Foraging ‘photo-SOP’ from Anne fits perfectly with our theme of medical writing around the world, coming all the way from Brunei! When you're out and about this summer remember to snap those funny photos and send them in.

Finally, thank you to everyone who has provided feedback on the OOOO section and given suggestions on the types of articles they'd like to see featured here – we are working on them. We are grateful to Paul Woolley for sending his insights on Mac computer systems following Sam's article about migration from PC to Mac in December 2012. Please feel free to send us an email if you have any suggestions or feedback on our features or articles. Our aim is to keep this section as relevant for our freelance members as possible, and your valuable input is appreciated.

A reminder about the Freelance Resource Centre

We'd like to remind our readers that we have a growing archive of invaluable freelance resources available on the EMWA website. Access is via the ‘Members-only’ log in then click ‘Resources’ and ‘Freelance Resource Centre’. In addition to our well-publicised ‘Regulatory Medical Writing’ section, we have archives on ‘Starting-up and Running a Business’, ‘Legal’, Technical’, ‘Personal Experience’, ‘Journalism and Translation’, ‘Conferences’, and ‘General’. Much of what may be of interest to you might already be covered in these archive materials, so do check, and be assured that efforts to fulfil our group needs have been ongoing for some years now. Happy browsing…

Non-randomised, non-controlled, retrospective analysis of the time spent working as a freelancer compared to a pharmaceutical company or a contract research organisation employee
Definitions and abbreviations

Introduction

The fantasies of freedom and self-determination of many employees that are dreaming of becoming freelancers are often only that: fantasies! The objective of this brief ‘nüchtern’ (no nonsense) analysis is to describe and quantify the real everyday life of a freelance medical writer compared with that of a medical writer employed by a pharmaceutical company or a CRO.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of all travel and working time between June 2007 and June 2012 (freelance working period) compared with the travel and working time between June 2001 and June 2007 (employee period) was performed. The analysis was based on the calendar used as the main time management and organisation tool during these years. The following variables were analysed in detail:

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Mean number of working hours/week during working days, distributed by month < Download Full Article You must be a member of EMWA in order to download the full article. EMWA members please log in to download the full article. If you would like to become a member of EMWA, please join here. References Elmhirst DN. Working from home: freelance medical writing. Trends Pharmacol Sci 1996;17(2):64. Wagenaar AF, Kompier MA, Houtman IL, van den Bossche SN, Taris TW. Impact of employment contract changes on workers’ quality of working life, job insecurity, health and work-related attitudes. J Occup Health. 2012;54(6):441–51. White K. A leap of faith – the power of life-coaching. Write Stuff 2011;20(4):251–2. Hicks E, Hicks J. Money and the law of attraction. Learning to attract wealth, health and happiness. London: Hay House UK Ltd; 2010. Ferriss T. The 4-hour work week. London: Vermillon; 2008. Burkeman O. Making work work. Psychologies Magazine. 2012; July:36. Visit the EMWA website Search Articles Medical writing around the world Message from the President The yin and yang of medical writing in China The changing face of medical writing in India Medical writing in India at a crossroads Medical writing in the Middle East Medical writing in Finland On the western edge of Europe – medical writing in Portugal Announcing AERTeM, the Spanish Association of Medical Writers From editors abroad into businesswomen back in Brazil Science writing workshops for AIDS vaccine researchers in Africa Medical postcard from Australia, the world's largest island Teaching English for Medical Academic Purposes at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, Serbia Regulatory medical writing in Switzerland Medical writing in the Russian Federation: Promises and pitfalls Report on the EMA Workshop on clinical trial data and transparency Potential implications of wider data transparency in medical communications The need for registration of preclinical studies Mentorship in EMWA: A perspective In the Bookstores The Webscout Regulatory Writing English Grammar and Style Medical Journalism Medical Communication The Light Stuff Out On Our Own Links The Write Stuff Archive Contact Instructions for Authors Article Template (Word) Journal Policies Editoral Board Editor-in-Chief Raquel Billiones Co-Editors Evguenia Alechine Jonathan Pitt Senior Editor Victoria White Managing Editor Alicia Brooks Waltman Associate Editors Anuradha Alahari Jennifer Bell Nicole Bezuidenhout Claire Chang Barbara Grossman Sarah Milner John Plant Sampoorna Rappaz Amy Whereat Section Editors Daniela Kamir AI/Automation Jennifer Bell Biotechnology Nicole Bezuidenhout  Digital Communication Somsuvro Basu EMWA News  Adriana Rocha Freelancing Ana Sofia Correia  Gained in Translation Ivana Turek Getting Your Foot in the Door Wendy Kingdom / Amy Whereat Good Writing Practice Pablo Izquierdo / Alison McIntosh  In the Bookstores Maria Kołtowska-Häggström Lingua Franca and Beyond Maddy Dyer Publications Lisa Chamberlain-James Medical Communications/Writing for Patients Payal Bhatia Medical Devices Evguenia Alechine My First Medical Writing Anuradha Alahari News from the EMA Tiziana von Bruchhausen Pharmacovigilance Clare Chang / Zuo Yen Lee  Regulatory Matters Sam Hamilton Regulatory Public Disclosure Louisa Ludwig-Begall / Sarah Kabani The Crofter: Sustainable Communications Jeff Blair / Luiza Ventura Veterinary Writing Editors Emeritus Elise Langdon-Neuner Phil Leventhal Layout Designer Chris Monk © 2025 European Medical Writers Association