Editorial

Welcome readers,

I’ve lost count how many times people ask me, what is a medical writer? And it isn’t just my mum and aunt who ask me such a question; medical doctors, PhD students, and academic professors are often surprised that medical writers exist and do what we do. In the current times, medical writers are needed now more than ever to help disseminate accurately and concisely, especially in layperson terms, what is happening in the scientific world. Sara Ferrão, this issue’s author on that topic, tells us how she discovered the profession and gives a useful summary of the pros and cons of being a freelance medical writer, and the difficulties faced during the pandemic. As she states, perhaps for most freelancers our working environment and situation hasn’t been dramatically affected by the pandemic; we’re used to working from home, dealing with clients remotely, juggling schedules. But it’s not all plain sailing. As a freelancer, there are many challenges one must face, as well. We usually discuss these types of dilemmas in our Freelance Business Forum at the EMWA Congress; in fact, Sara was the discussion moderator for this topic at the virtual congress in November. If you’re reading this tossing with the idea of being a freelancer, then check out her pros and cons list and head to the freelancer resource page for more tips.

We’ve entered 2021 and we’re all praying for a better year than the previous one. I hope this issue reaches you well and soon we’ll be chatting together at an EMWA Congress; fingers crossed for Cascais.

Until then, stay safe.

Laura A. Kehoe