Writer's Insight: Caroline Leopold
For the latest edition of the Writer's Insight series I spoke to Caroline Leopold, a medical writer based in Philadelphia.
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About Caroline
An insatiable curiosity about health and medicine led to a career as a grants consultant and medical content writer. In the 12 years Caroline has freelanced, she’s written on a vast range of health and medical research topics. In aggregate, Caroline has helped around 60 clients win $40 million dollars for medical research and clinical projects.
What kind of freelance writing fills your schedule day to day?
My most stable and high-paying work comes from grants consulting and writing. However, the work is seasonal, so I work hard for nine months a year. About half of my time is spent in consulting and project management. The remaining time is spent with research and writing, which is by far my favorite part of the work. About 80% of my work comes from referrals and the remaining clients find me on LinkedIn.
How did you break into/start working in medical writing?
Medical writing is a diverse field and attracts some highly educated people (MDs and PhDs), but I gravitated toward academic medical writing, which is more flexible. My master's research and thesis focused on HIV prevention and youth health promotion. My HIV research experience got me a foot in the door writing for an HIV/AIDS agency. I fell in love with the challenge of grant writing and enjoyed winning funding for important health causes.
I was terrified when I went freelance, but I reached out to someone I found on LinkedIn and she mentored me. I worked excessively in the beginning to compensate for my lack of confidence. Medical grant writing is an in-demand specialty, so I did fairly well from the beginning. However, in recent years, prices are dropping for grant writers and I've had to negotiate more strongly. Also, my medical content writing practice has been flagging after a few lucrative years.
Where might writers wanting to write in a similar space look to find work?
I mentor a lot of aspiring grant writers and the ones who meet success understand that the work involves research, relationship building, and lots of practice. There are ample resources to learn grant writing. Getting training that is aligned with the grant specialty is key. For example, I paid for training with federal funders because I specialize in medical and scientific research funding. There are sample grants available on the NIH website and the link is easy to find on Google. There is also free or low cost training for writers who work with the not-for-profit sector.
However, sales, marketing, and client relations are skills that also need to be learned. In the US, there is a program called SCORE that offers free mentors for consultations. Grants consulting is a business and there is a fair amount of financial risk. Therefore, learning business skills is as important as gaining writing competencies.
Finding work is best done with multiple sales/marketing channels. Search job boards can turn up a contract/freelance position. A LinkedIn profile is likely more powerful than a website, but a website is good to convert warm leads. Networking via online channels is inexpensive and as effective as paying hundreds of dollars to attend a conference. However, it might be worth joining the American Medical Writers Association or/and the Grants Professionals Association. They have a lot of resources for beginning writers.
What does pay look like in the medical writing niche?
Pay varies by medical writing specialty and expertise. In the highest paying niche, regulatory writing, it's not uncommon to earn $200,000 per year or possibly more. However, the barrier to entry to regulatory writing is very high and a MD or PhD is almost mandatory. That work involves writing extremely complex documents (1,000 pages or more) to create documents to be submitted to the FDA. Many people who want to break in go to graduate school or pay for a very expensive certification course ($30,000 or more).
I'm in the academic side of medical writing, so I am not paid by pharma companies but rather universities. Making six-figures is not uncommon, but grant work is sporadic. Personally, I make about $50,000 per year, but I have chosen to work less and have more time to work on personal projects. I have been working in the field for 20+ years and I enjoy pursuing new challenges.
Grant writing pricing is variable and there are predatory firms who hire freelance grant writers and pay them little. It's not uncommon to see grant pricing at $20-$30 an hour. That pay scale is not sustainable in the US and I advise aspiring for $50 an hour to start and quickly raising rates based on client demand.
Freelancers often face unique financial challenges. How are you planning and preparing for retirement financially?
The basics I was taught is to have an emergency fund and give to a retirement account (tax break). In addition, it's important to understand contracts to minimize risk. Client non-payment is catastrophic and there are ways to limit that. I always use a contract and work with a reasonably priced lawyer when the rare client defaults.
Are there specific strategies or tools you recommend for freelancers to ensure financial stability and security as they approach or consider (even in the future) retirement?
I have a retirement account that I contribute to when I can. However, I am not financially secure. I have learned to live frugally and I use my research skills to find subsidies, discounts and benefits.
Are there any resources, tips or tricks that you use/have used that freelancers might benefit from?
Reach out to fellow freelancers you find online like LinkedIn. Strangers I met online have given me a leg up and well-paying work. Networking is not about stuffy cocktail receptions. Instead, it's more casual, friendly and even fun. I have worked with many people over the years and a few of them have become lifelong friends.
If you’d like to contact Caroline about anything you read here or about the prospect of medical writing, you can reach out to her at caroline@fuelcopy.com.