Picture by Nationwide Most cancers Institute by way of Unsplash
Newsfeeds brim with a torrent of well being recommendation and medical experiences, so it may be shocking that some compelling tales typically stay untapped. Profile writing brings readers behind the scenes of necessary discoveries or difficult medical points — and it affords a recent avenue for freelance pitches.
“My favourite profiles have been of standard of us devoted to their jobs who’ve fascinating again tales and a very good persona,” mentioned AHCJ Well being IT Well being Beat Chief Karen Blum, who has written profiles for college and affiliation magazines.
“It’s not as simple to search out them as a result of they’re not looking for consideration,” she continued. “So, for those who’re engaged on one other task and spot somebody on the telephone who’s notably chatty, you’ll be able to ask them a little bit [about] what obtained them fascinated about well being and drugs.”
In a single case, Blum was engaged on a brief article about Kunchok Dorjee, M.D., Ph.D., a Johns Hopkins researcher attempting to eradicate tuberculosis in a group of Tibetan descendants residing in India. She requested Dorjee how he took an interest within the undertaking and realized his dramatic story of escaping Tibet together with his household as an adolescent.
“I known as my editor and mentioned, ‘You’ve obtained to provide me more room to inform this story,’” mentioned Blum. “I went to [Dorjee’s] workplace, and we talked for some time. It changed into a nice feature.”
Challenges
Profiles are an excellent probability to strive writing another way, mentioned freelancer and AHCJ Board member Laura Beil. “All of us get in ruts the place we really feel like we’re sort of writing the identical story over and over,” Beil mentioned.
In a 2017 Texas Monthly profile that Beil wrote about infectious illness doctor Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., Hotez mirrored on the state’s measles outbreak and the anti-vaccine motion in probably the most private method: Hotez is the daddy of an grownup daughter with autism, and he pushes again on claims that vaccines trigger autism.
Profile writing has its challenges. In-depth profiles, like those Beil wrote for Texas Month-to-month, are hundreds of phrases and require spending lengthy blocks of time with the topic along with contacting associates, colleagues and others for outdoor perspective. “The per-hour fee won’t work out, to do it nicely,” Beil mentioned. “These are labors of affection.”
One other problem is when profile topics wish to evaluate the ultimate copy. “You generally must have a fragile dialog with the supply as a result of, on the finish of the day, you need management,” mentioned Beil, including that there’s room for flexibility on deeply private issues like medical situations that aren’t important to the story.
Some publications characteristic profiles of sufferers or advocates, reminiscent of most cancers survivors or individuals with lengthy COVID. However within the web age, writing a couple of personal individual can set off considerations. In a single case, Beil was poised to do a narrative a couple of professor of biology at an evangelical Christian faculty who believed in evolution however couldn’t educate it. The topic backed out, fearing backlash.
Writing for area of interest publications
The marketplace for profiles consists of area of interest publications. As a characteristic author for the Chicago Solar-Instances for greater than 25 years, Delia O’Hara wrote many prolonged profiles. Now a freelancer, O’Hara typically writes for publications produced by medical or scientific associations and foundations. Editors typically wish to spotlight the work of their establishment and could also be much less fascinated about private particulars.
“Of course, editors are all totally different,” O’Hara mentioned, noting that some could recognize a profile topic’s fascinating backstory. “Learn a number of profiles which have run within the publication or web site you wish to work for and tailor your question to replicate what you see there,” O’Hara suggested.
AHCJ’s new tip sheet on writing profiles
If you’re fascinated about attempting your hand at profile writing, take a look at AHCJ’s newly created tip sheet. It consists of recommendation on discovering profile topics, crafting a pitch, the place to pitch and tips on how to begin gathering materials. It additionally comprises a listing of publications that run profiles, sources for additional studying and examples of profiles in science and well being.
Listed here are a number of key factors:
- Method metropolis and regional magazines, which frequently run profiles of native individuals who have completed one thing noteworthy.
- Pitch your profile as a strategy to inform a fancy well being story from the within.
- Safe the topic’s settlement earlier than you pitch.
- Be ready to spend time shadowing your topic.
- When interviewing, transcend the contacts really helpful by the profile topic.
