Why did you choose to become a freelancer?
I’m in this for the fun of it - I love science and I love talking about it to anyone who will listen.
My full-time job at Cancer Research UK gives me the chances to do that but freelance writing lets me experiment with different writing styles that I wouldn't normally get to do: reviews, interviews, and more of the prosaic feature-writing style that I lean towards naturally.
If you trained, where? If not, how did you become a freelancer?
Everything I learned about science writing I learned from experience. You pick up a fantastic amount about writing by just reading the work of the best in the field - David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins and the like - and you learn invaluable lessons about communicating complex ideas by telling your friends about them and seeing what works best.
I've been toying with the idea of freelancing for some time. For the past four years, I've entered the Daily Telegraph's Science Writer competition and after three runner-up prizes in a row, I finally won it this year.
I've tried to pitch things before but I found that after the award, more people were willing to listen and lots of new opportunities came up.
What areas do you write about?
I write about all things science, although mainly sticking to biology. I took the general Natural Sciences course at Cambridge and gained a fairly broad knowledge of different fields, so I'm happy writing about evolution, genetics, animal behaviour, neuroscience, psychology and more.
Which publications have you been published in?
So far, I've had work published in Nature Network, the Economist, the Daily Telegraph and New Scientist (once). I'm also writing for a book called the Little Black Book of Science.
Which articles are you the most proud of?
The winning article in the Telegraph's competition opened a lot of doors for me, but I'm most proud of the stuff I write for my blog, Not Exactly Rocket Science.
I started writing the blog just over a year ago and it's really starting to take off. Self-publishing is an absolutely amazing experience.
What are the best and worst aspects of freelancing?
The best aspect is seeing your name appear in a publication that you respect. The worst is getting pitches repeatedly turned down.
Tell us a story
I’ve only been at this for a few months so I don't have great freelancing stories. But on a related note, winning the Telegraph competition earned me a spot at a lunch with Sir David Attenborough and a bunch of other science dignitaries. It's not everyday you get to chat to your childhood hero for hours over lunch!
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