Write Better. Right Here.
Are you looking for a way to…
… expand your professional skill-set?
… increase your professional marketability?
… expand your creativity?
Well let me recommend writing. And not just any old writing; writing for a creative and popular website… BitesizeBio.com.
Writing is an essential skill for any scientist and Bitesize Bio is the perfect forum for honing your writing skills, squeezing your brain into a creative mindset and getting noticed in the wider scientific community. It offers an exciting challenge that you can do at your own pace.
I should know. I have been writing for Bitesize Bio for the past year and have benefited greatly from it. Here’s how:
How It Began
I found out about Bitesizebio when the site founder, Nick Oswald, posted an ad for writers on the Biotechniques forum.
I thought it looked interesting and seemed like something that wouldn’t take much time.
I always enjoyed writing but never considered myself a strong writer. I always had ideas I wanted to share and I love helping people but I didn’t think my skills were enough to consider writing as an activity.
Nick calmed my doubts and let me know he would edit everything before it posted so I didn’t need to be the greatest writer in the world to write blogs. The most important thing was getting my ideas and knowledge down on paper (or computer to be exact).
My other big concern was how long would it take? I thought it would take a lot of time. Nick reminded me that if it goes over 1000 words, it’s not “bitesize” anymore, so keep it short.
Improving My Writing Skills
My first blog was about my experiences working in Technical Services at a well known large biotech company. I spent so much time on that first one trying to make it perfect and funny.
When I gave it to Nick, he worked his magic; he improved the grammar and tweaked it so that it was an excellent essay that conveyed everything I wanted to say but in a way that was easy and pleasurable to read.
We have repeated this process a number of times now and each time my work has needed less editing. Over this time my writing skills have improved dramatically and I have an easier time writing scientifically and for fun.
Now I am confident enough to even consider a career in writing some day.
Expanding My Creativity
An added bonus of writing for Bitesize Bio is that my creativity for ideas has increased. And I have found that the stimulation creative writing brings to your mind influences all areas of your scientific life.
Getting Noticed
It’s really a really exciting feeling when you see your article posted on the web. It is so much fun to have your thoughts up there for everyone to read. I love receiving comments on my articles whether negative or positive.
Bitesize Bio is viewed by over 15,000 scientists each month, and the audience is expanding rapidly so it’s a great way to get yourself seen. And even better, when an article gets mentioned on a site like Genome Web or Scintilla the number of times it is viewed can increase 5-fold.
So if you want to improve your writing skills, boost your creativity or indeed you are thinking about a career in writing, let us help you develop your skills. Nick is a great editor for budding writers and will make sure that every article that posts will be publication worthy.
Or if you are looking for a fun way to express your creative side and or just love helping people with technical advice and tips and tricks (and product reviews), we want you.
Drop us a line via our contact form with your article ideas (or any questions you might have) and start on your way to adding a new title to your CV: Writer.
About the Author
Suzanne Kennedy
Suzanne is Director of R&D at Mo Bio Laboratories in California, and the author of their blog, The Culture Dish. She has a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Share