Kathryn White, professional freelance medical and copy writer, provides tips on effective and efficient medcomms freelancing.

Recorded 2 August 2017 at a MedComms Networking event in Oxford. Produced by NetworkPharma.tv

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ABSTRACT:

Freelancers wear many hats. We are business owners as well as medical writers, scientists, book-keepers and entrepreneurs. We also face many challenges: we need to meet client demands, manage our workflow, market our business efficiently, and make time for professional development and relaxation. Finding the right balance can enable us to work effectively and avoid burn out.

Self-leadership takes courage and self-belief. If we set clear boundaries, for example by restricting our emails to office hours, our clients will respect these, and we will avoid giving the impression that we are on call 24/7. If we understand our value, we will be clear about what we can offer for a given price, and when we can realistically deliver. We need to put systems and processes in place to make our business run smoothly: templates for invoices, and project cover sheets are two examples.

As freelancers, we can often find ways to manage our time better, for example by limiting our priorities, scheduling phone calls, and dealing with emails at specific times. Scheduling time to work on our business will help us to manage effectively, while delegating business and non-business-related tasks can save valuable time. Creating a schedule for the following week at a set time each Friday can be a great way improve efficiency. Likewise, subcontracting work can ensure that we have back up in times of sickness and high workloads, while providing opportunities to freelance colleagues, who may often return the favour.

Written by Penny Gray, Freelance Medical Writer

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We are building a library of free webcasts, like this one, for the global MedComms Community and others at http://www.networkpharma.tv and we’d welcome your suggestions for new topics and speakers.

Full details of this MedComms Networking event are at http://www.medcommsnetworking.com/event_020817.html

Kathryn’s presentation (PDF format) is at http://medcommsnetworking.com/presentations/white_020817.pdf

Kathryn’s Linkedin page is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathryn-white-801a695/

Filming and technical direction by Mario Crispino, Freelance Cameraman & Editor

[For the avoidance of doubt: this video is intended to be freely accessible to all. Please feel free to share and use however you like. Cheers Peter Llewellyn, Director NetworkPharma Ltd and Founder of the MedComms Networking Community activity at http://www.medcommsnetworking.com]