





































       V37 N2 / 2022 

©2022 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

AMWAJournal.org     21

A popular session during the annual conference was the 

Jam Session for Seasoned Freelancers. The session gives 

seasoned pros the chance to share experiences and discuss 

ideas, concerns, and challenges with peers who have the 

same or even more experience. A range of important topics 

were discussed at this year’s session. These include manag-

ing stress, email issues, travel and security issues, sculpting 

your business, friendships with colleagues, referring clients, 

legal battles, and one of the costs of doing business. In this 

issue, we will cover the first 4 topics.

MANAGING STRESS
Saying no is probably the seasoned freelancer’s greatest 

weakness. The no muscle can be strengthened by paying 

more attention to red flags that indicate a client may not be 

ideal to work with, such as being disorganized, and cutting 

that client loose. Giving yourself a day off every now and 

then, or better yet, a permanent 4-day work week, is another 

great way to take control of your freelance business and 

lower your stress level.

 Another way to manage stress is to slow down. 

Delivering an assignment early is a great way to endear 

yourself to a client, but it can also set the expectation that 

you don’t need as much time as other freelancers to get 

great work done. Slowing down doesn’t mean you should 

start taking longer to complete assignments. Rather, you 

might sit on the completed project for an extra day or 2 

before you deliver it—still early, but not as early.

 Subcontracting is another option for managing heavy 

workloads. Seasoned freelancers who subcontract warn 

that subcontracting isn’t easy and can actually lead to more 

rather than less work for the freelance business owner.

Tips from Seasoned Freelancers
Doing excellent work for our clients and delivering it on 

time and on budget while running a freelance business is 

often stressful. But with the right business practices, we can 

manage stress.

 We need to say no to working with new clients that are 

likely to be bad clients and to unreasonable demands from 

current clients. If we are working with bad clients, we need 

to fire them. Although it’s scary to do this, there are lots of 

great clients out there who need our help. If you’re working 

with a client that depletes your energy and increases your 

stress, then you won’t have the time or energy to find or 

work with better clients.

 Training our clients also reduces stress. We need to set 

boundaries about when we work and require reasonable 

deadlines. If we answer emails or phone calls on evenings 

or weekends or agree to unreasonable deadlines, clients 

will always expect us to do this. Let your clients know your 

normal business hours and review each project carefully to 

ensure that you can make the deadline with your normal 

work schedule.

 Make it clear to the client that if they do not do their part 

(eg, sending you source materials or reviewing your work), 

you cannot meet the deadline. Although it’s always great to 

deliver a project a little early, don’t turn it in too early or the 

client will always expect this.

 All of the usual stress management techniques help 

too. Simple things like deep breathing, which you can do 

anytime, make you feel better right away. Meditation, exer-

cise, being in nature, and eating healthily are other ways to 

manage your stress. I started meditating shortly after the 

start of the pandemic, using the Insight Timer app. Insight 

Timer has 100,000 free guided meditations on 200 topics, 

including stress and anxiety. I mostly do short meditations 

(3 to 10 minutes).

—Lori De Milto

Brian Bass, with commentary from Melissa L. Bogen, Lori De Milto, Cathryn D. Evans, Gail V. Flores, and Phyllis Minick

Jam Session for Seasoned Freelancers—Part 1

FREELANCE FOCUS

Brian Bass Melissa L. Bogen Gail V. Flores Phyllis MinickLori De Milto

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AMWAJournal.org     22Jam Session for Seasoned Freelancers—Part 1

My answer: Managing stress daily is a high priority for me. By 

taking specific actions, I can maintain productivity and enjoy-

ment of my work. If I am not vigilant about managing my 

stress levels, a sense of overwhelm can threaten to derail me.

Specific Actions to Manage Stress
• Exercise: A commitment of Pilates classes on Zoom 

twice a week keeps me accountable and somewhat 

active. I did a 6-week fitness challenge at a local  

gym, but COVID dissuaded me from continuing the 

challenge. Huffing and puffing into a mask at the gym 

while others didn’t necessarily wear a mask wasn’t to 

my liking, so I’ve replaced the gym with doing exercise 

programs on YouTube in my living room. Some pro-

grams I like are Yoga with Adriene (https://www.you-

tube.com/user/yogawithadriene), HAS Fit (https://

www.youtube.com/c/Hasfit), and Fitness with PJ 

(https://www.youtube.com/c/FitnesswithPJ).

• Stay hydrated: Drinking water is important. My goal, 2 

large glasses before and after lunch, forces me to take 

frequent trips to the bathroom. These short excursions 

are an ideal time to stretch and focus my eyes far-

ther away than the monitor. I live on a lake, so there’s 

always something pretty to see.

• Eat at regular intervals: I need to keep my body fueled 

to think and perform well throughout the day. If 

you’re like me and don’t have time to cook, consider 

a food delivery service, whether online like Hello 

Fresh (https://www.hellofresh.com/), Mosaic Foods 

(https://www.mosaicfoods.com/), etc, or simply local 

takeout. Keeping cut-up vegetables around helps me 

snack on something healthy.

• Maintain regular hours: Once I’m off the clock, I don’t 

respond to work-related email and I tend to stay away 

from my computer. I need time when I am not working 

to relax.

• Engage in a hobby: Humans are not meant to just eat, 

sleep, and work. We need social engagement and cre-

ative outlets. Social engagements have been tricky 

during COVID. Participation in regular nonwork 

Zooms with friends from around the country and my 

family help me feel less isolated. But I also need to 

see people I know in person! I hike with local friends. 

Getting out in nature, even a simple walk around the 

block, invigorates me. I need creativity in my life—col-

oring in adult coloring books, dancing to music, or 

gardening (or looking at garden catalogs in the winter) 

are all restorative activities.

—Melissa L. Bogen

My best response to addressing this issue is a quote:

In speaking of the New Year, Richard Branson, although not 

an acknowledged sage but unquestionably a remarkable 

success, wrote that "every success is a tale of constant adap-

tation, revision, and change." So, my interpretation of that 

response is this: may none of us focus on fear. If something 

new or stressful is happening in your life, take courage. If 

you face anxiety, turn to the excitement of possibilities, 

because it takes only one step to begin breaking any barrier. 

Use the power of your ability for communication to change 

a system, a status quo, or even the heart of people to make a 

difference in this world. I am thankful for the spirit of learn-

ing and wisdom that AMWA fosters to help others, to share 

friendship, and to anticipate new beginnings.

—Phyllis Minick

* * *

ADDRESSING THE EMAIL ADDRESS ISSUE
Most seasoned freelancers have a hard enough time 

keeping up with their own email addresses. For them it 

would be onerous to have to constantly check other email 

addresses as well. They solve the problem by having their 

client addresses forwarded to their regular email address. 

Some seasoned freelancers prefer to keep their own email 

addresses separate from their client email addresses. One 

way to do this and keep your sanity is to manage each email 

address on a different browser.

Tips from Seasoned Freelancers
I hope others will describe how to maintain client-specific 

emails when they are forwarded to one email account.

 In the past, I have been given up to 2 client email 

accounts. I preferred to not have those emails forwarded to 

my personal email address. For me, it was easier to maintain 

each email account separately by webmail.

 Each morning I launch my personal email (on Mozilla 

Thunderbird). I also launch 2 tabs in my browser for the 2 

separate client email accounts. I check email in my personal 

email account with immediate notifications. I keep my 

speakers off so the notifications are silent. These notifica-

tions appear as a small red number on my email icon in the 

taskbar (the icons at the bottom of my monitor). I can easily 

ignore or check my personal email as I see fit.

 I keep track of each client’s emails by switching through 

the accounts throughout the day. Typically, I check the 

client email accounts about 4 times per day: first thing in the 

morning, before and after lunch, and at the end of the day. I 

give my clients my cell phone so that if they have an urgent 

http://www.amwajournal.org
https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene
https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene
https://www.youtube.com/c/Hasfit
https://www.youtube.com/c/Hasfit
https://www.youtube.com/c/FitnesswithPJ
https://www.hellofresh.com/
https://www.mosaicfoods.com/


AMWAJournal.org     23Jam Session for Seasoned Freelancers—Part 1

need, they can always contact me immediately during my 

regular office hours. However, clients rarely text me. One 

client likes to use Slack (https://slack.com/), software that 

allows private chat rooms/groups and direct messaging. 

Slack’s immediate notification means I never miss a timely 

communication.

—Melissa L. Bogen

In recent years, about half of my clients have required me 

to use an email account housed in their organization. I’ve 

set them all up in my Outlook along with my medical writ-

ing business email account, so I can scan my emails from 

all of my current clients at the same time. I’ve found it very 

helpful for organizing emails by project and client in my 

Outlook, and it allows me to filter out my other clients when 

I need to focus on correspondence related to active projects. 

The only email account I don’t access through Outlook is 

my personal email account. I only check my personal email 

account through an Internet browser, so that I don’t get dis-

tracted by personal emails during the workday.

—Gail V. Flores

In a recent email, purportedly from Costco, I was asked to 

answer 3 questions about customer satisfaction—a feature  

that Amazon and others use frequently (and I respond to 

those occasionally to express appreciation of good service).  

This time, I was offered a wristwatch with a “fall accident” 

feature. The only cost was postage. “OK,” I wrote to accept. 

My son said, “Mom, you’ve been scammed. Cancel your 

credit card.” I called Costco Visa and was told that the 

charge was $8.95 but that there was no need to cancel the 

card; Visa would protect me. Also, I was given the charge 

company's phone number. The agent who answered said, 

“your watch will be delivered tomorrow, and your earpods 

will soon follow for $35.” I cancelled the earpods, charges, 

and (supposed) account. Incidentally, that call was my 

second scam email of that 1 day.

 That said, I’ve done editing jobs by email in 6 countries 

for years. The only change I’ve added to my system is a sepa-

rate email address for clients. I never use that email address 

to buy anything! Consequently, I never receive ads or unso-

licited responses on that site. I also have a separate bank 

account to receive online payments for completed jobs. 

Immediately after payment arrives, I transfer the money to 

another business account.

—Phyllis Minick

* * *

TRAVEL SECURITY AND SANITY
Tapping into airport or hotel Wi-Fi can expose you to a host 

of security issues. When traveling, seasoned freelancers 

rely on their security software for protection. Norton, Trend 

Micro, and Malware Bytes come to mind. Some seasoned 

freelancers go so far as to have their own virtual private net-

work (VPN) for travel security. And for both security and 

sanity, never check email on your phone when you travel, 

especially when you’re on vacation. Set your out-of-office 

message and walk away from the inbox.

Tips from Seasoned Freelancers
For the last 2 years I have not stayed in a hotel and have 

traveled only by car. In the past, I took up to 15 trips per 

year: I have never worried about “security” vis à vis email 

or Wi-Fi while traveling—and I check my email by iPhone 

and iPad regularly. Even when traveling by air, I always sign 

on to the airport Wi-Fi and have never had a problem with 

hackers. Some of my clients like to send text messages reg-

ularly and of course I review these while traveling—some-

times I prefer text messaging, even if the messages are very 

long, because it is so much simpler while traveling.

—Cathryn D. Evans

* * *

BUSINESS SCULPTING
Freelance medical writers often get their start in one area of 

the business, like scientific publications, and over the years 

find their interests wander. Freelancing gives us the flexi-

bility and the opportunity to explore other areas and sculpt 

our businesses accordingly. Rather than resist the urge to 

branch out, seasoned freelancers should embrace their pas-

sions and pursue other interests that can allow their free-

lance businesses grow.

Tips from Seasoned Freelancers
As a freelance business grows, it’s common for seasoned 

freelancers to get so busy that we don’t take time to think 

about the type of work we’re doing. Then one day we realize 

that we’d like to add other types of medical writing or tran-

sition out of the work we’re currently doing to other types of 

medical writing.

One of the joys of freelancing is that we do get to choose our 

clients and our projects. If you’re not doing what you want to 

be doing, set aside a few hours when you can think strategi-

cally about your business and develop a plan. Consider other 

types of work you want to do and how you can make the  

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AMWAJournal.org     24Jam Session for Seasoned Freelancers—Part 1

transition to those types of work. Can current clients give you 
new types of work? Who in your network does what you want 
to do and might help you? Continue doing the work you’re 
known for as you add or transition into new types of work.
 Every 6 months or so do another strategic planning ses-
sion. Review your progress and the type of work you most 
want to do.

—Lori De Milto

This is truly an important question for all of us. I started out 
targeting “pharmaceutical industry” clients because I had 
worked for several years as a full-time medical writer for a 
drug company. Note, however, that during all those years, 
my experience included not only scientific publications 
and regulatory affairs but also marketing communication, 
sales-training projects, continuing medical education and 
patient education materials, writing and designing edu-
cational and scientific exhibits, writing press releases, and 
covering medical meetings. So my “focus” on pharma/ 
biotech clients was by no means limited to clinical regula-
tory affairs.
 I point this out here because I feel those who have 
worked in the industry may have a better advantage than 
they realize. An underpinning to all of these topic areas is 
understanding deeply the process of the development of new 
drugs/biologicals as well as strong familiarity (experience) 

with Food and Drug Administration regulations. No matter 
what you do in the pharma/biotech industry, regulations 
will be a ghost in the background—so learn the regulations 
as well as the product development process.
 Over the years as a freelancer, I have also worked for 
hospital systems, creating or modifying website copy, writ-
ing practitioner profiles, or creating brochures, and for man-
aged care companies, writing provider manuals, standard 
operating procedures, responses to patients, and educa-
tional material. The background in pharma/biotech enabled 
me to branch out this way quite easily.
 Incidentally, I became a certified yoga instructor as well 
as a certified Acupressure/Shiatsu practitioner while free-
lancing. Thousands of hours devoted to classes for these 
certifications because I love both practices and did them 
part-time while freelancing as a medical writer.
 Think about your present expertise and how/where you 
might branch out. Take classes in the new area, if you can. 
Do your homework and then move. But please . . . never, 
ever tell a client you have experience doing something  
when you do not! Study, learn, practice first—then do it for  
a client.

—Cathryn D. Evans

There’s more to come from the 2021 Jam Session in next 

month’s issue of the AMWA Journal.

Unlock the Secrets 
to Freelance Success
with this 3-part on-demand video series.  

Gain relevant and practical advice 
from industry pros. 
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•  Essential Ingredients of a Successful Freelance Business
•  Bad Behaviors That Can Sabotage Your Business
•  Getting the Clients You Deserve

Unlock Now in AMWA Online Learning: www.amwa.org/freelance_success

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