Interlude: Writing Intentions, Publishing Behaviors, and Professional Development Support

I recently talked with someone about how to deal with reviewers' comments. We had an interesting conversation about "Reviewer #2" and what to do when we disagree with a reviewer's suggestion.

Sometimes we know that we can actually improve the paper by incorporating a reviewer's suggestion. Other times, we disagree with the reviewer, and we can explain our case for not incorporating their suggestion. (Yes, you don't have to make all the changes they suggest.)

But one thing we want to avoid is thinking that a reviewer "just didn't understand our project" or "just didn't get it." As the author, our responsibility is to ensure that reviewers—and all readers—can easily understand our message.

To do this, we need to think beyond the message that we intend to send and consider how the reader will receive that message. This is where good writing comes into play.

Good writing is about what the reader receives, not what the author intends.

So the next time you sit down to write, think about the message you want to send and how you can craft that message to ensure readers will receive it in the same way you intend.

Now onto this week's round-up...

💌 Round-up

🎉 Featured

How Expert Help Will Fuel Your Freelance Success​
I was delighted when The Mighty Marketer interviewed me to learn my recommendations for how freelancers can find experts to help them build and sustain a successful business. Even if you are not a freelancer, this article gives great tips for finding experts to help you accomplish your goals.

💻 From My Desk

How to Request Funds for Professional Development Programs​
Although your institution may not offer professional development programs in scientific and medical writing, they may support you by sponsoring your participation. After all, these programs benefit you and the organization. If you want to request resources to participate in a professional development program, such as the Scientific Writing Simplified course, you can follow this easy four-step process.

📆 Upcoming

Scientific Writing Simplified​
Want to take your scientific and medical writing to the next level? Scientific Writing Simplified will give you a systematic guide to crafting compelling writing that engages, informs, and persuades readers. Space is limited. Doors close on September 20, 2024, or when the class is full.

👓 Reading

Taylor & Francis AI Deal Sets ‘Worrying Precedent’ for Academic Publishing​
"...Informa, the parent company of academic publisher Taylor & Francis, has signed a $10 million data-access agreement with Microsoft. The AI partnership agreement gives Microsoft 'nonexclusive access to Advanced Learning Content' across Taylor & Francis’s nearly 3,000 academic journals. After the initial access fee of $10 million, Informa said it would receive recurring payments for the next three years."

​Evolving patterns of extreme publishing behavior across science​
"Extreme publishing behavior may reflect a combination of some authors with genuinely high publication output and of other people who have their names listed too frequently in publications because of consortium agreements, gift authorship or other spurious practices. . . Extreme publishing behavior has become worryingly common across scientific fields with rapidly increasing rates in some countries and settings and may herald a rapid depreciation of authorship standards."

🎧 Listening

The Science of Communicating Clearly – Listen Up podcast
In this episode, a panel of communication experts share how people may think we are trying to deceive them when we use complex language, why we can’t rely on the media to be the translators of science, why we need to know our audience beyond just “the general public,” how stories are a powerful way to share information, and what important principles to consider in health communication.

Thank you so much for reading.

Warmly,

Crystal