Laura Rafferty: Managing Science Publications From Start to Finish

OTB: What tasks did you do at Med-IQ?

LR: I substantively edited and proofread deliverables, including publications, patient education materials, slide decks, journal articles, poster presentations, and marketing materials.

OTB: How did you get that position?

LR: I originally had applied for the Grants Department. My would-be manager was looking for an editor, and she just happened to reach out to her friend, the grants manager. The grants manager sent along some résumés, and my manager liked mine. It was just right place, right time. The funny thing is that I never really had an interest in science. Now, I’ve been a medical editor for a decade, so it’s funny how things work out.

OTB: Were you reading guides outside of work hours because of the learning curve, or were you just inundated with work and you learned on the job?

LR: Yes. I had to learn a whole new vocabulary, so I created a running list of terms. It was all new to me. I had to do some reading. I can’t even remember what I bought back then. But I got medical editing books, so I could get up to speed.

OTB: So tell us what a managing editor does.

LR: Basically, a managing editor oversees the life cycle of projects. At Med-IQ, managing editors are involved from the very beginning, attending kickoff meetings, contracting with writers, doing substantive editing. They also keep track of the projects, incorporate internal and external feedback, prepare publications for tech managers or graphic designers, and proofread.

With writers, we’re looking for people who are reliable and responsive; who can produce content that’s clear, coherent, and accurate; and who follow the outline and the learning objectives — and who are friendly and ask questions as needed.

For fact-checkers, we definitely want them to be familiar with medical content and to be able to make good judgment calls. We want someone who will make our lives easier as editors.

OTB: What was your editing team like?

LR: We were a team of five. I had a boss and a direct supervisor, and they had been there for 10, 15 years. I was there for 10 years. So we were really close-knit. We had a very supportive environment. We’d bounce ideas off each other: “Oh, do you have a second? Can you tell me if this sentence is better than this sentence?” or “Am I on the right track?”

OTB: What is it like when you’re launching projects?

LR: A lot of different departments were involved. Editorial and Content teams work hand in hand. For publications, we conduct editorial reviews first, and then the Content team reviews for accuracy. From there, there are many reviews: expert faculty, peer review, fact checking. Another editor always does a proofread toward the end. So it involves a lot of collaboration.

OTB: And a long timeline. Did you have to create the timeline?

LR: For things like slide decks, the Content team would take the lead, and there were also project managers overseeing everything. For publications, Editorial took the lead. For the half that Editorial was leading, we would develop the timeline, and I would make sure things were on track — “Oh, this person didn’t respond,” or “Did this get sent out to peer review?” Things like that.

OTB: What qualities do you look for when you’re contracting with freelance writers and fact-checkers?

LR: With writers, we’re looking for people who are reliable and responsive; who can produce content that’s clear, coherent, and accurate; and who follow the outline and the learning objectives — and who are friendly and ask questions as needed.

For fact-checkers, we definitely want them to be familiar with medical content and to be able to make good judgment calls. We want someone who will make our lives easier as editors.

OTB: Do you ever take on newbies, or is it always more experienced people?

LR: We always had our favorites, but sometimes people move on — they accept an in-house position or they retire. So over the years, we would try out some new people too.

OTB: And from a management perspective, what were your best practices for working with editorial assistants or interns?

LR: I think I used the same practices as any manager. You want to be kind; you want to be supportive. So when I worked at Rowman & Littlefield, I also made sure to show them the importance of being precise and double-checking their work — for instance, not misspelling an author’s name in the database.

OTB: What was your experience with the BELS [Board of Editors in the Life Sciences] certification exam, especially since you were just coming into science editing?

LR: I had been an editor for about three years, and I thought, “Okay, I’m ready to take this exam, ready to start preparing.” It was many, many hours of reading the AMA [American Medical Association] Manual of Style, compiling notes, and memorizing the notes. From what I remember, the exam was mostly focused on editing — so that part I had down — but there were scientific questions thrown in. Thankfully, I did pass.

OTB: And, now, do you feel like science editing is an area that you’re going to stay in?

LR: Yeah. I do enjoy this field. It’s always interesting to learn about different diseases.

OTB: What lessons would you have liked to learn right out the gate?

LR: I would say, if you don’t feel valued, seek out a company with an environment that will allow you to thrive. That would be my main takeaway.

OTB: When working with authors and in thinking about the audiences, what’s important to you in the field of medical communications?

LR: First, I would say it’s important to make sure the content is clear, easy to understand, easy to process, and easy to retain, because it’s for healthcare providers and for patients. You want them to take in this information, and you want it to be useful to them. I also strive to ensure the content represents and respects all populations, for instance, by using people-first language and editing for inclusivity.

OTB: What’s your approach to editing for different contexts, for example, when shifting between those slide decks and the publications?

LR: For everything, it comes down to keeping the end user in mind and making sure it’s easy to understand and easy to process. For slide decks, I find it might be a little bit easier because I can be a bit more informal. I realize someone’s going to be presenting this content. Somebody’s speaking it out loud, so they can fill in the gaps. And they obviously know what they’re talking about. They’re the expert.

I’ve worked on transcripts of meetings. That involves a pretty heavy edit, because people tend to speak in run-on sentences and you need the transcript to be a little bit cleaner. I’ve also done scripts of animated videos explaining the background of a disease. Those need to be natural in tone and not overly wordy, and they need to work with the graphic elements.

OTB: While working on all these different kinds of material, how do you hold AMA and AP [Associated Press] style differences in your head at the same time?

LR: The majority of my work was AMA style, so most of the time, I was in that world. I used AP style with a bimonthly newsletter. To keep them straight, I created cheat sheets noting where they differed.

OTB: I love a good cheat sheet. At Rowman & Littlefield, what was your experience as the acquisitions editor?

LR: I worked at two imprints. One was academic, and one was general nonfiction. I worked with authors with all kinds of personalities, so I really learned to be patient and to navigate difficult situations. Rowman & Littlefield is where I learned I wanted to be a managing editor. I like overseeing the process from beginning to end.

I worked with a lot of memoir writers for the nonfiction imprint. For the academic imprint, my area included all kinds of subjects, like religion and sociology.

OTB: Is there anything I haven’t asked that you want to share?

LR: I would say advocate for yourself and anyone else who might need the support.

OTB: When I think about acquisitions editors, I think of someone more gregarious than the typical copyeditor, because you’re meeting people and you’re managing difficult situations. Can you talk a little bit about the difficult situations?

LR: There was an author who just loved to talk on the phone, and it just felt like every day he was calling. He was a nice guy, but he would just speak for a long, long time. So I just had to prepare myself. “If we’re going to do this phone call, I need to be patient and hear him out.” Other authors would be late delivering their manuscripts — things like that.

OTB: Have you faced any hurdles getting into or advancing in the profession because you’re a person of color?

LR: Thankfully, I haven’t faced any obstacles. Everyone at Med-IQ was great to work with. I’ve been told I have a small accent, even though I was born and raised in Maryland. I always wondered if that would hold me back as an editor. Once, a colleague did tell me I speak great English. So that was a fun day. I’m like, “Yeah, I should, because I’m from here.”

I’m also acutely aware I have a light skin tone. So many people probably don’t even realize I’m Hispanic.

OTB: What lessons would you have liked to learn right out the gate?

LR: I would say, if you don’t feel valued, seek out a company with an environment that will allow you to thrive. That would be my main takeaway.

OTB: I love that. Do you have any suggestions on what offices or employers could do to increase diversity in editing?

LR: They should definitely begin or continue DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] initiatives. So Med-IQ’s parent company has a DEI committee, and they regularly feature speakers and have resource groups. I think it’s also important to strive for a diverse workforce and actively recruit and interview people of color — actually put in the work.

OTB: Is there anything I haven’t asked that you want to share?

LR: I would say advocate for yourself and anyone else who might need the support.

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