CME Writer's Marketplace, 2021 Edition

By Don Harting

The 2021 edition contains the latest trends, market needs, and insider advice aimed at helping freelance CME writers to sell their work. This magazine-style e-booklet contains detailed listings about the current needs of 13 different U.S. medical education companies based on actual in-person and email interviews with hiring editors and medical directors. Each listing contains guidance on what types of documents are typically purchased (needs assessments, test questions, slide decks, manuscripts/monographs, case studies, outcome reports, etc.), typical prices paid, URLs of exemplary programs, and full contact information. CME Writer's Marketplace also provides writers with articles suggesting how much to charge, where to find free and low-cost training, how to break into the field, and how to adapt to emerging markets. Finally, readers receive a timely essay highlighting 3 top trends that are driving demand for CME content development.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Don Harting
• Release date: Feb 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9780463278253

Don Harting

Writing needs assessments (NAs) for continuing medical education (CME) forms the foundation of my freelance medical writing business. I started writing NAs full-time in 2009 for a medical education company that specialized in oncology. I incorporated my own business in 2014 and have been on my own for most of the time since then. My background in oncology deepened greatly during a 15-month sojourn in the continuing education department of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.For the last 6 years I have been working with co-investigators and consultants to conduct survey research on best practices for writing NAs. We disseminate the results of our research at national meetings and regional workshops for medical writers and continuing educators. Some of our research has even found its way into CME Writer's Marketplace.I have a passion for continuing education, having earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from Harvard in 1978, a master's degree in journalism in 1992, and a master's degree in biology in 2018. I earned permanent certification as a board-certified editor in the life sciences (ELS) in 2008. I earned the CHCP credential in 2011 and am re-certified through 2021. In my first career as a newspaper reporter I won awards for public service and investigative projects. I transitioned into medical writing with help from the American Medical Writers Association, of which I remain an active member at the regional and national level. Currently I also volunteer as an active member of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions.Thank you for your interest in CME writing!

Book preview

What medical writers are saying about CME Writer's Marketplace:

Your e-books are definitely a big help!

Catherine Page, DPM

Danville, Virginia

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Well done.

Margaret Wright, RN, BSN

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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The market listings at the end of the document were especially helpful since they provided direct contact information and rates that specific CME companies were willing to pay for certain services (NAs, slide decks, etc.) What was even more illuminating was hearing from the companies' own hiring staff (in their own words, no less!) about their experience with good and bad freelancers, especially physician writers. To have such direct feedback from the exact people who are responsible for hiring freelance medical writers was worth its weight in gold.

-- Inam Khan, DO

Optimus Medical Writing LLC

Dublin, Ohio

Key to Symbols and Abbreviations

$ = market pays near low end of industry range

$$ = market pays near midpoint of industry range

$$$ = market pays near high end of industry range

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ACCME = Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education

ACEHP = Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions

AMA = American Medical Association

AMWA = American Medical Writers Association

AMWA-DVC = Delaware Valley Chapter of AMWA

MAACME = Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Continuing Medical Education

CME Writer’s Marketplace

2021 Edition

Table of Contents

Welcome and Introduction

Industry Overview

Top Trends Driving Demand for CME Writing

Your Sample is Your Spark

How Much Should I Charge?

Patient Case Simulations: Platform Expertise Required

Developing Expertise

Market Listings

Tickler Files

Final Words

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all the medical education company executives who consented to be interviewed about their freelance CME writing needs for this edition. Their names appear in the listings. I would also like to thank Thomas Mitchell, MS, of Tech Write Plus, for his professional proofreading and copyediting services. Any errors or omissions remain the author’s responsibility. Please bring them to my attention at [e-mail] so that I may correct them in an appropriate manner.

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Cover photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Published by Harting Communications LLC.

Copyright 2021 by Harting Communications LLC. All rights reserved.

Smashwords Edition

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LICENSE NOTE

This e-booklet is licensed for your personal use only. This e-booklet may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this e-booklet with another person, please purchase an additional copy. If you are reading this e-booklet and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of your fellow writers.

Welcome and Introduction

Perhaps you’re a mid-career physician, fresh from a virtual workshop offered by the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), and you desire to excel at writing medical education materials. Or, perhaps you’re a mid-career PharmD who has left the world of retail pharmacy to start a freelance medical writing business. Or, maybe you’re a young, master's prepared neuroscientist with a flair for English and teaching who's interested in pursuing CME writing as a career.

Whatever the reason for your interest in CME writing — welcome! You have come to the right place. CME Writer’s Marketplace will provide you with trustworthy, up-to-date information that will help you break into the field or help you commit more deeply if you are already active. Freelance CME writing can be enjoyable and lucrative. However, there are drawbacks