Writing and Editing Resources
National Institutes of Health
Style Guides
Books about Medical Writing and Research
- The Accidental Medical Writer by Brian G. Bass and Cynthia L. Kryder
- Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers by Mimi Zeiger
- Health Literacy from A-Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message by Helen Osborne
- How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper by Barbara Gastel and Robert Day
- The Mighty Marketer by Lori De Mitto
- Targeted Regulatory Writing Techniques: Clinical Documents for Drugs and Biologics by Linda Fossati Wood and Mary Ann Foot
- Medical English Usage and Abusage by Edith Schwager
- Writing Science in Plain English by Anne E. Green
- How to Report Statistics in Medicine: Annotated Guidelines for Authors, Editors, and Reviewers by Thomas A. Lang
- The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward R. Tufte
Books for Word Nerds
- The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
- The Elements of Editing: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists by Arthur Platnik
- On Writing Well by Robert J. Bank
- Working with Words: A Handbook for Media Writers and Editors
- Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
- Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty
- The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
- The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn
- Editors on Editing
- The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark
- East, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
- Write Right by Jan Venolia
- Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies by June Casagrande
- The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century by Steven Pinker
- Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Conner
- You Are What You Speak by Robert Lane Greene
- Dreyer’s English by Benjamin Dreyer
- A Writer’s Guide to Powerful Paragraphs by John Walsh
- The Art of Readable Writing by Rudolf Flesch, PhD
- Words that Work by Dr. Frank Luntz
Recommended Magazines
- New Scientist, Annual Fee
- Stanford Medicine Magazine, Free
- Hopkins Medicine Magazine, Free
- NIH Medical Plus, Free
- Scientific American, Annual Fee
- Harvard Medicine Magazine, Free
Associations and Societies
- American Medical Writers Association
- Association of Health Care Journalists
- Board of Editors in the Life Sciences
- Council of Science Editors
- Drug Information Association
- Editorial Freelance Association
- International Society for Medical Publication Professionals
- National Association of Science Writers
- Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society
- Society for Technical Communication
- Disease–Specific Associations (E.g., American Heart Association)
United States Government Health Departments
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Food and Drug Administration
- National Institutes for Health
- Pub Med (a searchable database of medical journal articles)
- U.S. National Library of Medicine
Continuing Education Opportunities
- Johns Hopkins University—Master of Arts, Science and Medical Writing
- Tufts University School of Medicine—Master of Science in Health Communication
- University of Minnesota—Professional Master of Arts in Health Communication
- Georgetown University—Master’s in Public Relations and Corporate Communications
- Northwestern University—Master of Science in Health Communication
Blogs and Newsletters
- Health Writer Hub (Career-oriented Blog)
- Essentials for Medical Writers (Career-oriented Blog)
- Becker’s Hospital Review (Industry Newsletter)
- Becker’s Health IT and CIO Report (Health Technology, Niche Newsletter)
- Becker’s Clinical Leadership and Infection Control (Laboratory, Industry Newsletter)
- Becker’s CFO Report (Finance, Niche Newsletter)
- FierceMedTech (Health Technology, Niche Newsletter)
- FierceLifeSci (General, Industry Newsletter)
- FierceHealthcare (Healthcare, Industry News)
- Modern Healthcare (Healthcare, Industry Newsletter)
- The Skimm (General World News, Newsletter)
- Daily Finance, Modern Healthcare (Finance, Niche Newsletter)
- The Pathologist (Pathology, Niche Newsletter)
- Mayo Clinic Housecall (Healthcare, Lay Industry Newsletter)
- Mayo Clinic News Network (Healthcare, Research Newsletter)
- National Institutes of Healthcare (Healthcare Government, News Release Delivery)
- G2 Intelligence (Laboratory, Industry Newsletter)
- The New York Times, Science Times (General, Industry Newsletter)