10 Steps of Writing from Scratch to Publication
First Week on the Job
An email notification flashes on your screen. You find a researcher’s request for an English press release. Would you panic or pour yourself a cup of coffee?
Besides the finer details that are organisation-dependent, the most critical step is the pre-writing stage. Try to collect the right resources on the topic — quality over quantity. What defines right depends on each writer’s range of knowledge and adaptability.
The less familiar the topic, the longer it will generally take to determine which and how many resources will be helpful. In addition, you may need extra time to explore media, such as YouTube videos, on the essential aspects of the research. I am tearfully grateful when the topic is biology and not quantum mathematics.
The new writer should remember that understanding every aspect is unnecessary. As science communicators, we want to explain the research accurately in an accessible way to our target audience. These readers are generally well-informed, educated, and interested in science. They just want a taste of the hor-d’oeuvres; otherwise, they would skip your release and go straight to the entrée, the published paper.
Press releases summarise but are not mere summaries. The goal is not to reincarnate a paper’s abstract but to create a story that invites people’s attention to the paper. Ready to cook? Get your chef’s hat. Roll up your sleeves. It’s a ten-course meal.
Pre-writing
Step 1: Skim the whole paper once, then scan the abstract for keywords and phrases
Step 2: Skim the summary, then scan for keywords and phrases
Step 3: Search other resources to fill in knowledge gaps
Step 4: Piece together a rudimentary, loose outline of critical ideas just using headings
Example:
Title/Subtitle
Hook/Introduction
Main findings
Quote from researcher*
Extra detail about results
Another quote by researcher
Background on research/Method of research
Implications of results
Future investigation
[*Usually, the researcher is the lead or corresponding author, but that could vary. The lead or first author is not always the team leader. The authors may provide helpful information in the summary feedback regarding the unexpected or their interests.]
Now, go for a walk around the block. Allow time for your raw ideas to sink and spread throughout your neural network. If it helps, have a cup of herbal tea or wine.
Starting the First Draft
Step 5: Do the title first (ignoring advice to the contrary)
There is no right way. Everyone ticks differently. I write the title first because it gives me a reference point and sets the general tone for the release. I could always change it. Note: Some researchers will have had little experience with press releases, so they may expect or prefer technically precise titles.
Take the following examples.
Researcher’s release title:
“Nasal Bone Variability in Two Japanese Horseshoe Bats Revealed by 3-Dimensional Geometric Morphometrics”
My suggestion:
“If the Nose Fits”
Of course, mine is cryptic at best, I explain to the researcher. But when science journalists and general readers are scrolling through hundreds of releases, their eyes will scan for eye-catching titles and images — not unlike clickbait.
So, instead of backing down or doubling down, peer into their eyes and respond with a simple question:
Do you want your research to reach a wider audience?
Most of the time, the researchers will sigh, smile, and sit down, letting you keep your witty, catchy title. Just remember to keep the title tight.
Step 6: Assemble the subtitle
Here, you can adapt the paper’s title or cohesively piece together keywords that reflect the main finding(s) and please the researchers. Also, try to keep the subtitle a maximum of a line.
Step 7: Make a bony outline (as in skeletal)
Take your outline from Step 4 and turn it into a template by adding branches of subheadings and their subheadings. This step could help you organise the information you’ve obtained. If you’re more of the analog type, have fun with sticky notes.
Step 8: Flesh out your draft
Start writing full sentences, like “It was a dark and stormy experiment.” Fill in the details of your story with facts from the summary and other sources (steps 1 to 3). Ideas are still fluid at this stage. Don’t worry about connectivity and flow yet. Use more sticky notes — try different colours.
Step 8.5: Meet the author (optional but recommended)
Organise a casual interview with one of the paper’s authors (usually the first or corresponding author) and ask questions. If they are keen, you can entice them to do a mock slide presentation for you. There are three benefits from personal experience:
a. Gain a better understanding of the research
b. Gain trust and credibility from the researchers
c. Get some fresh air and escape the office for an hour
Step 9: Tame your narrative
Now, worry about connectivity and flow — just kidding. Make effective use of connecting words and logical sequence. Use Grammarly to preempt spelling and grammar errors.
It is a press release, not a tabloid exposé — tone it down.
It is a press release, not an obituary — give it more life.
Optional:
a) Have a colleague, friend, or pet read your draft and ask for input.
b) Record yourself reading it and listen to it. Listen for redundancies and ambiguities.
If neither a nor b is feasible, save the file, step away, and return to it the next day. (The researcher can usually afford to wait another 24 hours.)
Step 10: Deliver your baby-draft
Your first draft is ready to send to the researchers for their review, resulting in one of two scenarios:
a) They say they like it, and ask you to go forward with it; or
b) They say they like it, and return the draft sliced, diced, and bloodied.
If relevant, remind the researchers to share an unpublished release image with a caption and credit. Be mindful that some online platforms, like EurekAlert!, have a policy against using AI-generated images. Check with your respective release eligibility guidelines.
Beyond step 10, it depends on how each organisation’s PIO team operates. There may be further proofreading, strict release timing, or coordination with other teams or institutions.
Then, submit to publish.
That is research press release crafting in a thin nutshell.
About the Writer
Born Japanese, English is technically not my mother tongue but was the primary language of my formal education in Canada. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology, I returned to Japan and worked at a Japanese pharmaceutical company, utilising my bilingual ability in the international business department. Five years later, I obtained a graduate degree in education. The 23-year-long teaching career that followed took me to four different countries as a high school teacher of English, Japanese, and science.
The Covid-19 pandemic was a turning point in my career, at which I sought a new vocation that could help me develop my writing skills. At the time of this post, I am in my third year at a national university in Japan as a public information officer (PIO).
As a science communicator, I write research press releases, mainly in medicine, physics, chemistry, biology, and computer science, and occasionally in the humanities and economics.
Becoming a PIO in academia could have been exciting. For newbies, maintaining that excitement can become challenging if the workplace environment is not conducive to effective communication and team trust. Receiving professional development opportunities is a must for me. I was promised to make up for a ho-hum salary. My boss did not deliver. If you, however, are fortunate to receive proper mentorship, your progress as a release writer may propel you forward.
On the bright side, however, my direct, face-to-face interactions with researchers have been positive and educational. I encourage new PIOs to take the initiative and make such opportunities themselves because nobody else will.
At least in the short term, the encouraging feedback, the human connection, and self-training may be enough to sustain the infant stage of your career as a PIO, particularly at public-funded universities and research institutions.
Happy writing!
Reference:
Handbook for Science Public Information Officers, W. Matthew Shipman, The University of Chicago Press, 2015