BOW 52: Gemma Milne: How To Professionalize Yourself Without Formal Training

The Business of Writing Podcast

In This Episode:

Gemma Milne is a Scottish creative science nerd obsessed with deep tech and good writing.

She writes about science, tech and the broad cultural issues surrounding anything that comes out of science labs and into the real world.

Gemma is also a science startup advisor - scouting them for funds, and helping them tell their stories. And she’s Co-Founder of Science: Disrupt, a media org connecting and showcasing those innovators, iconoclasts and entrepreneurs creating change in science.

She’s an engaging public speaker, a published author, and self-made journalist. Today she shares how she landed a book deal with one of the biggest publishing houses in the world, how she became an in-demand public speaker and journalist without any formal training, and how you can credentialize yourself in any skill you’re pursuing.

Episode Highlights

• How Gemma shifted into writing from the (very different) world of science and tech
• The reality of landing a book deal with a major publishing house
• How Gemma professionalizes her skills and became widely known as an expert without any formal training
• Her terrible book idea that got her laughed out of her agent’s office
• How to choose your battles when your editor starts cutting your work
• Why you should always push back if a client asks you to write about something you don’t believe in
• How she monetizes her books and leverages them in the rest of her business
• The fastest way to add public speaking to your repertoire (even if you have zero experience)
• Her advice for changing your positioning or branding when you want to pursue something new
• Why freelancing isn’t for everyone (and why that’s not a bad thing)