title: The Science Writers' Handbook: Everything You Need to Know to Pitch, Publish, and Prosper in the Digital Age
author:  Writers of SciLance 
description: "Writing about science can be exalting, enlightening, and rewarding. It can also be maddening, baffling, and terrifying. <i>The Science Writers' Handbook</i> is dense with sage advice on how to make your experience the former rather than the latter. These are lessons it takes years to learn on one's own; this book feels like a wonderful cheat sheet for the profession."<br /> - <b>Carl Zimmer</b>, author, <i>Evolution: Making Sense of Life</i><br /><br />"Each passing day science writing, like its subject, becomes more important to us all. Students and young professionals need a lot of advice and encouragement, and this book provides them."<br /> - <b>Edward O. Wilson</b>, University Research Professor, Emeritus, Harvard University, and author of <i>Letters To A Young Scientist<br /> <br /></i>"An ailing planet badly needs more skilled science writers. And this fine guide will help produce them, I'm pretty sure."<br /> - <b>Bill McKibben</b>, author, <i>Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet</i><br /><br />"Don't become a science writer. It's hard, and the competition is fierce. Just look at the authors of this book--they're great at it. But if you insist on ignoring me (probably because science writers get to learn the secrets of the universe, meet the most fascinating people, educate readers, and save the planet), then at least listen to them. I do not say this lightly: This book tells you what you need to know."<br /> - <b>Adam Rogers</b>, senior editor, <i>Wired</i><br /><br />"At its best, science writing weaves together quests for knowledge, personal struggles, rivalry and conflicts, and moments of great insight to reveal how science works and why it matters. This book shows you how to write science stories that count."<br /> - <b>Siri Carpenter</b>, senior editor,<i> Discover Magazine</i> and co-founder, The Open Notebook<br /><br />"In a world growing ever more complex, people with a talent to explain are in demand. Nowhere is this truer than in science writing--a field that is entering a vibrant new age. Whether you're a beginner or a veteran, these reports from the frontline provide an invaluable guide."<br /> - <b>George Johnson</b>, author of <i>The Cancer Chronicles: Unlocking Medicine's Deepest Mystery</i><br />and cofounder and director of the Santa Fe Science Writing Workshop
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  PATTERNS
  
  
  Pat Cadigan
  
  
  ![image](../Images/image00171.jpeg)
  
  
  [www.sfgateway.com](http://www.sfgateway.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Enter the SF Gateway …
  
  
  In the last years of the twentieth century (as Wells might have put it),
  Gollancz, Britain’s oldest and most distinguished science fiction imprint,
  created the SF and Fantasy Masterworks series. Dedicated to re-publishing the
  English language’s finest works of SF and Fantasy, most of which were
  languishing out of print at the time, they were – and remain – landmark lists,
  consummately fulfilling the original mission statement:
  
  
  
  
  
  ‘SF MASTERWORKS is a library of the greatest SF ever written, chosen with the
  help of today’s leading SF writers and editors. These books show that
  genuinely innovative SF is as exciting today as when it was first written.’
  
  
  
  
  
  Now, as we move inexorably into the twenty-first century, we are delighted to
  be widening our remit even more. The realities of commercial publishing are
  such that vast t