My science-writing career is dead in the water. How do I know? I have a big story that I can’t sell (Indoor Air: Why it Makes You Sick & What To Do). And that’s all I have. I have no small stories to introduce myself to an editor at a magazine. Small stories in science cover a new study, or an interesting researcher.

I’ve never developed small stories, because I thought I didn’t need them.

I have a spelunking mind. Nothing excites me as much as finding the deep reason why something is the way it is. The story of bringing such a treasure out into the light of explanation deserves several thousand words. Good luck with that, unknown writer.

So, facing a dead end, I’ll go small. I just applied for EurekAlert!, serious journalists only. I may be unknown, but I’m really, really serious.

(FYI: EurekAlert! connects science journals to legitimate science reporters. The journals send reporters notice of new research before publication, with enough advance notice to write accurate, well-informed stories for general readers. Or that’s the plan. Sometimes the reporters blow up facts for clickbait. So when you hear about a research study on the same day it’s published, you know the reporter is either psychic, or gets EurekAlert!)

And, Twitter, here I come.