Coaching Service
Scientific Writing Coaching
For researchers whose results are ready but whose papers are not. Structure, argumentation, and the writing routine that turns a backlog of data into a publication record — coached by someone who has written, reviewed, and taught this for over a decade.
Who this is for
The PhD student on their third rewrite of the same introduction. The postdoc whose next position depends on converting two years of results into papers. The non-native English speaker whose prose is grammatically correct and scientifically flat. The research group where every manuscript bottlenecks through one overloaded senior writer.
What these have in common: the problem is rarely English. It is structure and routine, and both are coachable.
What the coaching covers
Why me
I write for a living — papers, grants, a co-edited Elsevier book — and for three years I ran a Writing Club where researchers across disciplines showed up weekly and produced. The coaching distills what actually moved people from stuck to submitted: not inspiration, but structure applied to the manuscript and a routine applied to the week. I publish writing strategy openly on the blog and in my Writing Club playlist; coaching is that material aimed at your specific manuscript.
Dr. Qayyum’s scientific writing workshop was a career-defining experience. He turned what felt like an overwhelming task into a structured, learnable skill. My confidence in writing and presenting research results improved dramatically. — Fariha Mukhtar, Maintenance Reliability Specialist, Tetra Pak, Sweden
How it works
- 15-minute call. Bring the stuck manuscript or the empty page. I will tell you whether your bottleneck is structure, language, or routine — they need different fixes, and mislabeling it wastes months.
- Scoped engagement. A single manuscript deep-dive, a coaching series across one full paper, or a team workshop — format, timeline, and cost agreed in writing first.
- Work on the real thing. Every session uses your live manuscript, not exercises. You leave each one with concrete revisions made and the method that produced them.
Common questions
How is this different from an editing service?
An editor fixes your sentences once. Coaching changes how you produce them, so the next paper needs less help than this one. The deliverable is a better manuscript and a transferred method.
My English is the problem though. Or is it?
Usually not. Most "English problems" I see are structure problems wearing a disguise: the sentences are fine, but they are in the wrong order, making the wrong argument. A diagnosis call sorts this out in fifteen minutes.
Do you coach outside materials science?
Engineering and materials science are the home field, and for those I can coach content as well as writing. The structural and routine method transfers across STEM — several Writing Club regulars were from entirely different disciplines.
Can you run this for my whole group?
Yes — group workshops based on the "How to Write a Lot" material are one of the standard formats, and often the most cost-effective for labs where writing is a shared bottleneck.
Will you just write it for me?
No. Ghost-writing helps neither your skills nor your authorship integrity. I will show you exactly what to change and why, on your own text, until you can do it without me.
Start With 15 Minutes
Book a call and bring the manuscript that is stuck. I will tell you honestly what is holding it back — and whether you need coaching at all or just one structural fix.
Book a 15-Minute Call Send a MessageRelated reading: How to publish DAMASK crystal plasticity research in the International Journal of Plasticity · How to build a postdoc network in Germany before you need one