For Shahir Rizk, a protein engineer at Indiana University South Bend, science is a form of art and self-expression. In his lab, Rizk designs proteins that perform novel functions to create nanomaterials, environmental biosensors, and compounds to treat genetic disorders. “It's always exciting when you go into the lab; it's always like Christmas morning every morning, because you never know what you're going to get—if you're going to get what you really wanted, or if you're going to get coal,” he said.
Rizk also loves telling others about his fascinating science projects—almost as much as he loves doing the work itself. “Ever since I started studying science, I’ve always wanted to talk about science,” he said. Along with integrating science communication into his undergraduate biochemistry course and participating in community pop-up talks, Rizk also co-produced a blog (and now a podcast) with Maggie Fink, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Notre Dame. Fink, who is also passionate about science communication, said, “I couldn't help but want to talk about science to other people that weren't scientists, my own friends and family.”
In 2019, Rizk realized that, unlike DNA and genes, proteins were largely ignored when it came to popular book topics for people outside of academia. Although most people know that proteins are in food, Rizk wanted to create something that could introduce casual readers to the diversity of these molecules.
Shahir Rizk and Maggie Fink wrote and illustrated a book that features multifaceted examples of proteins in nature and biology. Here, they’ve drawn caterpillar floppy protein.
Shahir Rizk and Maggie Fink
“The idea was really to incorporate storytelling and make it a narrative look into the lives of proteins,” Rizk said. At the time, Fink was taking a course on art and writing and started to explore illustrating proteins, and the two thought that these drawings could be a useful way to talk about these complicated biomolecules.
Inspired to bring this topic to the public, the two ventured into the world of book publishing. Five years later, their efforts paid off, and their book, The Color of North: The Molecular Language of Proteins and the Future of Life, was published on May 13. In the book, the duo explores proteins ranging from those that help organisms withstand extreme temperatures and ones that ferment wine to the biomolecules that malfunction during disease and those that revolutionized treatments from cancer to snake bites.
Crafting a Strong Science Book Proposal
Unlike a scientific manuscript, for non-fiction popular science books, the authors don’t complete the text before contacting the publisher. Instead, they pitch an outline and a summary of the book to professionals.
In Rizk and Fink’s case, this meant that the two needed to identify what proteins they would feature. “There’s millions of proteins we could have discussed,” Fink said. Eventually, the two narrowed down their options by focusing on proteins related to common human experiences. For example, Fink thought about how her grandfather passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease, a protein-based condition. “I can talk about that loss and then start to talk about the science, specifically the biochemistry, of it.”
Next, they needed to find a publisher who wanted to bring their book into the world. Although some publishers accepted proposals without potential authors being represented by a literary agent, the two ultimately didn’t have any success in cold contacting editors. Rizk and Fink then turned to recently published popular science books to find a good candidate to represent them.
Fink said that some of these agents wanted thorough proposals, a sample chapter, and examples of similar books with an explanation of how theirs would be unique. Others, though, asked for more of an overview, akin to a cover letter for the book.
Rizk and Fink prepared all of these materials and sent their requests over the course of a few weeks. Ultimately, Luba Ostashevksy, an agent with Ayesha Pande Literary, agreed to represent them.
“The benefit of having an agent is that they know what a publisher will be looking for and the ins and outs of what makes a strong book proposal,” Fink said. She and Rizk worked with Ostashevsky for several months editing their proposal and sample chapter, crafting these documents to be more compelling for publishers. Fink added, “It very much felt like writing and editing a research article with an advisor.”
After revising their submission materials, Harvard University Press picked up Rizk and Fink’s proposal, and Rachel Fields joined them as their editor to help them finish the book. “We feel very lucky, because it is difficult to get things out into the world through this more traditional route,” Fink said, adding that neither she nor Rizk have published before or have large social media following that can bolster one’s success. “It just speaks to the need for good science communication out there, and that there's an interest in hearing more about science that hasn't been made accessible to the public yet.”
The Ups and Downs of Writing a Popular Science Book
With an agreement inked, Rizk and Fink set to fleshing out their manuscript. Fink recalled balancing her schedule to set aside time to write when she wouldn’t have an experiment to do. The two also pushed through writer’s block. “You just have to find a quiet place, write from a humble place in your [mind], and to really think about a single person that you are writing this to, maybe it's your friend who is an electrician or an opera singer,” said Rizk, speaking from his own experience.
“It takes a little bit of removing your ego, listening to the experts who are there to help you, and trusting them,” he added about the editing process. Fink agreed. “Thankfully, we got to write this book together, so it was nice to have somebody to commiserate with and to bounce ideas off of,” she said.
One surprise to Rizk and Fink was that their book was sent out to peer reviewers who fact-checked their content. “It was quite similar to an academic article in that way, but with a lot more creative freedom,” Fink said.
For example, one exciting element that Rizk and Fink pushed to include in the book is the illustrations that the two drew depicting the proteins that they discussed. “As you flip through the book, you see an image of something that looks like modern art,” Rizk said. “But in fact, it is a real thing, and that, I think is very powerful in of itself.”
The Gila monster toxin drawn in the black-and-white style that Rizk and Fink used in their book.
Shahir Rizk and Maggie Fink
Rizk and Fink finalized their book just a few months before Fink defended her dissertation. Spanning from medicine to nature, the book explores the function and dynamic roles of more than 50 proteins. Rizk said, though, that they don’t expect readers to memorize it all. “The goal is to foster a fascination [about proteins],” he explained.
Rizk and Fink hope that, in addition to sharing the world of proteins with broader audiences, their book inspires scientists to find ways to explore science communication efforts.
Reflecting on the book writing experience, Rizk said, “It's a wonderful process, and I really encourage everybody to do it, but it's also a grueling process.” While she admitted she’s not prepared to write another book yet, Fink added that with a good support system, it’s manageable. “If somebody wants to write a book, they should definitely just start writing it. Especially scientists; we need more stuff like that out there,” Fink said.
Rizk agreed. “Now, with the spread of misinformation, I think it’s even more important that more scientists get engaged.”
