Finding Your Niche

If you want to write commercially rather than just for your own satisfaction, you may find it difficult to know where to start. If you've already been writing for a while, you will probably have realised that there are many more choices open to you than just composing the next Great Novel versus campaigning for the role of Poet Laureate.

Even so, it may still surprise you to learn that, bestseller writers apart, the best-rewarded (ie, highest paid) writers are all but unknown outside the ranks of their fellow professionals. Some are 'generalists' - that is, they'll write almost anything for almost anyone - but most of the more successful writers become specialists in one field or another. Often, it's the field from which they've 'escaped' in order to become a writer! Otherwise it may be an area they simply have an interest in, or have pursued as a hobby.

The reason is pretty plain. If I were to ask you to write a thousand words on something you know nothing about, you could probably do it but you would have to research and double-check everything. It would take you quite some time, and you'd be unlikely to bring many insights to the debate beyond perhaps a fresh 'outsider's' view. But if those thousand words were on an area you'd worked in, or a topic you've always been interested in, your main problem would be deciding what to leave out. Your learning and experience would show through, with authority and insights crammed into your thousand words. In short, it would be far easier to write and a much better read.

So, here's a very simple strategy you might adopt if you're unsure what to write about. At least at first, simply write about what you know. You'll be surprised how much you do know about your subject - and how much the general public and even new professionals can learn from you. The biggest mistake you can make, in terms of underestimating your worth, is to assume that because you know, 'everyone knows'.

The fact is, most people will know very little - but many will be interested to learn. You just need some lateral thinking to find a 'market' for that knowledge - and the confidence to realise its full worth.

Roy Everitt Well Versed Ltd/CinnamonEdge.com