Stumbling into a Niche

When I tell one particular friend of mine that I scored an interesting assignment, he always asks, "So what are you an expert on this time?" I used that story when I gave a talk to the local writers group about writing for trades. Someone at that talk raised a hand and asked, "I'm interested in writing for trades, but I'm not an expert on a particular subject. What do I do?"

I think one of the great misperceptions is that the writer needs to be an expert on a topic in order to write about it.

The reality is, while it is helpful to have some familiarity on the industry you want to write about, in the end, your skill as a writer is most important. A good, engaged writer will learn and develop a handy working knowledge, but will never upstage the real experts. If you can show you can handle a topic deftly, editors will hire you.

When I first started freelancing, I looked at the subjects that interested me most, the things that were part of my every day life: parenting, fitness, marriage, women's issues, sports. Parenting and women's magazines are among the most difficult to break into because the competition is fierce. Now, I have published in smaller markets in those topics, but I haven't broken into any of the major ones yet.

Someone suggested I try the construction magazines because I worked with construction people in one of my jobs. I never lifted a hammer, but I did learn to make conversation with people in the industry. I mentioned that job in the letters I sent out, and it landed me assignments. I tried the same thing with engineering. Heck, I live with an engineer. I know lots of engineers as friends. So I targeted engineering publications.

Engineering took me in the direction writing on technology. Construction steered me toward sustainable living. Now I've moved toward science writing.

If you knew me well, you'd think these are the least likely of topics that would be my writing niche. But I found that writing topics that go against my personality make me a better writer and reporter. When I write on a topic I'm passionate about, I struggle to avoid throwing my opinions into the piece.

Writing what you know can be good. Taking advantage of your life experiences can lead to a rewarding career.

Speechifying

Last week was one of those times when personal outranked professional and fun. So I had to take care of the personal.

Now I have to go back to taking care of the professional, and ouch, my slate is full this week.

One of the items on my plate is giving a presentation for our local writer's group on writing for trade magazines. Thanks to the forementioned personal stuff and this week's full slate, I've had no time to even think about this. One of the reasons I'm blogging now is to help me think a little about what I'm going to say.

What am I going to say?

Speaking in front of people doesn't bother me in the least. I'm used to it. I've given one talk about writing -- I was asked to speak about writing essays to a women's group. One woman fell asleep (and I was told not to worry about it because she always fell asleep during the speaker).

I'm more worried that no one will show up. I mean, really, how much boring a topic can you get? Trade magazines? Lots of people don't even know what they are! I'll probably have a half hour to speak, then open it up for questions, and then move on to networking afterwards.

I guess I'll talk about the things people ask me about most: how I got started (boring), how I find the publications I write for (Google mostly), and how they find me (letters of introduction). I can talk about why I like writing for trades, what to expect, and what to do about that little thing called experience.

I've been doing this for a year and a half. I'm hardly an expert. But it is what I do.

If you came to hear me talk, what would you want to know about writing?