Carving Out Your Writing Niche

Should you specialize? Some writers argue that specializing limits your opportunities. These writers like the flexibility of moving from topic to topic. It may fit their writing styles and interests (or attention spans) better. There’s nothing wrong with that. How else are you supposed to figure out what you really love to do? Yet, others say specializing has benefited their writing careers and personal lives. After developing a specialty (or several) of their own, these writers found that assignments came easier, and their productivity increased, as well as their income. They didn’t have to spend as much time researching their topic, so they were able to pursue other interests—writing or otherwise. They also found that specializing provided them with other opportunities, including speaking engagements, teaching gigs, consulting, and publishing offers.

But what if you’re not an experienced writer? No need to worry. Anyone can specialize. To start with, all you need to do is concentrate on a handful of subjects rather than trying to write about everything. And specializing isn’t only for freelance writers. You can carve a niche in any writing field, even fiction! You can take a genre and make a micro-genre of your own. You can take a hobby and turn it into a specialty. Just make sure it’s something you’ll want to write about for years to come. I say this from experience.

Before I started WOW!, I “fell” into the action sports industry. My husband was the marketing director for a large corporation that sponsored some of the top skateboarders and snowboarders of our time, and I accompanied him to many events. I began to build an interest in the lifestyle, culture, products, and people I was meeting. I actually started to understand what was going on—the names of tricks performed, how contests were judged, what equipment and brands they used, and how to “speak their language.” And yes, at times it was like learning a foreign language! That was over seven years ago, but I was still in my thirties—a ripe old age to start learning about the industry. But, strangely enough, I thrived. I was one of a handful of women writing about the subject at the time. I not only wrote articles, ad copy, newsletters, and covered events, but I also created magazine layouts, posters, trade show booths, and full-length skateboarding videos with my multimedia graphic design business. I had carved a niche without knowing it. And it was the best time of my life! Making a living was easy, for once. Work came my way (more than I could handle), and I was able to farm most of it out, thus starting a lucrative business. But the topic wasn’t something I was truly passionate about, and I began to lose interest. I was at the point where I could have taken what I built and turned myself into an expert. But when I really thought about it, I realized that I didn’t want to be an expert on action sports. I felt like a poser. Like a food critic who didn’t know how to cook herself. And at thirty-something, I wasn’t about to jump on a skateboard and drop into a bowl! So, even though I’m still involved in the industry somewhat, I wouldn’t say I carved out a niche for myself there. It is niche writing, but it’s not my niche. There’s a difference, and we explore that a bit in this issue. We actually cover both writing for a niche and carving out a niche for yourself and becoming the go-to expert.

Like many writers, I may not have found my niche yet, but I’m always interested in the possibilities. You should be, too! Perhaps it was out of my curiosity of what other writers were doing, what interesting niches existed out there, and what advice they could share with me on how to find my own that this issue came about. And it’s a jam-packed issue! We have everything from writing for the lucrative cookbook market to finding the micro-niche in science writing. We interview experts like Kelly James-Enger to help us find our specialty in freelance writing, and we interview Kristen Painter who is starting to carve her niche in the gothic urban fantasy genre. We cover the pros and cons of writing for the parenting market and help you get started in writing nonfiction books for children. We have an article on collaborative novel writing, where readers vote on the next scene; and we have a fabulous article on how to turn your hobby into a niche! You’re bound to find inspiration in this issue.

And to those of you who are NaNoing at the moment, we applaud you for taking the 50,000-word challenge this month during NaNoWriMo! Many of WOW!’s team members are participating as well, and we’ll be posting words of encouragement for NaNoers and sharing stories on our blog, The Muffin. If you’d like to share a story about your experience, please e-mail our blog editor Marcia Peterson at marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com. We’ll also be chatting about all things NaNoWriMo on our Facebook Fan Page and Twitter. Join the fun and network with us!

I hope you enjoy this issue as much as we did putting it together. I learned a lot about niche writing and how to begin carving a niche of my own. I also discovered many new opportunities and resources I never knew existed. The experts in this issue are fabulous mentors! I know you’ll learn a lot as well. And when you find your niche, let us know; we may just feature you as an expert in our next issue!

A big, warm thank you goes to our freelancers and staff members:

Just walk into any bookstore and you’ll notice mouth-watering cookbook covers front and center—each of them catering to a specific audience, such as gluten-free fare or thirty-minute meals. Gone are the days of the all-purpose cookbook. With so many on the market, authors have to be creative and dole out dishes and cookbook pitches that cater to their niche audience. But how do you break into this highly competitive market and find an idea that will satisfy? We thank LuAnn Schindler for her delectable article, Culinary Creations: Whipping Up the Niche Cookbook Market. We also thank her guests for sharing their expert advice: Libbie Summers, author of The Whole Hog Cookbook; Amy Reiley, Master of Gastronomy from Le Cordon Bleu and aphrodisiac cookbook author and publisher; Tasia Malakasis, owner of Belle Chevre creamery and author of Tasia’s Table; and Stephanie Bostic, author of One Bowl: Simple Healthy Recipes for One. You’ll want to give cookbooks a shot after reading this article!

One of the most popular topics to write about, it seems, is parenting. Magazines and websites are bursting with advice on everything from potty training to packing a school lunch. Wondering how you can stand out from the crowd and win that assignment? We welcome freelancer Janine Boldrin and thank her for her article, Personalize Your Parenting (Writing): The Pros and Cons of Building a Niche On Your Family’s Experiences. You’ll find out how to discover your parenting specialty, grow your expertise, connect with readers, watch out for TMI, protect your baby (and babies), and adapt to change. Janine also interviews parenting experts Christina Katz, author of Writer Mama; Teri Cettina, author of Cash In On Your Kids; and freelance writers Julia Garstecki who specializes in parenting a special needs child and Jenny Kales, creator of the popular food allergy blog, The Nut-Free Mom. Janine also shares her list of parenting markets that are receptive to new writers. Not to miss!

Have you ever considered writing nonfiction for children? A lot has changed since we went to school! Editors today want high impact, exciting nonfiction—nonfiction that is 100 percent factual but still tells a dynamic story. Want to learn how to write this? We welcome back freelancer Sue Bradford Edwards and thank her for her fun and informative article, Children's Nonfiction: A Niche Worth Pursuing. Sue shares some excerpts and examples of what editors are looking for and provides you with a great list of children’s nonfiction to reference when picking the correct form for your manuscript. She also advises on what to avoid in hopes that it will improve your chances of making a sale and minimize rejections. 

One area of children’s nonfiction that women writers should consider is science writing. Women scientists are carving their micro-niche in the broader category of science writing and thriving in the market. Darcy Pattison chats with three writers who have done just that in her article, Finding the Micro-Niche in Science Writing. April Pulley Sayre is known for her chants and poetic rhyming science books for the youngest readers. Ana Maria Rodriguez likes to keep an eye out for cutting-edge research and find a place to write about it. Linda D. Williams is known for her clear, easy-to-understand approaches to technical subjects, especially for teens.

Here’s one avenue of niche writing that’s tough to define. Is it a writing niche or can it be a platform to build your expertise? Either way, it’s definitely fascinating. We welcome freelancer Jenny Ryan to the WOW! family and thank her for her article, Pioneers of Cyberspace: Collaborative Novel Writing. Six months ago, Jenny started writing a story; but after 1,000 words, she got stuck. She wasn’t sure what her characters should do next, so she posted the story on her blog and asked readers to vote on the next plot point. Now, her story stands at thirty chapters—twenty-nine of which were written with readers. She also discovered three other authors and one publishing company working this way. Jenny chats with authors Luisa Plaja, Ceri Neil, and Sharon Gosling about the process of collaborative storytelling, as well as Laura Durman, an editor at Fiction Express, on how to write for this market. Interested?

Romance is one of those genres with tons of subgenres—everything from sweet to paranormal. It seems you have to carve a niche for yourself to stand out from the crowd. We welcome back freelancer Sara Hodon and thank her for her interview with Kristen Painter. Kristen has written everything from steampunk to paranormal before successfully carving out a niche as a gothic urban fantasy writer. She is currently at work on her House of Comarré pentalogy, with the third installment, Bad Blood, scheduled for release this month. Sara Hodon sat down with Painter to talk about her process and how she managed to stake her claim, so to speak, in the world of urban fantasy.

Author and Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipaul asserted that people “are confined by the niche in the world that they carve out for themselves. They limit themselves to fewer possibilities by the narrowness of their vision.” Do writers limit their saleable appeal when they concentrate on a particular topic? Does being labeled a specialist hurt or help a writer’s career? Should writers follow what’s trendy and develop a niche based on the latest craze? For this month’s 20 Questions column, LuAnn Schindler interviews two niche writing experts—Kelly James-Enger, author of Ready, Aim, Specialize and Six-Figure Freelancing, and Nancy Hendrickson, author of Make Money Writing for Niche Markets—who share their strategies and observations about finding the right fit in the writing world.

While it’s fascinating to learn all about these writers and authors carving their own niches in the writing world, you must be wondering how to do it yourself by now! You didn’t think we’d let you down, did you? Of course not! We welcome freelancer Celena Cipriaso to the WOW! family and thank her for her informative article, How to Turn Your Hobby Into a Niche. Celena has some innovative ideas and a step-by-step method for taking something you love to do and turning it into a special writing niche. She’ll help you figure out what you need to learn, how to study your market, where to look for original ideas, and how to start building your portfolio. And she should know! Celena’s love of craft beer led her to become a nationally published beer expert writer and editor. You can take her method and apply it to your own writing niche.

Are you ready for a little detour? Some inspiration perhaps? C. Hope Clark has carved a niche for herself through her website, FundsforWriters, writing about writers earning a living. But surprisingly, that’s not what she’s talking about today! Hope had queried us for our Girls Just Want to Have Fun...Writing! issue, and we loved the query; but the issue was full at the time. So when she followed up and asked if we were still interested in it, we said yes, and we’d find a place for it in our next issue. We welcome back freelancer C. Hope Clark and thank her for her fabulous article, The Music vs. The Muse. Do you listen to music when you write? Does it help your writing? Are there certain types of beats that boost your brainpower? What about soundtracks? In this article, Hope pits music against muse and surveys over three hundred writers to come up with the answers to these questions and more!

And if that weren’t enough, we’re proud to announce the Summer '11 Flash Fiction Contest winners! We’d like to thank literary agent Kim Lionetti for judging this season’s contest. And congratulations goes to all the winners and to those that had the courage to enter the contest as well. You’re going to enjoy reading these spectacular stories!

Last, but not least, I’d like to thank WOW!’s fabulous editor Margo L. Dill for carving her red pen into this issue and making it a pleasure to read!

On to the issue… enjoy!