Finding Your Writing Niche

New freelance writers are probably tired of hearing the phrase,
"You need to find your niche," without anyone giving them some
idea of what their niche might be, or how they might find it. I
think it is essential to breaking into freelance writing to find
a niche and grow within it. So, then, just what is a niche, and
where do you find yours? The unique part of this question is
that there is likely a different answer to this question for
every writer. It is a simple task that every writer must
overcome in order to find even a modest amount of success in
freelance writing.

A niche can be many things: what you know, where you live, what
you like, and even what you don't like, and even the work you
are willing to do. Your niche is evasive, but it can also be
right in front of you. It's funny, everyone talks about finding
a niche, but no one can tell you exactly what it is. That is
because your niche is within you. For example: I am a writer,
and I also like sports. So I write for a fantasy football
website, and also a fantasy hockey forum. I am fairly
knowledgeable about Canadian current events, so I write about
Canadian issues as well. Those are just one type of niche.
Another niche for me is e-books. Since about 18 months ago, I
have found a steady stream of business in writing e-books. I
found I could immerse myself in one and get them finished quite
quickly, and with high quality.

This type of work suited me - therefore this is another niche. I
am also a freelance photographer, so I pick up niche jobs in
that field as well. Those are my niches, and I am quick to fill
them. I have no problems building a foundation for my writing
by staying within a niche. Call it a comfort zone, for now.
Occasionally I find myself wading outside of the comfort area,
to stretch myself a little, and that comes once you have
established yourself in your niche area.

So what is your niche? Here are a few questions you can ask
yourself to give yourself a general idea of what your niche
might be?

* Do you have a special skill? Are you good at crafts,
woodworking, calligraphy, etc? This can be a niche.

* Do you have special knowledge of something? Do you have
training in interior design? Antiques? History? Knowledge can be
a niche.

* Where do you live? Is there a market for information about
your area? Is it a tourist area? Are there historic areas of
your city you are familiar with? Your region can be a niche.

* Are you a poet? An essayist? Do you excel at short fiction or
sales copy, or even writing keywords or information for
websites? Any one of these areas that you find appealing, or
that you are handy in, can be your niche.

Sometimes your niche can be being in the right place at the
right time with the right information - otherwise known as a
scoop or an inside track. This kind of information can lead to a
quick assignment for a newspaper or magazine, and if you show
you can do good work, then you might have an in for work down
the road.

Now you ask, what if I don't have a niche? To that I say -
NEVER! Every person (even non-writers) has a niche! If you want
to be a writer, you have to be able to identify your niche and
run with it. What too many writers turn their head at is
something they feel isn't a niche, or that they don't want to
accept as a niche. Part of being a writer is accepting what your
skills are and making the best of them. Not everyone is going to
be a William Shakespeare, Neil Simon, or F. Scott Fitzgerald -
you need to embrace the talents that you have in order to break
into the writing world. Once you have built yourself a
portfolio, and start bringing in a regular income from your
writing, then you can start working on developing other areas of
writing to increase your field of expertise. It will be your
niche writing that provides you the platform to begin to expand
your horizons and delve into different areas of writing – and
ones that may appeal to you more!

Article Source: http://www.articledestination.com

Darren Krause is the author of well over 1,000 articles in print and online, and has also ghostwritten well over 60 e-books. His website, www.imaginethiswriting.net provides writing information and an updated blog.

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