To Niche Or Not To Niche 

"Being well-known and well-respected in his field, he simply fired off a note to an editor—whom he usually knew quite well—and was usually rewarded with an article assignment."

By Christine Ridout

I have always been a strong believer in not confining myself to a single type of writing.  I have never wanted to be a “travel writer” a “health writer” or “parenting writer” because I thought that being “niched” would be limiting.  If an editor wanted a nature piece, I wanted him to think of me.  Or, if she wanted a profile of an artist, why not me?  Why not me for a kayaking article?  A gardening article?  A personal opinion piece?  A photography piece?  In fact, “Why not me” has been my philosophy and I’ll even write about things I know nothing about (What I do know is how to find out anything).   I was convinced that “niching” myself would limit me both professionally and financially.   I felt so strongly about it that I frequently advised people in my workshops not to niche themselves.

I also have a wide variety of interests and I find it interesting to write about different topics.  I did not want to be limited to one area because I thought it would be tedious. If you look at my publications you’ll see that I’m anything but a niche writer.  I’ll write about anything an editor asks me to or that strikes my fancy.  I like it this way.

I recently reconsidered this, however, when I met a “niche writer’:  His success was phenomenal, the list of his publications—including books—enormous, and his bank account obviously much larger than mine.  What amazed me was how little selling and marketing he had to do.  Being well-known and well-respected in his field, he simply fired off a note to an editor—whom he usually knew quite well—and was usually rewarded with an article assignment.  Or, editors would call him and give him assignments on topics of their choosing.  Editors would even call and ask him for ideas!  I was impressed and jealous that he spent so little time marketing. He had more time for writing—which is, after all, the fun part—his volume of publications was astonishing, and his income was significant. In contrast, marketing consumes 30-40% of my time and I am constantly starting from scratch with an editor.  Here was success at a level I couldn’t quarrel with and he loved his field so much, he was never tired of it.

I continue to write about a broad variety of topics because my interests won’t let me confine myself to a single topic.  However, I no longer think it’s better, either financially or professionally, not to be a niche writer and I no longer advise workshop participants one way or the other.  It clearly is a matter of what works best for each writer.  What I think I have learned is to spend more time cultivating relationships with editors so they think of me when they have an idea and recognize my name when I send them an idea

*****

--CR
© 2000 by Christine Ridout

Christine Ridout is the  director of the Boston West Center for Writing and Photography.