By D2A Contributing Writer
Writing is a creative process that allows you to tell your story to readers eager to hear it. But to start, writers, just like publishers, begin by finding a niche to focus their efforts in. Think of it as choosing a career path for yourself. In writing, there are many genres or subject areas that you can choose to focus your efforts. Talk of fiction, nonfiction, trade books, general content, and academic writing, the list goes on.
Finding a unique writing niche presents enormous benefits for your writing career. In business, they call it having a unique selling point. But finding a niche depends entirely on you. As a writer, or aspiring writer, finding your area of specialty is prudent, and it depends on factors such as market gap or demand, your strengths, interests and experience, and your goals. In this regard, you need to have a versatile approach in order to find a favorable niche that will be profitable and allow you to grow as a writer.
Five reasons why finding a writing niche is important
1. It helps you to focus your efforts and resources within a profitable or successful discipline
2. It allows you to create quality content
3. It places you in a better position to grow your market and consequently increase sales
4. It helps you to refine your skills and become an expert
5. It helps you to identify opportunities
Identify your interests and strengths
Whether you are a fiction or nonfiction writer, you need to know your interests and strengths. This is the first step towards finding a writing niche. You should ask yourself these questions: What do I enjoy doing? What are my interests? What are my weaknesses, and strengths? What resources do I need to start writing my book, or to develop a niche and start attracting writers who need my assistance? It is easier to create content in a field of your interest because it will generate the drive you need to write that book. Imagine a pastry chef specializing in baking cakes for birthdays having to write a book on excavators. That would seem too far-fetched, right? Your interests and strengths will motivate you to create content that is relevant and of good quality.
Assert what kind of content you want to create
In book publishing, this is commonly known as list-building. Asserting what kind of content you want to create requires you to do intensive research. This is because what you may want to write may not be where your strength is. Generally, after identifying your interests and strengths, the next thing to do is to ascertain the kind of content you want to create. Do you want to write a book, blog articles, magazine articles, or do you want to write an academic paper? This will also depend on your strengths because these kinds of publications are not necessarily the same. They differ in nature and scope. Regardless of the kind of content you want to create, make sure you think it through in order to create good content.
Focus your efforts within well-defined key areas
When you have chosen the kind of content you want to create, it is time to focus your efforts within that key area. The best way to go about it may be to weigh your options. Mapping out your key areas will enable you to well define what you write about, and what you will not. Think of it as setting boundaries in your writing. Focusing your efforts within well-defined key areas is a great way to narrow down your niche, and find areas of specialty. Just like a pastry chef specializing in cakes, they have narrowed their niche to focus on a well-defined area of pastry. While this may seem demanding, the benefits are enormous.
Dedicate to publishing in-depth in those areas
Writing and publishing requires dedication. To succeed, you will need to commit to writing in those key areas. In successful cases, publishing in-depth in certain key areas qualifies you as the go-to expert in the subject. I have often seen published authors who are well known in certain subjects being consulted by various individuals and organizations. This is because they have been dedicated to publishing in-depth in those areas, and they are now considered as experts. You may publish a series of books, which is a great way to becoming an established author.
Conclusion
The content you choose to create effectively defines you, that is why developing a distinctive niche for yourself is key. It is important to target areas of strength and publish in-depth in a few well-defined key areas as it goes a long way in ensuring that you stand out from other writers. Resultantly, you become that star outshining the others. So, go on and explore your interests, and get creating that content.