To Specialise or Not...

 

Many people have specialist knowledge in subjects that other people know nothing about, whether it's knowing how to grow the perfect marrow, having a natural flare for fashion or knowing the history of the British Empire inside out. Specialising in writing about a subject can be a double-edged sword.

On the one hand if you are an expert in a certain subject and can write about it in a way that will inform others, you can build up a good client base of buyers for that particular subject. You can very often become a columnist in your subject, or have a list of regular titles all willing to pay you for your knowledge.

On the other hand, you can limit yourself and your potential for work. Particularly if the subject you specialise in is so specialised that you end up limiting your markets for work. For example; you may be very knowledgeable in the railway network, but the markets for your knowledge are very slim, with only a handful of publications on this subject being available.

If, however, you specialise in say, natural health and healing, your potential market will be much greater. Most national magazines and newspapers like to promote natural health/healing in some form or another, so specialising in a subject such as this will open up a much wider area for you to work in.

When I first started writing for magazines and newspapers I wrote general lifestyle pieces because I knew that the majority of publications would print this type of story, giving me better odds of getting published with them. Because I've always been interested in the mind, body and spirit side of things my writing eventually leaned more to the magazines that have a spiritual or natural health slant to them. I have now written for every MBS title in the UK at one time or another, most of the women's magazine titles and for many of the national newspapers. I have even secured two regular columns with two national MBS magazines. Because mind, body and spirit covers a wide area, I haven't limited myself too much, but if you specialise in a subject that is too specialised, you might just find that although you are classed as an expert in your field, your workload might become too slim for you to survive as a freelance writer.

So, to specialise or not? It all depends on your market. Are there enough publications out there to make it worth your while. If not then broaden your horizons a bit more.