The Search for a Niche

Something that every writer faces, especially freelance writers, is the realization that they need a niche. It is possible to be a jack of all trades in the writing world, however, without a niche you are missing out on a ton of business that you didn't know you could get.

What is a niche? A niche is a comfortable position for life or employment. Another word for it would be vocation or calling. Simply put, it is a subject that you feel most confident writing about.

Now when it comes to my niche, I am at a loss. To be honest, I am still fairly new to being a freelance writer. Because I am still wet behind the ears, I struggle to find work and I am told constantly to pick a niche and go with it. However, from what I have read and heard, finding a niche isn't as simple as looking for your lost sock in the dryer.

It is a process that takes time, experience, and stress. Yes, stress. It might not have been this hard for other writers, maybe I am not cut out for it. Yet, I do hold out hope that I will find my niche and become a comfortable writer that is able to support himself on his written word alone. High hopes and all that.

The hardest part of searching for a niche, is realizing how uneducated I am on so many subjects that interest me. For example, I love video games. I am not good at them, nor do I know enough about these games or the way to play them to write about them. My associate once joked saying that I should write a daily article of what I could complain about that day. As humorous as it sounds, I gave it thought.

To continue this boring piece about my inability to find something I am good at. Though, I did consider a daily complaint article, who wants to read about someone complaining about the make of their coffee machine?

So my search begins here. I have been thinking and pondering for awhile on this matter, but I haven't started searching till now. Beginning to search by doing the only thing that I have ever been remotely decent with, writing. (Side note: I rewrote that sentence 5 times and still don't like it.)

I find myself searching the canyons of my brain, trying to obtain an epiphany that would miraculously turn my writing game into a career. All I find are the remnants of good ideas and memories of me as a child thinking that it would be easy to do this. How naive I was.

What I fail to understand, is why I can't seem to think of one subject matter that stands out or shines for me. There has to be something that makes me stand out over others, even if it is just a little bit.

This is the part where I am supposed to wrap up this article and bring it all together so the reader looks at it and says "Wow, that was life changing.", however, that isn't happening. This is far from the best thing I have written, but it feels good to write it.

I do need a niche, that much is certain, but I know that I have time to find it while I build my experience and knowledge of the fields I am interested in. Maybe this article was to help me more than anyone else looking for their niche.

If you are reading this, looking for answers, trying to find your direction..... You are not alone. It is a common struggle picking your forte. Every writer has questioned their path, many have changed it. A niche isn't permanent. That is the glory of writing, it can always be edited, niches are no different. Just proofread yourself and edit as needed.

What advice do you think you can offer someone search for their niche? Let me know!