Finding your niche

[Criseyde]

Does anyone have tips on how to do this? I want to be a writer. I really can't see myself doing anything else with my life. But, obviously, in order to be a writer, one has to have something to write about, and people who are willing to read it.

I'm having a problem with #1 right now. It's not that I can't think of anything -- it's that I can think of SO MANY THINGS that I don't know what to pick. I need to build a portfolio of non-academic writing and I think the best/easiest way for me to do that would be to start a blog, but a blog about what? I'm interested in everything!

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how did you overcome it?

Thanks!!

[Kaie]

I have that same problem, too many passions. I am currently working on something new, I just chose something and started researching and got all amped up about it. I think it is a good niche and I can see many ebooks and much content for a website. I think it is just a matter of choosing one and focusing. You can always change your mind if it doesn't feel right.

So, I am sorry if it is just simplistic, but try clustering to empty your mind on paper, or list everything in a doc, whatever you are more comfy with. This will get everything out. Then you will have something to work with. You can scan the list and see what excites you the most. I know it may confuse you more, but it is a start.

Look around you, what are you inclined to shop for online, or in real life? What do you read? What do you most listen to?

[Kaie]

I will also say that yes, I had this problem... Big time, it was lack of focus. I am so excited about my upcoming project, it feels right.

[VinceG]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

Does anyone have tips on how to do this? I want to be a writer. I really can't see myself doing anything else with my life. But, obviously, in order to be a writer, one has to have something to write about, and people who are willing to read it.

I'm having a problem with #1 right now. It's not that I can't think of anything -- it's that I can think of SO MANY THINGS that I don't know what to pick. I need to build a portfolio of non-academic writing and I think the best/easiest way for me to do that would be to start a blog, but a blog about what? I'm interested in everything!

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how did you overcome it?

Thanks!!

Why don't you write books? Those are selling well right now on Amazon. Midnite's going to sell his on Amazon, and I will sell mine there too.

I'm highly suspect of blogs as a method of making a living. To explain why I'll have to ask you to read this essay. A book is a transactional economy setup, whereas a blog is an attention economy endeavor. Unless you don't plan on monetizing it, in which case it's part of the relationship economy.

I suggest starting with the transactional economy because it's the easiest way to make money. You learn quickly whether you're succeeding or failing, by whether people buy your book or not.

If the object is just to write, for fun, well, hell, just pick whatever excites you the most. That will be a far better guide to proceeding than any other concern.

[ssandra]

Can you think of something that all your passions have in common?

[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by Kaie

So, I am sorry if it is just simplistic, but try clustering to empty your mind on paper, or list everything in a doc, whatever you are more comfy with. This will get everything out. Then you will have something to work with. You can scan the list and see what excites you the most. I know it may confuse you more, but it is a start.

Thanks. This is a good idea.

Originally Posted by VinceG

Why don't you write books? Those are selling well right now on Amazon. Midnite's going to sell his on Amazon, and I will sell mine there too.

I'm working on a book, but since it's a novel, it will probably be in the works for a while. And even so, I'm not sure that it's going to serve the purpose I want, which I will explain shortly...

I'm highly suspect of blogs as a method of making a living. To explain why I'll have to ask you to read this essay. A book is a transactional economy setup, whereas a blog is an attention economy endeavor. Unless you don't plan on monetizing it, in which case it's part of the relationship economy.

I suggest starting with the transactional economy because it's the easiest way to make money. You learn quickly whether you're succeeding or failing, by whether people buy your book or not.

I'm not planning to make a living from blogging. I just want to get going on some published non-academic writing for my portfolio, because I'd love to write for publications. If that ends up being my own publication (i.e., the blog), so much the better, but that's not really the main idea right now.

Originally Posted by ssandra

Can you think of something that all your passions have in common?

This is a really good question; thank you. Right now, I'm not coming up with anything, but I will think about this.

[ZephyrusX]

What are you interested in writing? Poetry, short stories?

Have you tried asking Indianna for advise? I think she is a writer... maybe...

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

What are you interested in writing? Poetry, short stories?

Have you tried asking Indianna for advise? I think she is a writer... maybe...

Yes, Indiana is a writer, and from what I gather, a pretty successful writer at that.

I'd go with Zephs suggestion though, and find what you are interested in writing about. There will always be people who like the same thing as what you like to write about, so that's a good place to start.

I've turned my hand to erotic literature, which I find satisfying...though I have not published anything as yet.

Children's books are also something I enjoy creating and have done so, though again, nothing published as yet.

[ZephyrusX]

Does any one know a book (or whatever) that Indianna wrote? It would be interesting to read something that she wrote. You can PM of course for obvious privacy issues.

Originally Posted by Criseyde

I'm having a problem with #1 right now. It's not that I can't think of anything -- it's that I can think of SO MANY THINGS that I don't know what to pick. I need to build a portfolio of non-academic writing and I think the best/easiest way for me to do that would be to start a blog, but a blog about what? I'm interested in everything!

Is it possible for you to narrow the topic down my figuring out what is actually important to you in life? Something that reflects your own lived experiences or values? There is lots of interesting things out there, but I suspect not all of them touch our lives in very personal ways.

I'm assuming you mean creative writing when you say non-academic though. On the other hand, I suppose the same advise can be applicable to non-creative writing.

[cacheborn]

It's natural for you to feel overwhelmed with choice. I think a blog would be a good outlet. Blog need to not be dedicated to one topic, it can be anything that catches your fancy. The important thing is to stop thinking about taking action and taking action. There is no reason for you to stick to one genre. Issac Asimov, for instance, wrote Novels, short stories, essays, articles, murder mysteries, encyclopedias and even a couple of books about Shakespeare. He never had a writer's block, because if he got stuck into one type of writing, he simply switched to another one.

A very useful source is to read the autobiographies of writers/ books about writing. You learn a lot from their experiences. Few I can remember are I, Asimov(Issac Asimov), On Writing(Stephan King), Zen in the Art of Writing (Ray Bradbury), The War of Art (Steven Pressfield).

Another good practice all these writers follow is write minimum 1000 words everyday.

ps : Looks like there are quite a few authors on the forum. Maybe we could start a writer's group.

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

Does any one know a book (or whatever) that Indianna wrote? It would be interesting to read something that she wrote. You can PM of course for obvious privacy issues.

I don't think Indiana has written any books...I think she is mainly an independant writer on the internet, who writes articles etc.?

[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by elucidate

I'd go with Zephs suggestion though, and find what you are interested in writing about. There will always be people who like the same thing as what you like to write about, so that's a good place to start.

Yes, the problem is that I like too many things.

Originally Posted by ZephyrusX

Is it possible for you to narrow the topic down my figuring out what is actually important to you in life? Something that reflects your own lived experiences or values? There is lots of interesting things out there, but I suspect not all of them touch our lives in very personal ways.

I'm assuming you mean creative writing when you say non-academic though. On the other hand, I suppose the same advise can be applicable to non-creative writing.

No, I don't, actually... I'm talking about nonfiction, like what you'd read in a non-literary magazine. Academic writing is a pretty specific type of writing that usually only other academics read.

Originally Posted by cacheborn

It's natural for you to feel overwhelmed with choice. I think a blog would be a good outlet. Blog need to not be dedicated to one topic, it can be anything that catches your fancy. The important thing is to stop thinking about taking action and taking action. There is no reason for you to stick to one genre. Issac Asimov, for instance, wrote Novels, short stories, essays, articles, murder mysteries, encyclopedias and even a couple of books about Shakespeare. He never had a writer's block, because if he got stuck into one type of writing, he simply switched to another one.

Really? All the advice I've heard about starting a blog is that you need to pick a subject to blog about. I guess my subject could be "I'm interested in everything!" lol.

A very useful source is to read the autobiographies of writers/ books about writing. You learn a lot from their experiences. Few I can remember are I, Asimov(Issac Asimov), On Writing(Stephan King), Zen in the Art of Writing (Ray Bradbury), The War of Art (Steven Pressfield).

Another good practice all these writers follow is write minimum 1000 words everyday.

ps : Looks like there are quite a few authors on the forum. Maybe we could start a writer's group.

Thanks for the tips. We totally should!

[pjhaggerty]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

Does anyone have tips on how to do this? I want to be a writer. I really can't see myself doing anything else with my life. But, obviously, in order to be a writer, one has to have something to write about, and people who are willing to read it.

I'm having a problem with #1 right now. It's not that I can't think of anything -- it's that I can think of SO MANY THINGS that I don't know what to pick. I need to build a portfolio of non-academic writing and I think the best/easiest way for me to do that would be to start a blog, but a blog about what? I'm interested in everything!

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, how did you overcome it?

Thanks!!

I haven't experienced this problem myself, but I know many writers aren't 'niche' writers. Think of Michael Lewis, Tim Ferriss, etc. These guys write on many different topics. Why restrict yourself to a niche?

[Curious cat]

Can you perhaps list all the topics that you would like to write about and rate them and keep filtering ypur rated list until it gets smaller?

If you can find overlap with your subject matters, maybe you can incorporate them in the same blog/story?

[ssandra]

One huge tip I can give you is to just start writing. Don't wait until you have a niche, although might want to define one later.

But how will you know what you like most writing about, if you are not writing about it?

You might be interested in a large number of things, and find out when you start writing that you only like to write about a small number of things...

I would start with a blog, not to make money, but just to practice. From there on you can move on to other area's. There is nothing stopping you from starting another blog down the road when you have a better idea what your niche is...

[elucidate]

Originally Posted by pjhaggerty

I haven't experienced this problem myself, but I know many writers aren't 'niche' writers. Think of Michael Lewis, Tim Ferriss, etc. These guys write on many different topics. Why restrict yourself to a niche?

I love this post.

So true. People get into this mindset where they think they need to specialize in one area, or one niche, when there are so many different things they could be doing. Stretch yourself.

When I paint, I go through phases of enjoying certain strokes or particular patterns...and then will work on something totally different, with different materials and just a different concept all together. In this way it keeps me fresh to new ideas, and interested in what I'm doing.

We are capable of so much, so why limit yourself to just one niche?

If you have lots of things that interest you, write them down and methodically start on one or two. Work on the concepts, a little bit here and there, and see what happens...see where it leads. If you don't like it, or aren't enjoying it, start on something else. Just start on something though, and it will get the ball rolling, even if it isn't exactly what you think you are looking to produce right now...it gets things flowing.

[Midnite]

I used to have a blog where I would just write about any topic that came to mind. From this starting point, I realised which topics I was really excited about writing, and which topics I thought were going to be more interesting but just turned out average. This process of elimination by writing almost 'trial' blog posts will help you nail down what you are most passionate about. If that means 15-20 blog posts about completely different things, it's well worth the trouble if you manage to get past this initial stage of where to begin.

[VinceG]

Tim Ferriss is the quintessential 'niche writer'. He does only one style of writing. He has a very functional style, good at getting across what he needs to get across, and not much else. He's written exactly two books, and only plans to write one more before he retires. I don't see how it can get any more niche than Ferriss.

[Criseyde]

I think I have my angle. One of my friends thought of it and it's so obvious that I can't believe I never did. I'm obsessed with literature (DUH: The Faerie Queene, Paradise Lost...). I think literature is critically important. I also think that academia has mostly botched it and a large part of the "crisis of the humanities" is due to people not understanding why they should care. So I think I'm going to blog about literature for non-academics. This is something that I totally would do/want to do no matter what else comes out of it, so I think it's a good move.

I'm. So. Excited.

Now I need a title. Crap.

[mikethedrummer44]

It's helpful to write for an audience, too.

There are a lot of different popular websites that give user's the ability to write their own blogs. This way, you can publish a post and thousands of people will see it right out the gate.

You can choose a topic to write on, write a post then publish it, and within a few hours, have some good feedback on what you wrote.

Then you can just keep going until people consistently like it. I don't think it's about finding a "niche" – more about finding a type of writing style that gets your message across and is entertaining for others to read.

[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by mikethedrummer44

It's helpful to write for an audience, too.

There are a lot of different popular websites that give user's the ability to write their own blogs. This way, you can publish a post and thousands of people will see it right out the gate.

You can choose a topic to write on, write a post then publish it, and within a few hours, have some good feedback on what you wrote.

Then you can just keep going until people consistently like it. I don't think it's about finding a "niche" – more about finding a type of writing style that gets your message across and is entertaining for others to read.

I haven't heard about that -- can you give me an example?

[Mariana Trench]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

I think I have my angle. One of my friends thought of it and it's so obvious that I can't believe I never did. I'm obsessed with literature (DUH: The Faerie Queene, Paradise Lost...). I think literature is critically important. I also think that academia has mostly botched it and a large part of the "crisis of the humanities" is due to people not understanding why they should care. So I think I'm going to blog about literature for non-academics. This is something that I totally would do/want to do no matter what else comes out of it, so I think it's a good move.

I'm. So. Excited.

Now I need a title. Crap.

I'm excited for you! That blog sounds fascinating, and I'll definitely be reading it. It seems to suit you so well, too. I can tell just by your posts you have much to say on the subject.

I can't wait!

[Lifeisamazing]

Generally I've heard from great professionals that niche found them. They did something they truly enjoyed -- in your case, writing -- and at some point they started enjoying one particular thing more than anything else. And eventually they got extremely good at that. Perhaps it doesn't have to be this way, but I think it's one way.

I'm actually asking myself this very question as well all the time. Recently I've been able to develop 3 main things to write about. Maybe it never changes, but maybe I'll start enjoying one of those things more than others at some point in life.

[cacheborn]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

Really? All the advice I've heard about starting a blog is that you need to pick a subject to blog about. I guess my subject could be "I'm interested in everything!" lol.
Thanks for the tips. We totally should!

"Finding a niche' is a catchphrase coined by marketeers who want to start a blog and make money. (And I don't think it's a very sound advice for those people, either.) Since that is not your objective, you can write about whatever catches your fancy.

Name your blog 'Musings' or 'Thoughts' or something like that and you are set.

[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by cacheborn

"Finding a niche' is a catchphrase coined by marketeers who want to start a blog and make money. (And I don't think it's a very sound advice for those people, either.) Since that is not your objective, you can write about whatever catches your fancy.

Name your blog 'Musings' or 'Thoughts' or something like that and you are set.

That's interesting, cache. I would actually like to have readers, though, even if I'm not thinking about making a living by blogging.

That said, I've been blogging for the last 10 years () and I've pretty much always had readers -- my friends, because they care about my random musings and my life. But I would like to write for a broader audience as well.

[cacheborn]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

That's interesting, cache. I would actually like to have readers, though, even if I'm not thinking about making a living by blogging.

That said, I've been blogging for the last 10 years () and I've pretty much always had readers -- my friends, because they care about my random musings and my life. But I would like to write for a broader audience as well.

Don't worry about readers. Just concentrate on giving away as much quality content as you can. If you do that consistently, people will follow you without having to do any tricks. One of the best examples I see of this is Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. His blog was picked up by TIME as one of the top 25 blogs with more than 230,000 readers and he has done zero marketing, no SEO tricks, nothing. It's pure word of mouth.

The Quiet Theory of Influence :zenhabits

[OptimistPrime]

Originally Posted by cacheborn

Issac Asimov, for instance, wrote Novels, short stories, essays, articles, murder mysteries, encyclopedias and even a couple of books about Shakespeare.

Heh, I have three books of his right on the desk in front of me: one about mathematics, and two about physics.

[Criseyde]

Originally Posted by cacheborn

Don't worry about readers. Just concentrate on giving away as much quality content as you can. If you do that consistently, people will follow you without having to do any tricks. One of the best examples I see of this is Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. His blog was picked up by TIME as one of the top 25 blogs with more than 230,000 readers and he has done zero marketing, no SEO tricks, nothing. It's pure word of mouth.

The Quiet Theory of Influence :zenhabits

Thank you for your advice. I agree with you, content is the most important thing. (And I really have no interest in SEO. None.) Still, I wonder because he gives advice. I don't really have advice to give. I dunno. I guess I'll just see what happens.

[OptimistPrime]

Originally Posted by Criseyde

Still, I wonder because he gives advice. I don't really have advice to give.

I think you have lots of great advice that you could give. But I know what it's like to not really resonate with expressing them to a non-specific audience in the form of a blog. That's why the medium has never appealed to me, personally, at least for that purpose. I don't mind giving people advice, but I like doing it in the context of a dialogue so much better.

[Omarion]

To have too many passions is not that bad as I think it is perfectly natural that you have multiple interests. But you need to assignment proper time and space to every passion you have.