Tips on How to Select a Permanent Magazine Writing Niche

Freelance writers whose careers are based on magazine articles often find themselves bogged down with research and interviewing assignments. They query very interesting and involved topics for the sake of gaining editorial approval, only to receive a paltry hourly wage in the end due to the immense amount of non-writing work required to make the articles believable. As such, most who continue in the field decide to develop a specialty in order to minimize stress and unnecessary groundwork. They focus most of their efforts on one area of writing that they can be called upon again and again for by their editors. The only question is, how does a writer choose what they will focus on for the rest of their lives? If you, like many writers, find yourself unable to decide, take a quick glance at the following tips on how to select a permanent magazine writing niche before taking the leap into specialization.

Tip #1: Analyze your personality, not your current level of knowledge. Many writers make the mistake of selecting a permanent niche based on what they are already experts in. The trouble is, we aren't always experts on a particular topic because we want to be. What really interests you? What is likely to interest you for the rest of your life? For those answers, you'll need to ask yourself who you truly are.

Tip #2: Ask yourself what it is about your personal history that gives you an edge. Ok, so just because you enjoy attending the ballet doesn't mean you can compete with writers who have been classically trained since the age of three and are professionals on the topic. While you can't base your decision solely on the extent of your current knowledge (because you'll always have to learn more), you'll still require some sort of background in a particular niche. At the very least, you need a perspective that makes you different from the average reader.

Tip #3: Ask yourself what you would like to become an expert on. Once you have discovered your own permanent personality traits and what you have a bit of experience in, narrow the list down further by asking yourself what you wouldn't mind learning about for the rest of your life. In other words, if learning about the finer points of cellulite reduction doesn't thrill you, mark it off of your permanent niche list.

Tip #4: Investigate the room for diverse markets. If you specialize in fitness, you may be able to write for health magazines, bridal magazines, beauty magazines, weight loss publications, and so on. If you specialize in Amish culinary preferences, well, your choices for query submissions are a bit limited. Select a niche that is broad enough to keep your career alive and well, as well as one that has room for new discoveries and advancements. You must be able to submit your work to several different types of publications.

Tip #5: Investigate the room for expansion beyond traditional magazine writing. From books to web writing to newspaper and television, you may find yourself wanting (or needing) to branch away from magazines at some point. Is your niche transferrable across several different media options? In other words, focusing on the technicalities of blogging might limit your scope, as newspaper and television audiences may find such a topic irrelevant to their needs.

Tip #6: Ask yourself if your permanent niche will offer actual career and personal fulfillment. In other words, there's only so much satisfaction one can receive from writing on popular but generic topics. Select your niche based on not only what it will give you monetarily, but also what it will give you in terms of writing satisfaction. Otherwise, you'll find yourself writing for magazines only to pay the bills while you search for more meaningful work on the side.

Remember, a permanent magazine writing niche is usually quite broad and leaves room for many different topics. Also, you may find yourself able to specialize in more than one over time. Regardless, select your niche carefully. With the right choice, you can minimize research time, increase production, and find true writing satisfaction all at once.