Niche development can be a roundabout thing- mine certainly was. I’ve had many writers contact me asking for some direction in developing their niche, and in response, I’ve often simply related my story- the roundabout way in which my specializations eventually developed.
My current niches are writing for/about Latino audiences (social justice, immigration rights, general culture and personal interest for this audience), and writing about education (K-12 and PostSecondary). Check out how these niches developed:
I returned to Michigan State University to finish my degree about 4 weeks after my son was born. This enabled me to be more present in both my children’s young lives than working 8-5 in an office (I was an administrative assistant for a Department of Education). I also wanted to set an example and finish my Bachelor’s degree.
I entered as a K-6 education major, thinking I wanted to help shape the lives of my children’s peers. But roundabout the end of my junior year, I had to commit to an extra year (a fifth year) of student teaching, and this was right as education budgets were being gutted in my state- I saw teachers laid off left and right. I couldn’t commit to the extra year. I wanted to be done. So, I switched my major to English, which I knew I’d be able to finish. I also had enough credits for a minor in Education and a minor in Spanish. I had married into a Latino family with a home in Mexico, and wanted to build on my 4 years of high school Spanish.
With some hard work and luck, I actually found a job in my major right out of graduation. I was hired as an Editor within a department at a local community college. I worked that job for a short while, and then skipped over a similar position at the University, my Alma Mater. Within this time, I obviously got to know quite a lot about the inner workings of Colleges and Universities.
But, I despised the 8-5 life. The University life had been easy on me, and my children. I scheduled classes when they were in school, and was home before the oldest got out of Kindergarten. I couldn’t stand them going to so much childcare. I couldn’t take my own loss of freedom.
While I was working the jobs within the colleges, I saw a magazine debut in my region, aimed at the Latino population. I excitedly brought the bilingual publication home to my family, but found many mistakes in the English portions. I contacted the publisher and offered free editorial services, citing my work as an Editor and my BA in English. I began working for that publication for free, but today I still work for it, and am it’s Managing Editor (and yes, I do get paid now.) That magazine was my first freelance client, and my first Latino-oriented project.
Again, the 8-5 life didn’t work well for me, and I began wondering what other magazines or local publications might hire me. This led me to some research on the net, where I found the website Freelance Writing Jobs (freelancewritinggigs.com). That site made my career. From that site, I gathered a sheaf of papers as big as my fist, and went to my husband. I showed him that the freelance writing jobs were out there, and I only needed some time to go for them. At that moment, we agreed to start my business.
So, as you can see, my niche in Latino subjects and K-12 and post-secondary education were a result of a combination of my personal interests, studies, majors, and work history. Everyone has a story, and yours might lead you to some lucrative niches, just like mine did!
