by Charles Rukuni

Created on: January 05, 2009

NICHE WRITER IS BETTER FOR THE READER

If you were sick and you were asked to choose between a general practitioner and a specialist, who would you choose? Obviously the specialist! This is the same between a niche writer and a jack-of-all-trades.

A niche writer is usually a specialist on the subject. As such the person writes with passion and appeals to the reader because he or she understands the subject.

Normally the writing is simple and easy to understand. This tends to hold the reader and makes him or her want to read more rather than scan through the story. Because the writer understands the subject, it is easier for him or her to explain things in simple everyday language which is what most readers want.

But niche writers also need niche markets which means that the writer has to outperform other writers who are also experts in the same field otherwise his or her writing will not be accepted. Entry into such markets is therefore very restrictive, but the remuneration is normally quite high.

I write for a specialist newsletter which is published 25 times a year and covers Africa with its 53 country. The newsletter is only 12 pages. I therefore specialise on Zimbabwean politics and business.

Because the newsletter covers the whole of Africa, it is very difficult to get a story published because each country has to be covered at one time or the other, though Zimbabwe gets more than its fair share because of the turmoil in the country.

I have been writing for the newsletter for more than 10 years but I still get ideas or stories rejected. But the joy is that when I get a feature published I am paid anything between $600 and $700 dollars for the piece. As a writer from a country where most people survive on less than one dollar a day this is worth waiting for.

I have been offered jobs by publications which pay $50 a story. I have turned them down because I do not see myself writing 10 to 15 stories a month as a freelance because I have a full-time job where at most I write eight to 10 stories a month.

The only problem is that a niche writer is restricted in terms of what he or she can write about. That is why I am also a jack-of-all-trades. The only subject that I am not comfortable with is sports because you have to know the sport to write about it.

Being a jack-of-all-trades allows one to write about personal experiences, everyday life and controversial issues that are raised regularly, like contributing to a debate like this.

The only problem with being a jack-of-all-trades-is that anyone can write on the subject so the remuneration is very low. But if you are writing as a hobby, the joy of seeing your name in print, or on screen, is worth more than the money.

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