by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: May 03, 2009

There are a great many writers who write to only one or perhaps two very specialised niches and equally, a great many writers who may be classed as, "Jacks of all Trades." This secondary group may well write everything from poetry, to wine vintage reviews, to articles on travel and adventure. It may be the case that the individual writer falls in to one category or the other by their own specific design but it is more likely that their natural talents, interests and preferences will make the determination for them.

When a writer is looking to write, it is vital that they do so upon a subject upon which they are interested but also - even more importantly - upon which they are knowledgeable. The vast majority of readers are able to detect authenticity in a writer's work and if the writer's knowledge on his or her subject is at best sketchy, this is likely to come across in their writing. Readers will be turned off by this factor and the writer is therefore likely to know little success with articles written to the general subject.

This of course means that each individual writer will be restricted to one extent or another for writing material by the number of subjects upon which they are knowledgeable. This is not a fixed pattern with every writer, however, and as we live and grow it is often the case that we do acquire and develop knowledge upon an ever wider range of subjects. It follows therefore that the less experienced writer is perhaps the one likely to be the niche writer and the more experienced writer more likely to be the Jack of all Trades.

As a writer's knowledge develops and their experience with life in general grows, they should actively look to expand in to other areas of writing. It is of course not essential but it is above all an excellent way for them to explore new markets for their writing and to open themselves up to what is likely to be a brand new readership and group of people. This can clearly be seen as an excellent career opportunity for boosting their publishing power and hopefully by extension increasing the level of income they make from their writing, both in an intial sense and hopefully in a passive sense from ongoing royalties.

When a writer is looking to write to a new subject and market, it is important that they take the time in the first instance not only to get to know the subject but to know the market they are hoping to enter. They should examine other pieces written in the marketplace and pay attention to how they are constructed and the level and quality of information they contain. This is important as different writing markets require different writing styles and approaches and writing to one in the style demanded of another is not always advisable.

If a writer is therefore looking to expand in to different areas of writing to improve their profile and their income, they should take every opportunity available to them to acquire new knowledge and expand upon it and view every subject in this way as a future opportunity.

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