NEW WRITERS

Niche Trap: 4 Steps to Escape the Pressure As A New Writer

Is Your Niche Crushing You? Try this instead of drying out before you can sprout.

If you are a new writer or any writer… You have likely come across advice on finding your niche or “Niching down”.

Essentially, picking and sticking to yo’ thing.

Let’s be honest, for some, this is easy, they step up to the page knowing where they excel, for others, this choice can feel like their creativity is being imprisoned.

Each side of the coin is valid, obvy.

I am not here to tell you not to pick/not pick a niche, no no no, I am here to have a bizarre single-sided conversation with you dear reader/writer about how this advice to niche down might harm your writing, especially as a beginner.

When I started writing, I thought I absolutely HAD to pick a niche because “they” said:

No one would read my work,
I’d never help anyone with no focus
I’d never even sip reader engagement
My Success as a writer was based solely on this choice ( hey it’s easy they say)
The bloody well world would end or some shit

Funny thing is, this trap made me not want to write at all, I’d groan at the blank page considering how I’d fit into the box today…

No thanks! I’ve wasted enough time not writing. I need to write. Need to, it keeps me, me, and me alive, did that sense make? I mean make sense?

I’ve niched down (slightly, Niche roofs can’t hold me, buddy), and am still confident dipping into any new topic.

In fact, I haven’t written a whole lot in #writing so let me say… New Niche, Who Dis?

I’m everywhere, let’s challenge this trite advice, here's my only slightly patronising math lesson…

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. ― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood

The same goes for writing…

4 Steps to Escape the Niche Trap

Find your mainstay later, first, write anything and everything
Pluck out loves
Pluck out most read, combine steps 2 + 3 =

4. Have a %, not a niche

Step 1: Find your mainstay — write anything and everything

Start everywhere, write in all of your interests, write about anything and everything.

Doing this means you can explore where you are comfortable, where you want to dive deeper and allows you to build all of your rad writing muscles in the meantime, as opposed to claiming a box and not straying, this can make the learning process drag…

Step 2: Pluck out loves

Once you’ve started writing in all the things, you will start straying towards one thing or another, even if only a little.

More than likely you will love writing on one topic more than the rest, if not one thing pick a few topics that get you into the mad writers flow and grab them tight, love, and move on to step 3.

Step 3: Pluck out most read

There is beauty in the algorithms, I know a lot of writers would disagree, however, I think plucking out what you love writing, then having the option to see what your readers love reading is a goddess sent. Combining these with two can give you a place to hone in on.

A place to focus when your interests vary.

Step 4: Have a per cent, not a niche

In Steps 2 and 3 we pluck out what you love writing and then mix it up with what your readers love from you. Using your love and reader love figure out some percents.

For example, I’d say I write in:

Mental illness 60%
Self Improvement 30%
Parenting 10%
Pop Culture 10%

This is rough and can shift, quick, as I said I am essentially nicheless.

I love writing about mental illness and pop culture, however, my pieces on parenting seem to garner weird amounts of attention in the reading department *shrug*, so currently trying to hone in on my combo in a way I love.

Hopefully, you can find the right per cent sandwich too… Don’t be afraid to alter the percents to work for you, in the end, you have to love it.

I’m trying to use this combo to write insightful work from all angles, it is a balancing act but hey, so is life. If finding a niche is too daunting, seriously consider finding your percentage instead.

If in a weird reverse engendered way this helped you find your niche! Awesome!

Goddess speed dear writer ❤