Specialist or Generalist
When I first got started as a freelance writer I read a lot of advice that said that to be successful you had to be a specialist. There’s a lot of merit to that strategy. By being a specialist you can market yourself to a niche with the expectation that you will be able to deliver a higher quality of writing because it is your area of expertise. Because you know more, you can deliver more. Because you are an expert on that topic you can demand a higher rate.
On the other hand…
While I do consider myself an expert in the areas of food service management and leadership, as well as very knowledgeable about youth soccer coaching, those aren’t the limits of my interest. I can also write pretty darn well about parenting, writing/blogging, politics, food/cooking, relationships, entrepreneurship, and if I sat here long enough I could probably list a dozen more areas. That doesn’t include my love of learning about new things. I have varied interests, and I like to read and write about them all. In fact, if I spend too much time on just one topic, I get bored.
Part of the allure of becoming a writer is that I get to write about a variety of things. I get to pursue my interests. Better still, I get to earn money while doing what I like to do.
While I understand the idea of becoming a specialist, I am more of a generalist. As my freelance writing career progresses I will probably settle in to a few areas that I concentrate on more than others, but I think the way I’m wired will keep me writing on all sorts of topics. That’s why I love blogging. I have a couple of blogs, I write once a week for another blog, and there are plans for a third blog in the near future. So I will still get to write on a couple of different topics regardless of what my writing assignments are.
What about you? Are you a specialist or a generalist?
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Comments
Pingback from Freelance Writing Job: When It Rains It Pours | Addicted To Writing
Time: January 11, 2008, 5:02 am
[...] writer it’s something I’m very knowledgeable. Check out Jim’s post titled Specialist or Generalist. Which one are [...]
Comment from Jim
Time: January 11, 2008, 6:56 am
Thanks for the comment, and thanks for the trackback. Good luck with the job bids.
Right now I’m taking on anything that comes along. In the future I may try to narrow it down a bit, but I still need the diversity.
Comment from Opal Tribble - Addicted To Writing
Time: January 9, 2008, 5:22 pm
With blogging I’ve written about a large variety of topics; however, as a freelance writer I believe the articles will be specialized Nutrition, fitness, alternative healing. That should keep me extremely busy. I saw two specialized projects today. I sent an email with links to my writing samples.