What Sort of Writer Are You?
Learn the secret that sets apart paid writers
Writing is a broad field, like medicine or engineering. Yes, there are doctors and there are engineers. But these are broad terms — just like the word ‘writer’.
Many persons are wont to call themselves a writer — I’m guilty of this myself — but it’s a vague appellation at best.
When you introduce yourself as a writer, people don’t really know where to put you. This is why some folks don’t take us writers seriously.
You are probably wondering what I’m trying to get at or where I’m going. Stay with me.
A simple yet significant insight
A doctor is not merely a doctor. Although there are general practitioners, most doctors have a specialisation. They are either a dentist, a neurosurgeon, a paediatrician or an otolaryngologist. The list goes on and on.
Even there are different sorts of dentists — the periodontist, the orthodontist, the exodontist, etc. You get the gist.
The same applies to engineering. We have electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, structural, etc. Even under each subfield of engineering, further specialisations are a thing.
Writing is no different. If you really want to make money off the ancient craft of stringing words together, you have to define what sort of writer you are.
You can’t just be a “writer” unless, of course, you want to starve. No kidding.
No one wants to hire just a writer. No one will tell their friend about just a “writer”. Not one person wants to buy anything from just a “writer”.
The first secret of writers who get paid to write
What exactly do you write? Novels? Poems? Ads copy? Proposals? Editorials? What kind of a writer are you? People want to know. Spare them the confusion.
You have to pick a writing niche and own it. You have to pick a small area of the boundless field of writing and become a lord there. Just like the singer has to pick either pop or reggae, opera or soul.
You must pick a certain writing speciality and master it. Else, you are not ready to start earning from your craft.
Writing is so big these days. Thanks to the internet, the possibilities are endless. So many niches to choose from — copywriting, freelance writing, ghost-writing, blogging, etc.
The interesting part is that each of these subfields also has various niches under them. Take blogging, for example, you still have to choose a specific niche for your blog.
You can become an expert in more than one niche. Yes, that is possible. It’s even desirable. But it takes some effort, and you’ll risk spreading yourself too thin such that you end up not being here nor there.
It’s better to attain competency in one niche before moving on to master another. For example, you could be a great freelance writer and blogger. Managing the two together is what a lot of people do. You too can.
What separates the good from the great
Focus remains an essential attribute required to attain success in any endeavour. Writing is not an exception. Focus has a popular acronym: Follow One Course Until Successful.
You don’t want to shuffle between two or more areas without attaining some level of mastery and success in any of them. That’s not a wise move. You can succeed in one first, then move on afterwards to another.
Ayodeji Awosika, one of the successful Medium bloggers I follow, mastered blogging first before going into videos.
Know what you are and who you want to be. Don’t just be a writer. Be a competent specialist confident in his skill. Let others know what sort of writer you are.
Next time you want to introduce yourself or fill out a form, don’t just put writer. Don’t leave us guessing, please. Put the sort of writer you are. You could say copywriter or ghostwriter.
You can also take it further. Instead of introducing yourself just as a blogger, you can say fashion blogger or travel blogger. This way, your tribe will easily pick up on your vibe and tag along.
Cheers!
PS: I’m a published poet, I blog at www.olaidozen.com.ng/blog and I freelance as well.
