In writing, as with everything else, it pays to specialise. Rather than be “all things to all men”, be the one big fish in a niche group pond.
When you have a wide range of passions, this can be hard. You may love everything from alpacas to zen, but having such a dazzlingly daVinciesque array of interests can be hard to market. I know from experience that this just doesn’t cut it out there in Internetland. People want to know what you stand for, which category to put you in, the name written on the box that you so proudly think outside of.
Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers makes the claim that it takes 10,000 hours or five years to become an expert, to be able to claim you are a professional. This is contentious. you might spend 10,000 hours on something you have no natural aptitude for. Does that make you an expert? I don’t think so.
So when you are faced with bewildering selection of passions, interests, skill and talents, be ruthless. You are talking about making your living, remember.
5 Ways to Stand Above the Common Herd
- Write down everything – yes everything – you like, love, are interested in or feel you are good at. Now be brutally honest. Which of those already puts you in the top one percent? (I love my alpacas, but I’m not an expert by a long chalk, so that rules them out!) That should be your short list. You’re not losing the others, they can be hobbies.
- What do you want to be well-known for as a writer? Imagine you can only choose one thing. (OMG! I know, I know!) If that’s too hard choose three – maximum!
- Which of those three do you find yourself talking most about? Thinking most about? Which could you give an informed, impromptu talk on, right now?
- If you are still unsure, then which of the topics offers the best revenue? Which is there a real market for? That’s your winner. Your one big thing.
- Spend time polishing this one skill, talent, passion you have until it gleams. Aim to move from the top one per cent to the top 0.01 per cent.
Can you do that? Of course you can!