Editor's Note: There are those writers who write about anything and everything, then there are those who focus on a few areas and work to develop a platform. Who's right? That depends. Today, we'll hear from Danica Davidson on why she's chosen to pursue projects in many different topics and genres. Tune in on Friday, when Kelly James-Enger explains the benefits of specialization for writers. Be sure to weigh in with your two cents, too! By Danica DavidsonSome freelance writers stick with a single subject in their work, while others branch out into various fields. I fit with the latter, and I find it useful to be eclectic and see how many different categories I can cover. From experience I feel I can recommend this as a good road for freelancers to take.What do I mean by branching out? Well, I’ve written book reviews for About.com, Booklist and Publishers Weekly, among others; I’ve covered feminism for Ms.; I’ve described anime for Anime Insider and Otaku USA; I’ve written short biographies on early movie stars for the senior citizen papers Mature Advisor and Senior Advocate; I’ve written about Japanese spirituality for the Llewellyn Journal, magazine of the publishing company Llewellyn; I’ve retold folklore for the nature journal Whisper in the Woods. And those are only a few examples. I’ve even gotten freelance work writing the English adaptation of Japanese books that are now available at bookstores. In the midst of this, I work on my novel-writing.
Some freelancers might want to stay in one field, and there’s nothing wrong with that if it works for them. However, branching out definitely has its bonuses.
1. Different people learn your name. Instead of having readers in only one field be familiar with your work, you might be known all over.
2. More chances to get work. If you cover a subject well, it increases your chances of writing about the same subject for other places. And if you write about multiple subjects well? That’s right: more places will probably be interested.
3. It strengthens your writing. If you write the same thing over and over, it might not let your writing grow very much. However, if you write in different styles on different subjects, it’s a good training tool to hone your talents.
4. It keeps things interesting. I for one will typically get tired of a subject if it’s the only one I write about. On the other hand, writing about different things every day keeps it all fresh.
5. You might discover something new that you like. For instance, I write quite a bit about graphic novels these days, but I only started reading them a few years ago. How was I to know I would like them as much as I do? You might start writing about a whole new subject and find it’s a great fit.
Danica Davidson is a professional freelance writer who’s sold a few hundred articles to more than thirty magazines and has been interviewed by the Los Angeles Times and Writing It Real about her novel writing. She was also recently featured on the blog Guide To Literary Agents. She is currently seeking to publish a YA novel and of course is always looking for more places to write. Please visit her website and follow her on Twitter @DanicaDavidson.
Interested in contributing a guest blog post of your own? Check out the guest blogger guidelines.