What should I write about?

Finding the right niche for our writing

You feel called. Compelled, even. You love writing and you know you want to write. But what exactly do you want to write about?

Perhaps you have characters dancing through your imagination, inhabiting a land of your own design, and want to put them on the page, let their stories come to life. You want to write a novel.

Or, maybe, you had a strange or painful or exotic childhood, and you think your struggles and triumphs might inspire others and help you to heal in the process. You want to write a memoir.

It’s possible you have the heart of a pastor, or teacher, or coach, and you want to share your wisdom and insights. You want to write nonfiction: maybe self-help, or if faith is a part of your story, Christian living.

Some writers want to simply use their skills to earn a living, and so they look for a niche such as writing marketing copy or becoming a freelance technical writer.

Photo by Antoni Shkraba: https://www.pexels.com/

Defining your “brand” as a writer

Beginning writers are often so full of ideas that they want to write a book about everything, for everyone. Which is fine if you are writing just for the fun of it. But if you are pursuing publication, you need a niche. You should write within a genre, be it historical romance novels or business leadership advice.

Added note: this section contains amazon affiliate links. When you click through and purchase, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. It’s a great way to support this newsletter.

The marketing folks in the publishing world often refer to this niche or area of specialty as a writer’s “brand.” Authors are often encouraged to think about and define their personal brand. That can be a challenging question, but I believe it begins with your expertise, experience and passions.

You might have more than one niche, or a progression of niches. Your brand may shift, grow, or even change completely as you go along. Before I wrote Christian living books, I was a business writer.

When I wrote my first book, it fell into the parenting/spiritual formation/Christian living categories. I wrote books about how women, more specifically moms, could nurture their spiritual life. I was as surprised as anyone else that a publisher was interested in publishing my book, or that I would be writing about the spiritual life when my own life was so imperfect and my own soul so full of questions.

Eventually my audience expanded beyond just “moms,” and I was writing about spiritual formation and practices for a more general audience.

After years of writing and publishing, I began to write about—well, writing and publishing. I shared my experience and knowledge of the publishing world via this newsletter, and teaching, and blogging. Because of my experience, I had developed expertise, and I had a passion to share that with writers who were looking for advice and encouragement as they wandered this crazy path we call the writing life.

In the previous issue of this newsletter, I wrote about being curious. Your curiosity, hand in hand with your passion or calling, often leads you to the topics you’ll want to write about.

For example, in my book GodSpace, *affiliate link* I write about seven spiritual practices. I chose them because they’d been significant in my own growth. One of them, hospitality, is particularly dear to me. My family and I often welcome strangers to our home, and we’ve been on a journey for two decades now, trying to practice and fully understand what it means to practice biblical hospitality.

Lately, I’m wanting to write more about that—because writing allows us to explore and learn. I am intrigued by hospitality, and I want to talk to others about their experience practicing it. I’m realizing that on this particular topic, one chapter in a book was not enough. I have more to say, and more to learn. So I want to write more about it.

Welcoming and Wandering

I’ve also begun to think about how hospitality is connected to travel. It’s interesting—the business of running hotels, resorts, restaurants, etc. is called the “hospitality industry.” But it’s transactional—you have to pay to get that hospitality. It may be quite welcoming, but it’s different from a spiritual practice of hospitality—in which we welcome without expectation of payment or even reciprocity. It might feel similar to the person receiving it, but it is completely different for the person providing it.

Both offering hospitality and traveling require us to extend ourselves, to trust God and other people. The connections between the two fascinate me. In order to explore those ideas more fully, I started another newsletter, called Welcoming and Wandering. In it, I write about the practices of hospitality and travel (especially solo travel), and how they inform each other, and how they both have the capacity to transform and grow us. The first issue, where I talk about solo travel, came out today.

I considered just sending that newsletter to all of you, but I’d rather have you opt in only if you’re interested. Subscribing is free, and you can take a look at the first issue right here.

Finding your niche

If you’re a writer seeking publication, you’ll want to write in a genre that already exists, whether that is science fiction or devotionals, that aligns with your passion.

Traditional advice says write about what you know. Which is true. But you can also write about what you want to know—and combine the two to take readers on a journey of discovery right beside you.

What do you want to write about? What experiences, passions, or questions in your own life do you feel compelled to share, to explore, to guide others in?

If you’ve got a question about developing your niche, leave it in the comments below.