Prior to starting this site, I had a prominent question in mind: isn’t this idea somewhat of an oxymoron?
I love Barbara Sher and Emilie Wapnick’s work, but in essence, they are promoting multipotentiality and multi-niching, while working in just one niche (from what I can tell).
Barbara Sher’s work focuses solely on scanners. That’s really just one major topic. Emilie Wapnick’s work also talks about renaissance souls and multipotentialites, which in reality, is also a niche. That’s not a criticism of their work, but I often wonder if their work isn’t at odds with their advice.
And the answer is, no, it’s not.
Both Sher and Wapnick do a tonne of other things in addition to their most popular work. We just see the most popular work because that’s what they’ve chosen to put out there. In the background, there are many other things they are both doing.
When I embarked on the journey of building this website, I asked myself (and others asked me also), “but aren’t you just niching about not niching?” The short answer is yes. On this site. Although it looks that way, building this site is not a hypocritical move, and here’s why.
I earn money from my writing by freelancing in multiple niches and by writing in a variety of formats. Not only that, but I don’t just focus on writing, either. I also sell editing and coaching services.
This site is a pet project that doesn’t actually make me any money (yet). So, in essence, I’m writing about my experience as a multi-niche writer, and this site in itself happens to have a niche by extension.
I questioned starting this site for a number of reasons:
- I don’t know if anyone will ever read it.
- What if I put in all this work and it totally bombs?
- By creating a site about not niching, aren’t I doing the exact opposite?
That last question is the one that I considered the most seriously; after all, I want to promote the concept that writers can write about anything and everything they desire. Yet, here is a website that is actually very niche—its niche just happens to be not niching. Which sounds like an oxymoron, but is really not.
Here’s the difference between this site and all the writing coaches who tell you to pick a niche: this site has a niche, sure. But I, as a writer, don’t. My goal with this site is to show you how I’ve been able to sell my writing to several different outlets in wildly varying niches. I make money as a writer writing about anything and everything I wish to write about. This site is a labour of love to encourage you to do the same.
Do I encourage every single writer to write in various niches? Of course not. Some writers do quite well monetizing only one of their niches. But I guarantee it: most of them also write about other things in their spare time (if they got into this profession for the love of writing rather than for the love of money).
My goal is to help writers who are plagued by the question: “But how do I pick a niche when I want to write about everything?” To help those writers, creating this website seemed like the best idea.
It’s important to know that this website is only one of my many projects. I also own a multi-niche blog at www.marianamcdougall.com, a freelance writing and editing site at www.dreamsintogoalswriting.com, and I sell my writing in various formats to several different companies and publications in varying niches. I also earn money from my editing and coaching services. Finally, I write for fun, keep a journal, homeschool three children, create videos for fun, dance whenever I can, act whenever I can, and travel whenever I can. In other words, I’m pretty far away from doing “just one thing.”
This particular site you’re currently reading—the niche one—is the culmination of all of these multi-niche projects. And I stand by my belief that writers can be successful without tying themselves down to one topic for the rest of their lives.
If you’re interested in starting a multi-niche writing career, be sure to check out our Ultimate Guide on How to Start Freelance Writing—Without Picking a Niche!
Latest posts by marianamcdougall (see all)
- Writing for the Sake of Writing - August 9, 2021
- Should You Start a Writing Business in a Pandemic? - May 22, 2021
- COVID-19 Mind Map for Content Creation & Freelance Writing - January 18, 2021
- Where to Find Freelance Writing Gigs, Part 2 - December 31, 2019
- Self-Editing for Beginners - November 30, 2019
I just bought your mind map book. I love the idea that you are selling it on your site by yourself without going through Amazon. I think that is the future for self-publishers.
Anyway, don’t ever stop this site. I think I Googled” how to find freelance political writing jobs” , which led me to this blog.
I have been absolutely soul-crushed and crippled when it comes to finding one niche. I have been wanting to start since 2015, but the whole Niche concept stopped me. I know there are hundreds if not thousands of people struggling with the same thing.
Also, I would have never learned about Putty Tribe nor watched Emily’s Ted talk if not for you. I could not believe that there are thousands of people just like me in the world struggling with the same issue. I was starting to believe that I was a rare minority in the world . Even if you don’t make any money off of this site, just the fact that you’re helping people like me is worth keeping it around.
Take Care
Carson,
Your comment made my day. Thank you so much for your kind words.
It’s interesting that our world has become so niche-heavy. This is a relatively new phenomenon. If we look at history, we can see that the people who did the most, often unrelated projects, are the people who really went down in history as absolute geniuses—just look at Leonardo da Vinci. There are other examples as well.
Reading “Refuse to Choose” by Barbara Sher was a turning point in my life. I started viewing my “jumpy brain” as an asset rather than a limitation.
I am so glad to have had a small part in hopefully helping you to see your mind as a wonderful place of creation as well.