Write What You Want to Know

As writers, we’ve all heard the old saying, “write what you know.” This helpful bit of advice can be used for both fiction and nonfiction writers. In the former situation, it gives realism to your work and cuts back on research time. In the latter, it’s called a niche.

Lorna and I find ourselves complying with this adage fairly well. When we bid on jobs, they are ones with typically familiar subject matter: nonprofit related work, baby products, cooking, small businesses, etc. This blog is a great example; since we are in the midst of freelancing and being parents on a daily basis, we happen to know this stuff pretty well.

However, we don’t restrict ourselves to these topics. When well-paying work knocks at the door, we answer – regardless of the topic. This means that we have become masters of research and learning, which in my opinion, is what the life of a freelancer is all about.

Still, there is one more additional factor to consider: finding jobs that offer the chance to write what I want to know. We recently hit a bit of a blog writing stumbling block; our business was uneventful for a few weeks, so we felt we had nothing really to blog about. Lorna and I got together to brainstorm some topics and hit on what we considered an epiphany.

Why don’t we set up some blog topics about things we need to learn for ourselves?

I’m always lamenting my lack of knowledge about taxes and accounting. Lorna wants to know more about WordPress. I want to start considering my business’s options regarding exit strategires. These certainly make great topics. (Expect to a see a few of them in the coming weeks.)

But the great part is, this kind of mindset isn’t just restricted to blogs. You can:

• Place bids for jobs that sound like they involve something you’d like to know more about.

• Build your personal research into an ebook.

• Create some great samples for your website.

• Put your writing on low-paying online or print magazines that offer a great level of exposure.

• Find a well-paying magazine in the same genre and send them a query letter.

• Convince an existing client they want to pay you for a report on the topic at hand.

The bottom line is that we’ve all got work to do anyway. You might as well take advantage of the things you need or want to learn by incorporating them into something that pays or will provide other value to your business.