Write what you know. Isn’t that what we’re told? And it’s what I teach.
Yesterday, I spoke to a group of writers in Sacramento, California on freelance writing and I shared this bit of wisdom with them. In fact, I shared with the group of around 30 that I started our writing about horses and horse care because our family was involved with horses at the time and that was something I knew. I described my early article-writing success, which I attribute to the fact that I knew my topic, I knew my audience and I knew my market.
I went on to explain the importance of expanding your horizons, if you hope to establish a career as a freelance article writer. I talked about the steps I took in order to branch out and begin writing on many other topics.
One writer evidently missed my second point as he raised his hand and said that he doesn’t agree that you should only write about what you know. And neither do I. This should be a starting point—a way to break into the writing game. But, if you want to establish a career, you will need to write on many different topics—many of which will require research and interviews with experts.
There are so many writers emerging and way more approaches to writing than ever before. I urge you to order a copy of Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author to help you make more of the right decisions on behalf of your project(s). Available at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and most other online and downtown bookstores.