Freelance Writers: Should You Specialize or Generalize?

Freelance writers have a difficult question to answer when starting their careers: Should you specialize or generalize? Some writers choose to pursue only markets that fall under one general category, while others pursue several different markets of interest. Neither one is necessarily better than the other but there are a few exclusive benefits to each. Deciding whether you should specialize or generalize is largely a personal issue for freelance writers.

Do You Have Expertise in Many Different Areas?

If you are a Jack of All Trades, you could easily specialize in multiple areas without holding yourself back from prospective projects. Many industries -- such as business, finance, medical, legal -- have multiple sub-specialties that can be fully exploited by a freelance writer if he knew what he was doing. Furthermore, writers become automatically more valuable if their talents are versatile.

Are There Multiple Publications for Your Specialty?

Freelance writers who decide to specialize in one particular area often paint themselves into a corner, so to speak. For example, there are hundreds of publications under the business umbrella, but a writer who wanted to specialize in knitting might have some trouble finding work. Of course, if you can wrangle consistent work from one or two publications, it wouldn't matter, but you still might want to keep your options open.

Do You Enjoy Research?

When a freelance writer chooses to generalize rather than specialize, a large amount of research is required to find new topics. For example, if you wanted to write about pets one day then switch gears and write a travel article, you would have to conduct to separate research expeditions. When you specialize, on the other hand, you'll find that one day's worth of research can result in ten or twenty articles, assuming you keep your notes.

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