Article Writers: Does It Pay to Specialize?

You bet it does.  Magazines like to buy their articles from an expert.  There are several reasons for this.  First, magazines like to feel that writers know what they're talking about.  If you've written 15 or 20 articles on the same subject, they're more likely to trust you as an authority in the field.  In addition, if you build your name as an expert, readers are likely to know your name and trust your opinion.  This is important to a magazine.

What specialties are there?  There are many fields in which you can specialize.  Let's quickly look at a few broad ones.

Business.  Just for starters, there are thousands of business magazines who take articles on specialized business areas.  They buy interviews with industry leaders, articles on business problems, technical articles, general business articles and more.

In addition, the popular magazines buy hundreds of business articles a year.  Here are a few titles from the major women's magazines.  "Credit Crazed Doll's."(The credit situation) "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Bank? (A discussion of how to deal with the bank), "Birth of a Saleswoman."(An investigation of this glamorous, high paying field), "Career Power and How to Get It," and "Crash Course in Personal kept that.  "If you're business minded, this can be a lucrative article field.

Science. There's hardly a field more in demand today than science.  Pick up almost any magazine and you'll find an article on some aspect of science: agriculture, anthropology, astronomy, space, aviation, biology, chemistry, physics, zoology and more. How much have you seen about the glass platform the Indians built 2000 feet over the Grand Canyon?

The secret of breaking into this field is the same as it is for any other field you're interested in hitting.  To determine what types of science articles they take it, use your local paper, as well as your local college public relations department to discover possible science articles on topics you'd like to investigate and write about. 

Medicine.  In an increasing number of publications today you'll find such articles as "What You Should Know About Male Cancers," "Do-It-Yourself Breast and Gynecological Checkup," "New Ways to Cure Your Cancer" and more.  It isn't necessary to be a doctor to write articles like these.  But you must do your homework and build an extensive knowledge in the field.

Food/Nutrition.  Is this a good specialty?  You bet it is.  Of course, many food articles in the major magazines are staff written. You will, however, find freelance pieces like: "Calorie Watch," "Cooking for Good Health," "The 10 Star Vegetables," "Watching Your Weight." and "How to Decalorize Your Favorite Recipes."  There are also numerous secondary markets such as AARP, the Magazine, Family Magazine, Earthtone, Grit, Woodman of the World, and American Health which collectively buy hundreds of food and nutrition articles each year. 

Building a specially means accumulating a library of all possible markets. Start by going to The Writers Market and send for every magazine that takes women's features.  Don't overlook the religious magazines, foreign magazines, company magazines, health magazines and others. 

Automotive.  Pick up any popular magazine and you're liable to find at least one article on the car.  Some magazines specialize in automotive articles such as "Engine Oils and Additives," "Truth and Friction," and “Why Auto Repairs Cost so Much."  Even in a woman's magazine, you're liable to find articles with titles like.  "You Need a Tune Up Lady."  Follow the rule of collecting information, relating your own experiences to what's being done and then querrying.

Travel. Everyone thinks they can write travel articles. But the market boils down to a limited number of travel magazines, travel sections in newspapers and a much larger number of general and specialized magazine that take some travel articles.  To find these, start your own library of magazines that take travel articles.  -- Go through Writers Market and send for copies of the magazines.  In addition, scan the magazines you are not familiar with to see if they might be a market for a few travel pieces.  I look for magazines everywhere: doctors offices, at the barbershop and so forth.  

Outdoor Recreation.  Outdoor recreation has exploded in many directions: RVs, boating, camping, hunting and fishing, waterskiing, archery, skiing, canoeing, bicycling,  snowboarding, surfing, skin diving and much more.  You'll find many articles on these subjects in specialized publications like Cycling USA, Bow hunter Magazine, and Growing USA.  Travel articles are also included in conservation publications like American Forests, Bird Watchers Digest, High Country News and National Parks.  You will also find hundreds of other recreation articles published in general magazines.  Other specialties that get a good reception at magazines include fashions, marriage, the family and its problems, women's issues, celebrities, politics, education, and religion.

Make Yourself a Specialist. To start specializing, pick a field you like or that you have a feeling for. After that, follow these steps: 1. Go to Writers Market and send for all possible magazines that might take travel articles.  Lookup articles in your field in the Writer's Guide to Periodical Literature and study the magazine that publishes these articles.  3.  Start reading technical journals -- -- if medicine is your interest take the AMA journal and others.  Do the same for other fields.  Also make yourself aware of any indexes in your field.

After this the rest is up to you.  A writer doesn't have to know everything he or she is writing about, but you must go to somebody who does.  The public relations department of every major university can provide you with a list of specialists at the in university who will answer questions on the phone.  Finally, you must continue to work in the field, build your files, collect voluminous literature on the subject and read extensively.