Choosing a Niche in Freelance Editing

In the editing and writing world, people often ask editors what their niche or specialty is. As a person who is constantly interested in learning, finding the right niche was challenging. Thankfully, there were many experienced and wise editors who encouraged me not to limit myself by focusing too much on a specialty.

Now that I’ve actually had opportunities to work with more writers, I feel much more comfortable in saying my niche is developmental editing speculative fiction. Although that is somewhat of a broad niche, it allows me to work on so many different kinds of projects, which is one thing I love about my job. I enjoy working across age ranges and working with authors who include diverse representation in their work.

That being said, I also feel like I have the freedom to explore other interests without abandoning my specialty. I marvel all the time about the joy I find working with the amazing, kind, and talented people I get to work with. It sounds cheesy to say, but my work doesn’t feel like work. When others joke about retiring, I daydream about never retiring.

But, just as I do in my personal life, I hope to continue learning about different topics related to editing. I’m hoping to explore proofreading in the near-ish future, and I’d love to narrate children’s audiobooks someday. And the nerd in me would love to work on more philosophical pieces. Until then, I’m content specializing in the area I do, knowing that my niche doesn’t hold me back from new opportunities.