Writers with experience in specific subjects are encouraged to use their niche, especially when breaking into the writing world. Holly Lisle used nursing experience for her debut novel Sympathy for the Devil, Justin Gustainis turned bodyguarding experience to supernatural fiction for Black Magic Woman — and if you know more about a topic than other authors, freelancing could help pay your bills.

Here’s how you can write what you know, illustrated with my journey through playing card writing.

Blogging Reaches Readers

Not only readers but also possibly publishers and agents. I started writing posts for BridgeBlogging in 2017. A publisher later got in touch with a longer job offer – and today, the site is part of a larger company that I’ve often written for.

The Niche

My first bridge article introduced me to a wonderful editor. We wrote more features over several years and the connection stuck. I remember that it started with that first post, and the phrase: “Sold!” Persist and pitch. Then over time, as I published more, I was introduced to publications like IntoBridge via its readership.

Message boards (like BridgeWinners) and discussions like Reddit are clues to your niche’s roadmap. What are people reading or following? Track its most active markets.

Subscribe: Become a Fan First

Newsletters, groups, and associations point to active paying writing markets. Subscribe to the 10 to 15 most popular newsletters in your niche and become a fan.

A subscription to the International Bridge Press Association led to me writing card-related features for publications like the American Bridge Teachers’ Association and Bridge Canada.

Follow newsletters, and pay attention to its Editorial, Writers, Publisher, and advertising page. These are all leads, contacts, or markets with potential.

Writing a Column

I ended up writing a column for one of the biggest websites in card playing, Bridge Base Online. The job only happened when I’d published in the niche often enough to become familiar to readers, so that when I pitched a column, I had name recognition in the arena. I approached its editorial with a column idea, modernizing bridge for internet playing. They liked it and asked for a first post.

Want to write a column in your niche? Strong samples give you the best chance of securing higher-end, better contracts. Those samples equate to name recognition.

Features and Interviews

Here’s a secret: never go quiet. An absence from niche markets means readers forget to care or even remember you. Always be present somewhere with regular posts, publication, or other content (like lessons).

Be frequently published, syndicated, or reprinted. Keep talking to your contacts, even if they aren’t hiring right now.

I’ve published in Bridge Canada Magazine (“The cutthroat world of professional bridge”), Gifts for Card Players (“Bridge for fun”), BridgeScanner (“World Bridge Tour”), and the World Computer Bridge Championships.

How? By spending three years straight pitching, negotiating, and contacting bridge markets.

Other Private Jobs

Niche experience (like card playing) blends well with traditional writing experience (like editing). Anywhere your “street cred” or qualifications give you the market advantage, use it.

I’ve branched into private writing jobs with a card playing slant, like proofreading for the American Bridge Teachers’ Association. The same way, I’ve connected with Professor Samantha Punch over mindsports and academic studies for promoting and proofreading bridge content.

Writing is NOT the only viable income in your niche.

About Bridge (for Other Markets)

Niche experience sometimes sells to other mainstream markets. Insider angles strengthen your pitch. I’ve written about playing cards for Writers Write and the newspaper The South African (“Bridge: Bill Gates’ favourite card game”).

I’ve also relied on cardistry experience for features in Gifts for Card Players (“Magic: The Gathering”), Geek Native (“Mystery Board Games”), and The South African.

Niche writing for mainstream markets is a great perspective if you ask: what would others want to know?

Roald Dahl wrote “My Lady Love, My Dove” with his bridge experience, and the game makes an appearance in many Agatha Christie Mysteries. You don’t have to be a bridge player to appreciate the greater story: that’s how you blend mainstream and niche writing.

About the Author: Alex J. Coyne journalist, author and proofreader. He has written for a variety of publications and websites, with a radar calibrated for gothic, gonzo and the weird. Sometimes, he co-writes with others.