Having Trouble Defining Your Specialty? How To Determine What Makes You An Original

Struggling to pinpoint a blog niche? Grappling with how to present yourself to editors or clients? Still looking to settle on one particular area of expertise, but unsure of where you really shine?

Even those of us who have clear obsessio-… — oops! I mean passions — (in my case, the publishing industry and… um… cats) can have a blind spot when it comes to our own strengths.

If you’re thinking of starting a blog, but don’t know what to write about… if you’re struggling with pitching yourself to others… if you want to build a business, but are having trouble figuring out what, exactly, that business should entail… it could help to ask yourself the following questions.

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I’m Hiring Bloggers For YourTango’s LoveMom Blog!

Most of you already know that I work part-time at YourTango, editing blog posts, putting together the daily newsletter, handling freelancer contracts and invoice, steering the company’s Twitter strategy, and acting as intern coordinator. (Yup! All that just three days a week!)

I also manage the site’s parenting blog: LoveMom. Not offering up your typical parenting advice, LoveMom instead presents personal narratives on how having children can affect our love relationships, and our sense of self.

At the moment, I have three regular bloggers. And I’m looking for more. If LoveMom sounds right up your writing alley — and if you think you could commit to writing one post a week — do e-mail me. I’d love to see some writing samples, and learn more about your parenting journey… your attempts to get preggers… your thoughts on moms in the news…

Want to familiarize yourself with LoveMom first? Here are some of my favorite posts (I’ve included many of my own because I am conceited):

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They Hate Me! They Really Hate Me!

man hiding behind hate letter

The other week, I wrote a post for YourTango’s LoveMom blog, about my struggles with chronic depression and PMDD, and how it was affecting my decision to start a family. It was something that had been on my mind lately. I was worried about my hormones and postpartum depression, and about the strain I might place on my marriage. So when I wrote up my post, I really put it all out there, describing my ugliest moments and my worst fears. I was nervous about pressing the “publish” button, but I felt it was important to be honest. I thought that there would be people out there who could relate.

Then the hate comments began rolling in.

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Link Love: May 20, 2010

It has been over a month since my last Link Love. In lieu of the Hail Marys and the Our Fathers, I’m finally going to own up to the fact that something’s gotta give.

I mean, my grandfather died. And then I started a new copy editing gig. And then I launched a mom blog over at YourTango. And Michael and I started making plans to go hang gliding, maybe go on a French wine cruise, clean out our condo and sell it, buy a house.

Things fell by the wayside. My plans to do market research for my career coaching practice. My e-book. This blog.

Something has to give, but I don’t want to give up any of it. Which is why, at the very least, I can at least stop feeling guilty over the infrequency of my blog posts. At least for now.

Last night, I attended a callanetics class with my mom. I’ve been going every week for the past 11 years (give or take the few years I was away at college). It typically serves to simultaneously relax and invigorate me, both stretching me out and strengthening my core. Last night, however, I had a panic attack during class, and started crying on the drive home. I just felt so overwhelmed.

So yes. I’m going to try to feel less guilty. I’m going to try to acknowledge that I am merely human. I am not going to give up this blog. But I will be here less often. If you’d like to stock up on some reading material in the meantime…

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Link Love: April 10, 2010

I feel as if this week was a perfect example of how much I was missing when I was playing recluse for the past year. (The positively balmy weather didn’t hurt.)

On Tuesday, I went to the #nyblogout — a happy hour for NYC dating bloggers — and met a few people I had previously only known online. On Friday afternoon, I went to an open dress rehearsal for Armida at the Metropolitan Opera, and then went to a Ben Folds concert in the evening. And today, I went to the local university to rehearse a choral piece an old high school friend had composed for his grad school recital. It felt good to get away from the computer screen.

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Link Love: March 27, 2010

It’s been a busy week, and my poor ebook keeps falling to the bottom of the heap in terms of priorities. After all, who has time to whip up a book when there’s an office job to stay on top of, clients to coach, copy to be written, and blog posts to be…well…blogged? Still, my new web platform is slated to launch at the beginning of April (see: clock ticking). And my new web platform will have a products page filled with coaching packages that can be ordered directly through the site. And an additional item — available to order as a standalone product — will be my ebook. Yes, I am currently employing my oh-shit face.

Which is why I’m hunkering down this weekend (my sniffles have effectively quashed the desire to go outside, anyway) and working on nothing but Job Hopping for Word Nerds. Luckily, a good number of you have weighed in with ideas on what I might include in my ebook. Which makes my job a lot easier. (I love you guys.)

Before  brew another pot of coffee, however, and chain myself to the laptop, here are a few pieces you might find worth a read:

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Link Love: March 19, 2010

It’s been a long, ridiculously busy week and, I must admit, I’m feeling a bit burnt out. Which is why, last night, I forced myself to step away from my laptop and indulge in an evening of Netflix+hot cocoa. Still, work goes on, and I completed a copywriting project for a new client, had my very first career coaching appointment, and got back into the bloggy swing of things. I’d still like to write up a guest post, organize the content for my new online portfolio, and make some headway on my e-book but, you know…we’ll see how that goes. 🙂 In the meantime:

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Link Love: March 14, 2010

What a week! I announced the winners of my Career Coaching for Word Nerds contest, and have my very first appointment scheduled for this coming Wednesday. I’m way excited to start helping people find career fulfillment, and am also interested in seeing how the balance of editing, writing, and coaching shifts in my own life.

Not only that, but I managed to tear myself away from the computer twice this week in order grab drinky drinks with fellow entrepreneurs. On Monday, I met up with a former colleague who just resigned from her full-time job in order to throw herself into full-time freelance writing. As we’ve both been on the editing and writing sides of the table, I had a great time talking freelance strategy with her, and sharing on-the-job stories. And on Thursday, I headed to Ginger Man for happy hour with two fellow tweeps who had driven up from NC for a short vacation. So great to put faces to tweets!

I’m not sure yet whether this Sunday will be lazy or productive (I have an ebook to work on, and a new copywriting client) but, before I decide, let me give you some weekend reading:

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Link Love: February 26, 2010

It’s been a busy week, what with the training of new interns at YourTango, my short stint at Vogue, my back-and-forth negotiation with a new client, and the launching of my coaching practice. And there’s still so much to do! (I’m hoping to make major headway on my copywriting project today, and also get some pitches out there.) But before I get started, I wanted to thank you all for the supportive comments you left on my career coaching contest post. I’m so excited to jump into things, and also super-nervous, and it helps to have such an amazing community of freelancers and writers and freelance writers cheering me on. Okay. Let’s not get emotional. Without further ado, here’s this week’s link love:

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Link Love: January 31, 2010

It’s been a good week. I’ve been ridiculously busy at the office. I’ve been ridiculously busy at home. And it seems that query challenge karma alone is bringing new opportunities my way. (At the moment, I’m at Barnes & Noble, working on my ongoing copywriting project and doing some market research.) Before I dive back into work, I wanted to share with you this week’s link love:

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