“You’re Spreading Yourself Too Thin,” They Say

Arthur Keith
4 min readMar 13, 2022

“You’ll never get anywhere as a writer!”

“I ain’t going up there just to lay some eggs and die!” Photo by Sekar B on Shutterstock.

There are so many “experts” here who say you’ve got to find one niche and stick with it if you want to be a successful writer.

I do have a niche. It’s called non-fiction. So fuck them.

I once had an interview at Woman’s Day, a women’s service publication. It covers a wide range of topics of interest to women. My interviewer said she was a “generalist” and didn’t want to limit herself to a niche, which is why she liked working for the magazine.

So there. I guess I’m a generalist.

Besides, I can’t help it if I have ADHD.

Or maybe I’ve lived more life than the experts. There are things I’ve experienced that you can’t make up. There is a world of subjects right outside your front door.

“Look, there’s a roadrunner! Did you know they mate for life?”

Photo by Eric Coffyn

They have a point. You can sit inside all day and pound away about horror, crime, or some other gimmicky niche and make oodles of money.

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.

But the downside is when people ask me what I write about. I hate that question. I go deer-in-headlights because I can never remember all of my subjects. Simply saying non-fiction doesn’t suffice.

So since I have some graphic abilities and a good printer, I made myself a little business card to which I often refer when I get that question. A list of my main subjects is on the backside. They are:

  • Aviation-I’m an airline geek.
  • Music-I’m pretty good at this and hope I can get as good as some of the folks over at The Riff. But I have received a “Top Writer” award in this category.
  • Geography-Definitely geeky. Those articles don’t do well. Why? Because no one seems to know what it is, and I’m trying to teach them.
  • Gay Culture/LGBTQ-Just got a “Top Writer” award in that category, too!
  • Gardening-It’s the most soothing thing this ADHD mind takes part in…

--

--

Arthur Keith

My goal is to inform, educate, & entertain. Top writer in LGBTQ, Music, Climate Change. Directionally dyslexic with an excellent sense of direction.