Professional writers and those who aspire to earning a living from writing may or may not be familiar with the argument of generalization versus specialization but they surely know the concept. Should a writer be an expert in the field in which he or she is writing? Or can writers write about anything they please and take assignments as they come along? What is the role of subject expertise for the professional writer?

If your goal is to be a professional writer now or in the near future or even just to make some part-time money as a writer, you need to decide where you intend on finding work and how you'll get it. Are you going to look everywhere and accept just about anything of interest? Then you're a generalist. Or are you going to narrow your sites and concentrate on certain topics? That's a specialist.

You can decide to generalize or specialize based on your personality, your whim, or the circumstances, but it is sounder business (and writing is a business) to make a conscious choice.

So which is the better choice? The answer may surprise you.

On the surface, it would appear that a generalist can earn more simply because he or she is more open to work from all sources. After all, if you specialize in a narrow field, you are immediately limiting the number and types of assignments for which you'll qualify.

However, a generalist can have a tough time finding work! It can be harder for a generalist writer to land assignments than a specialist, simply because the specialist can sell his or her expertise in the field.

For instance, I specialize in medical writing. That immediately precludes me from a lot of writing assignments. However, when medical writing jobs come up, I have a very focused portfolio of previous articles and projects to present. I know the lingo. I have a lot of contacts in the field. My references are great; in some fields, I have references that my editors often know personally or know about.

In some situations, I can wow a potential customer by showing him examples of my writing and past projects that track very closely to what he is asking me to do. This kind of calling card is very powerful. When you know the lingo, know the turf, and can prove you can handle the job, it is hard to lose out on an assignment.

If a generalist were to apply for the same writing gig at the same time, I'd blow the generalist out of the water.

By the same token, if the writing assignment were on raising kids, I'd be on even footing with the generalist, if I bothered to apply at all.

In terms of landing a job, there is really no scenario where the generalist has the edge over the specialist.

Now you could argue that the generalist can make it up with volume. After all, a generalist is free to pursue just about any writing assignment that comes along. He can write about raising horses, traveling to Iceland, or how to buy your first home. I'm limited to medical.

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