Academic writing has become one of the most lucrative freelance writing niches and a market leader in the gig economy. Being lucrative also implies intensive competitiveness and ease of entry, making it challenging to hack, especially with the growing challenges of legality and morality. Misunderstandings in society about ethical principles of academic writing also make it a controversial and less spoken-about industry. However, academic writing is a profitable job opportunity with lots of advantages over mainstream employment. It is also one of the easiest careers to set up as you need only a laptop and internet connection to start. Yet, becoming a successful academic writer is extremely challenging.
What is academic writing?
Academic writing is a freelance custom writing job specializing in higher education assignments and research. Although writers may also complete high school level essays and other projects, the bigger chunk of their work comes from institutions of higher learning, especially college and university level. They may also complete professional course examinations from other tertiary education entities, but this category remains relatively small.
Based on this definition, academic writing is a broad industry encompassing all educational disciplines, such as nursing, psychology, English literature, and business. It also incorporates complex disciplines and natural sciences, including mathematics, engineering, computer science, and even rocket science. With all these disciplines to choose from, you’d expect that selecting a niche is easy. However, like any other professional field, success in academic writing requires commitment, practice, and training.
How to find your niche
Establish your passion
Academic writing is not for the faint-hearted. The industry requires lots of commitment and hard work to succeed. Notably, a good writer must be well versed with current and historical information in their field. Thus, one must be willing to read extensively to expand their knowledge base and reduce the time spent on research, especially when working on urgent orders. Academic writing can be challenging for most new entrants due to the additional formatting and referencing tasks requiring accuracy and adherence to specific rules and regulations. Thus, finding your passion is almost a prerequisite for joining the industry. You will be best positioned to succeed in a field you like, as reading and practicing will be more interesting than challenging.
Start with your area of expertise
Your field of expertise is always a starting point, but you don’t always have to settle in this discipline. Following your passion is obviously the key to success in this sector. However, before establishing your niche, you need to join the industry. More often than not, you will require a university or college degree. Other entities will also test your credentials and skills through systematic proficiency tests. Hence, you have a better chance of joining the industry by demonstrating prowess in your field of expertise. If you studied business, you could start working on business and related disciplines as you familiarize yourself with the industry. You can then move gradually towards your passion as you grow your knowledge base and expand your skills. Starting from your field of expertise also acts as a stepping stone in your writing journey as you already understand where to find sources and the basic requirements within your field.
Read and practice writing
To write, you must first read. Besides having a passion for writing and graduate-level academic credentials, you must be interested and willing to read. Your ability to articulate theoretical concepts and respond to order instructions adequately is the primary determinant of success. Academic writing requires integrity and commitment to the art and science of penmanship. These conditions imply that you must have the information and know how to present it without copying original works from others. You must understand the implications of plagiarism and how to avoid it. Thus, you must be willing to expand your knowledge base through extensive reading and research with or without an assignment.
Master academic writing languages
Various academic fields have unique writing languages that dictate formatting and style. The American Psychological Association (APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA) are the most commonly used styling formats. However, referencing formats differ based on the academic discipline according to the University of Pittsburgh. For instance, humanities and social sciences may require Harvard or Chicago styles. Similarly, different institutions have their preferred referencing formats. For example, Massey University in New Zealand prefers APA in Education, Business, Social Sciences, and Humanities. Thus, your niche in academic writing will also depend on your ability to master a specific writing language. Although having at least some basic knowledge of all available styling formats is paramount, mastery and specialization may depend on your preferred niche.
Establish gaps in the industry
Once you have joined the industry, identify the disciplines with the best paying orders and least interest from other writers. For instance, Nursing has the highest number of orders in the sector, yet most writers fail to meet the minimum customer expectation. As a result, the best-paying nursing jobs have a low demand from writers. You can identify several disciplines experiencing a similar challenge due to complexity, workflow, or lack of expertise. Enhance your skill in these disciplines, and you will be guaranteed a steady workflow and better pay. Concentrating and becoming an expert in one area is always rewarding, even in the mainstream employment sectors. In this case, specialization allows you to focus your energy on the most lucrative discipline, minimizing your workload and maximizing your income.
Join a reliable company or writing site
Unlike most freelance writing sectors, academic writing is difficult to crack, especially as a beginner. You will hardly find students on social media or job boards searching for people to help with assignments. Finding an academic writing job can be daunting and discouraging due to the misconstrued ethical and legal issues around the sector. However, you can find thousands of writing sites online searching for qualified writers. These sites have established a presence in the most profitable markets and will often guarantee a steady workflow. For me, Uvocorp is perhaps the most attractive writing company.
