Reviewing Your Competition

Before you bid on a nonfiction writing project and before you begin writing your material, you must review your competition. Without an understanding of your competition, what he or she produces and what his or her editors like, it is not possible for you to know how to position yourself in the world of writing.

Below are some concerns that you will answer when you review your competition. Sniffing out your competition is a worthwhile effort and will yield you knowledge that will help you go forward in becoming a published author. You will also find that the information you glean will help you to sharpen your own presentation and writing style.

I am not a Competitor, so Why Compare?

The anti-competition attitude is dominant among Generation X and to some degree Generation Y. Older generations are less likely to subscribe to the idea that they don't need to compete. Regardless of what generation you identify with, you cannot afford to shun the importance of competition. To ignore the competitive element is naive and works to your own detriment.

In the world of nonfiction writing, it is foolishness to think your work is not compared to that of other writers. It is a foolishness to which you cannot afford to subscribe if you plan to be a writer who is taken seriously and paid well. Even in the context and dynamics which currently exist in the U.S. between the Baby Boomer generation and Generation X, where a smaller generation is positioned to serve a more populous generation, nonfiction writers cannot assume that the smaller workforce pool will help to eliminate competition in their field. The same generation that pushed to have control over their reproductive decisions and to have the right to eliminate their own offspring now looks upon Generation X and says, "If you don't compete with one another, we will force you to compete with others abroad."

Yes, it can be argued that the Baby Boomers are not consciously presenting this threat or that it even has anything to do with competition. Such may be the case. But the end result and the ultimate impact on the up and coming generations is that you WILL be forced to compete and it will happen either here or abroad. It is best to simply face it, accept it, and scout out your competition.

Who are your Competitors?

In order to compete, you must know who your competitors are and you must understand how to beat them in the eyes of your editor or business person. Once you have a clear view of who competes with you for the nonfiction writing that you hope to publish, you can then create a personal strategy for winning influence with your editor or decision maker.

Things to consider when identifying your competitors:

• Am I a beginning writer? Have I well developed my own style? Do I write in such a way that my reader quickly and easily understands me?


• How much education do I have, and what is the level of education that other writers in my field possess? Am I willing to return to the schoolhouse in order to sharpen my skills or in order to obtain a degree if my editor requires it?


• How upset do I get if I don't win a contract? When I do not win a project, do I blame others or do I look at my own presentation for ways to improve it?


• Have I mistaken the idea of cheapest for competition? How am I qualifying what I offer when assessing my competitive position? Do I guarantee my client or editor a high quality manuscript?


• What do my competitors do to make themselves stand out to editors and clients? Have I posed as a potential client to get myself into conversations with my competitors so I can find out what they say?


• If I haven't talked with my competitors, then how will I offer a better writing, a better service, or a better finished product?


• Just who, indeed, are my competitors? Do they live near me? Do they live in my neighborhood, city, state, or country? Are they full time writers or freelancers who use their writing to create spending money for their kids? Are they educated stay-at-home moms, or professionals who view their nonfiction writing as a second job?


• Does my competition exude a professional attitude, an all business attitude, an easy going artistic attitude, or what? What is the attitude of the writers that my targeted editor responds to?

• Do they come in early and work late all the time?


• Do they give the customer what he wants regardless of whether it is a slight imposition on their time?


• Are they focused on their client or editor and on what he or she wants produced for them?


• Do they put all other things in a secondary position when trying to please their client or editor?


• Do their clients continue to use them on a regular basis? Do editors call them month after month for another assignment?


• Do they give their client a heavy dose of MMFI (Make Me Feel Important)? Are they sensitive to the editor's or client's need to feel important to the writer?


• Do they get it when it comes to relating to their client or editor? Do they connect the dots between giving and showing their editor or client a heavy dose of respect and gaining repeat assignments?