Publications are not only interested in stories from writers. They are also interested in stories that come directly from experts like you.
In fact, here’s the thing that experts often don’t realize. Editors really, really want to hear from you. They need your stories!
Journalists serve a very important role of translating information from a subject matter expert into an article that the general public can understand. But experts can provide a perspective no one else can and if they know how to clearly communicate to a general audience, it can be an invaluable story!
The challenge is taking your expertise and turning it into stories publications will want to share with their readers. That can be hard for experts who’ve been in the field for years if not decades and have potentially lost sight of the real, basic issues readers care about and problems they want to solve.
For example, say you are a professional interior designer. You live and breathe interior design and have been doing so for the past twenty years. If I now asked you to tell me something really interesting about your profession that you thought about recently, you might have endless thoughts to share about an obscure color theory, but these insights might be so advanced that a general audience would struggle to relate to it.
Basically, you could be at a point in your career where the topics that interest you go above everyone’s head. A general audience most likely just wants to know what color they should paint their bathroom.
Translating complicated subject matter into something readers are interested in is something journalists are really good at. But there’s also no reason you can do that on your own for your own story. And there’s no reason why you can’t send your own stories out. It starts by thinking about the reader’s needs and centering them. Instead of thinking about your story, ask yourself, how can I use what I know to help people?
When an editor sees that you can put a story together, that you’ve thought about their readers and can present an idea their audience is interested in, chances are good they will want to publish your story. The way to demonstrate that you can write for a general audience is with a really good pitch.
This process might take time but it can absolutely be done. And if you’re an expert in your field, it’s likely you already have the perfect pitch to send to an editor who will be excited for this story of yours to land in their inbox.