Thursday is SpecialtyBuzz day here at the Life and Times of a Freelance Writer, and that means I will be interviewing a specialist freelance writer in hopes of educating new freelance writers about a possibly unknown niche. And this week’s niche is probably one that many people haven’t even considered – paintball writing. I’ll let Paintball Writer Dawn Allcot tell you the whole story:

What is your specialty and how did you get started in that particular area?

Paintball is one of my specialty writing niches. I actually have a few. I believe that while it’s good to be an expert, it can also be limiting for someone looking to build a full-time freelance career. Unless your specialty is something huge, I feel like it’s safer to have a few different niche markets. Also, it keeps things interesting to write about so many different topics.

Dawn Allcot defending her tank

What are three things a writer needs to know before choosing to specialize in your area of specialty?

That’s a tough one. It’s really helps, it’s almost mandatory, to know a lot about paintball and to love the sport.

Second, sadly, you really need connections in the paintball publishing world. But that’s not as scary as it sounds, because knowing just one editor or a few writers can help you get your foot in the door.

Three: This is probably the one a lot of paintball writers don’t realize. It helps to know how hard a paintball editor’s job is, what they have to contend with every day. As an editor – and I know because I edited two paintball magazines – you have a very limited budget. You have new teams and players constantly bugging you for coverage but not willing to give you good reasons to do so. Teams approach without a good hook or angle and they’re just really wasting an editor’s time.

A lot of times, you have to deal with paintball enthusiasts that have good ideas but aren’t professional writers. If a writer keeps all these things in mind, and is considerate of an editor’s time, approaches an editor in a professional manner, and does everything possible to make the editor’s job easier, they will really stand out. I hope that doesn’t sound like I’m whining. I see it more as an opportunity for new, talented writers willing to work hard.

Can I add a plug? I have a 7-week course for paintball writers that takes interested people through everything from querying to writing game coverage and even how to team up with a photographer. When they finish the course, graduates will have two completed articles ready to submit to magazines or Web sites. Right now, you can find the course for sale at www.theabundantwriter.blogspot.com, along with my more mainstream writing course.

Does writing in your specialty require any particular training or could a layperson pick it up?

A talented layperson could pick it up, but a love of the sport really helps. Pay rates aren’t exceptionally high, but the perks are pretty good if you’re a player! That said, it’s a great market for beginning writers to accrue national clips, whether or not they play paintball.

Are there any potential pitfalls associated with specializing in your area? See above. The pay is low and it’s long work. For event coverage, for instance, you spend anywhere from a full day to a week at an event, then you go home, sort photos and write the story. You’re putting in many, many hours for, at most, a few hundred dollars. But really, I have a hard time calling it work. You’re hanging out on a paintball field, ideally in beautiful weather, talking to all sorts of wonderful and interesting people.

What is the current market for writing in your specialty? Who is buying and who is selling?

Like many other industries, the paintball industry has fallen on hard times in this economy. Several publications have gone all-digital in the past year, but the ones who are strong remain strong. As far as print, Facefull and its woods paintball sister publication, Jungle, is still buying, as is the new PBX3 and Action Pursuit Games (APG).

And, here’s some big news: a new digital magazine, Shooting Hot, is launching this October. The owners, Dale Ford and Billy Smith, love the game. Dale is one of the top paintball journalists and his wife Jamie is a talented photographer. Billy Smith is one of the most successful field owners in the country. I’m going to write for Dale and Billy, maybe even for the premiere issue, and I’m really excited to see the magazine.

I believe digital really is the future of paintball publications. That’s probably the case with a lot of niche markets. The overhead is just so much lower.

What do you enjoy most about your specialty?

The people. Paintball is like a giant, close-knit, sometimes dysfunctional family. I also love the reaction I get when I tell people I write about paintball. It’s such an easy answer to the question, “What do you write?” and it diverts people’s attention from the standard “writer” questions we all get tired of answering. Instead, people want to know if I play and then they want to hear about my tank, which is built on a Chevy S10 Blazer and has a cannon. My husband built it and we use it in high profile scenario games like the one held every May at Cousins Paintball.

What do you enjoy least about your specialty?

The slow and/or low pay. It really is a labor of love and if I were writing only about paintball to make a living, I’d starve.

How would you suggest networking within your specialty?

The paintball forums, including PBNation, are a great way to network online. Every February, the Paintball Extravaganza, a trade show for the paintball industry, takes place and most of the magazines have booths there. Look up the biggest paintball games in your area, contact the field owner or event producer for press passes, and show up at the game. Also, talk to your local field or store! I’ve done promotional writing for a number of field owners and tournament series’. Lots of people in paintball need writers for articles, press releases, product descriptions—anything you can imagine.

What advice would you give to freelance writers interested in specializing in your area?

Even if you don’t play, it should be a labor of love. Many industry people haven’t picked up a paintball marker in years but just love the people and the atmosphere so much, it doesn’t matter that they don’t actually play anymore. I started out writing for the magazines before I started actually playing and I still enjoying covering a game as much as I love running around in the woods with my paintball marker.

Dawn Allcot is the former editor-in-chief of both Paintball Sports Magazine and RECON: The Magazine of Woods Paintball. Her work has also appeared in Paintball News, Paintball 2Xtremes, the Cousins Paintball newsletter and on the Paintball Sports Trade Association website. She has been playing paintball for nearly a decade and has been a freelance writer and editor for almost 15 years. You can find out more at www.allcotmedia.com and you can purchase her writing courses for beginners at www.theabundantwriter.blogspot.com.