What's Your Niche?

By Trevor Pacelli
​Everybody seems to have a niche that defines their life. Steve Jobs was all about the iPhone. Dr. Seuss was all about his whimsical children’s books. Wes Anderson is all about his quirky movies full of symmetrical imagery. Taylor Swift is all about country and pop music. But what about you? Maybe you’ve reached the age of forty or even fifty and still feel you never found your niche in life? You’re not alone. I am thirty-two, yet have spent my life so far coasting between potential niches, including drawing, theater, movies, movie reviewing, photography, cooking, social media, and writing. I’ve repeatedly felt what I’ve been pursuing wasn’t working and I needed to start all over again to discover my niche.

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Dissatisfied with my monotonous job as a custodian in 2021, I went to work for my parents’ business hoping it would help bring me a sense of purpose. I entered the job with a self-help book, Six-Word Lessons on Growing Up Autistic, already under my belt, and it had become a bestseller for the company, which led me to believe my place was to be an author. Since joining Pacelli Publishing, I have written two nonfiction books about movies, a middle grade novel, and illustrated two children’s books (one of which I also wrote). Yup, three types of books for three types of target audiences, and together, these helped me figure out my ideal niche.
First off, the middle grade novel. I decided to write for middle grade because those were the years I found joy in reading fiction. Back then, I had no trouble reading novels, since the books were written with a much simpler and to-the-point style that helped me to easily visualize the stories in my head like they were a movie. But books written for young adults and fully-grown adults always bored me since they emphasized the characters’ inner monologues more than describing what everything looked like. There’s no hope in me paying attention to such books, which is why I decided my first novel should be for middle grade—a book I would’ve enjoyed reading at that age.
Overall, Summer of the Fruit Virus turned out as well as it could. For a first novel, I felt I did well with giving each character some depth as I kept the story engaging with an escalating unpredictable narrative that also provides social commentary on the madness of post-COVID America. While I had to learn what was appropriate for this age group, the multiple rewrites and feedback helped create a product I’m confident could leave a strong impact on child readers. After starting my second middle grade novel, I realized it was difficult for me to judge how to write for that target. This got me started on exploring other potential niches.
After writing my two nonfiction books, What Movies Can Teach Us About Disabilities and What Movies Can Teach Us About Bullying, I had a third one planned: What Movies Can Teach Us About Storytelling. My Dad originally pitched this to me as the third title in the series to help my branding as a storyteller, and while I got a good start on it, I ultimately couldn’t find enough of a purpose for the book. Thus, it was another project I decided not to pursue, which was okay, because as much as I love analyzing movies while helping others to understand them, there’s a better niche for me to pursue.
This segues into the children’s book I illustrated: The Kindergarten Adventures of Amazing Grace: What in the World is Autism? It began as my sister’s high school senior project, which I illustrated for her back in 2008. Yet upon joining my parents’ business, I knew the book needed an update because I illustrated it when I was fifteen. In late 2022, I published the second edition of the book with professional-looking formatting and illustrations that I am happy with. And now, I’m proud to announce that later this month, the second book in the series, Amazing Grace Goes to the Zoo will be available.
Oh, and I also just booked a deal with someone to illustrate her children’s book, which has led me to believe I at last have found my niche.
It makes sense for me that illustrating children’s books should be my niche, as I drew constantly as a kid, with probably over two hundred of my drawings between third and sixth grade being of SpongeBob characters. The kids at school would always compliment my drawings and considered me the artist of the classroom. Book sales have also been a strong indicator for me as to what my niche should be, as seeing what resonates best with people demonstrates I’m doing something right. Six-Word Lessons on Growing Up Autistic is by far my best-selling book with over a thousand copies sold worldwide, and of the books I worked on under Pacelli Publishing, Amazing Grace sold the best. These signs seem to point me toward the direction of spreading autism awareness and creating uplifting inspirational content that utilizes my writing and drawing skills.
If you hit a certain age and still think you haven’t discovered your niche in life, here are some tips based on what I learned:

1. Pay attention to what others most frequently say you’re good at doing. For what abilities to people show interest, and even seem willing to pay you for?
2. Try new things. If you fail at something, congratulate yourself. It’s a sign that you tried something new and now know more about yourself.
3. Focus on helping others, as that’s what best helps you to see in action your weaknesses and strengths.

 
Trevor Pacelli is a young adult on the autism spectrum as well as the author of What Movies Can Teach Us About Disabilities, What Movies Can Teach Us About Bullying, Summer of the Fruit Virus and the illustrator of The Kindergarten Adventures of Amazing Grace: What in the World is Autism?