While working on your base skills you can begin to stay up to date on the current popular SF/F short stories. I do that by watching the Amazon charts specifically (here is a link to the bestsellers: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Books-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/zgbs/books/25). Figure out what's popular, what readers want, follow successful authors on facebook/instagram/twitter, figure out if there are any trends. That and just gobble up any information you can from any source you can. I find the author/genre reader groups on Facebook helpful for learning exactly who the audience is. The other social media sights are good for understanding how these authors market and connect to the readers.
Thank you so much BayView, So many useful, recommended resources, I knew I came to the right place! I guess, I just want to know everything about writing as a trade at the moment. Apart from improving my craft, I want to know all the cogs in the system and all pieces of the puzzle so I can start planning for the next steps ahead. There will probably be some trial and error involved, but this forum looks like a great place to gather all the necessary information. I haven't really made a decision yet on what my next step in publishing and promotion will be, but I want to know what will be involved, once I do decide to go in that direction. What has worked for you? Is your work available for review on this forum?
Hi marshipan, Thank you for the list. I instantly recognise so many bestsellers on the Amazon charts you posted. The authors (like J. K. Rowling) themselves have pretty incredible stories. I think keeping an eye on the trends on social media is a good advice, this can also point to clues on how to infiltrate that particular type of an audience. What has worked for you personally? Is your work available for review on this forum? (I need to fill in my obligatory 2/1's)
I don't write many short stories, so the tools that worked for me probably won't apply for you. And I don't think I've posted anything for review here for quite a while. But I'm glad you're finding the answers you're looking for. There's definitely a lot to learn!
Hi Mish, sorry for the slow response. I don't have anything up for critique. I think the biggest thing for my genre fiction is reading what's popular. I use Kindle unlimited to borrow books and just plow through what I can in my particular genre/niche. I generally follow the authors I want to emulate, the newly popular authors, and then I also try to read a few of the less popular ones to see what doesn't work. Commercial success is one of my biggest goals so it's where a lot of my concentration is. All that said, I'm still writing my first novel.