: Re: Is it bad if I don't like the "best" books in my chosen genre? (This question is about reading but it pertains to writing as well). I write fantasy, and as a result, I've read a lot of

@Pope4766717

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In determining your favorite genre, there are two things to consider.

What you like
How would people describe that in terms of genre.

What currently exists in that genre is irrelevant... except if you're trying to find something to read in your favorite genre.

As far as how well that applies to you as a writer hoping to sell your work... what currently exists is a function of the interests of the authors who have already published, and to the extent their editors redirected them, how their editors redirected them. If there are other people who have your same interests in that genre and nobody else has published? So long as you can write well and get their attention, nobody else having written what you are specifically interested in within your genre could be a good thing for your bottom line.

Of course, if there truly is an untapped market for the work you want to produce, that qualifier is a big one. It would probably be far easier to reach that market if there is at least a small amount of existing fan base, because otherwise you're attempting to get the interests of disheartened fans, many of whom will have given up trying to find what they want to read.

In saying this, I'm trying to take the gist of what goblin said, and spin it a different way, because the readers in fantasy are not defined by the fantasy work that exists but by the interest in fantasy they have, and that might be different in ways that could be very beneficial to you.

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