Write what you want, not what you think readers want

When you write because you need to tell your story, readers will sense that feeling of ebulliance. When you try to be clever with your scene, world, and twist, readers catch you out immediately as someone manufacturing a story for them to read. I was guilty of this for some time before I wrote to please myself.

Of course, do not write too far from a genre or niche or your book will be hard to catalogue, and therefore find. My novella is burried in such a deep niche I’ve had little to no sales. Current project, SDU looks to be the same. If you do bridge genres, try to write a classic. Something clever snd charming everyone loves.