Joseph Hare asked Jeff Wheeler:

Hello! I'm a huge fan of your books (mainly the Kingfountain Series) and have a question for you on switching the genre you write. I was writing an epic fantasy novel just a few months ago and immediately jumped right into writing a sci-fi book. I was just wondering how it felt for you personally to switch your writing genre, and if you have any tips or advice on working with sci-fi? Thanks in advance!

Jeff Wheeler Hi Joseph - that's a really good question! When I switched from fantasy to thrillers (for Dresden Codex), it required a lot of research into the new genre and the types of tropes that readers expect. I read a lot of books to try and distill the core elements and see how I could make them work with my writing style and brand. I'm glad I did it because I think it has impacted my fantasy writing too (trying to create even more tension and keeping things fast paced). That said, keep in mind that if readers expect one kind of writing from you, they won't necessarily jump with you to another genre. I found that to be true as well. My Dresden Codex series didn't sell as well as my fantasy books have. But the learning experience was invaluable.

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