The Sci-Fi Formula That Never Changes

These questions have been put before me:

1.  What are today's science fiction readers looking for that may not have been as prominent as before?

A good story, interesting characters, conflict--there always has to be conflict. 

This question has been put before me: What are today's sci fi readers looking for that may not have been as prominent before? 

Conflict with each character, conflict with aliens, with each environment, conflict everywhere it can be put in and have a satisfactory conclusion.

A story has to move forward, like walking down a sidewalk, climbing a hill, canoeing down a stream, avoiding the large dinosaur, crocodile, anything and everything trying to steal or kill your characters. Or just plain eat them!

If it doesn't move in a satisfying way, the reading will just toss it away.

Science Fiction doesn't change too much. It's about tomorrow, or yesterday. It's about what's to come, or what has come. About what we lost and what we've gained. What we need to get rid of, or keep.

Essentially, it's about the reader's imagination and the writer's imagination. If they click, the reader and the writer are happy. If they don't click, the reader and the writer move on until each of them finds what does click. Then they're happy. Mostly.

2: How do you differentiate in a competitive genre or landscape?

You keep plugging away until readers perceive the wealth of your writing.  That, apparently, is how it really works.

Here are two examples:

In the 1980s, there was a young man in college who came up with a great idea. He wrote a story about two brothers hunting in the winter in North America. They find a small crashed plane. Inside are two bodies and lots of money. They steal the money. Soon gangsters are after them. The book was called: "A Simple Plan."

It made a lot of money for the writer and the publisher. Then it was sold to a movie studio. It made more money for the writer, the studio, and probably his agent and publisher.

Everyone wanted the writer to write more stories. However, he never came up with any more good ideas. It was a one-shot thing.

The Second Example:

During them same time period a college professor wrote a Science Fiction novel 

called "The Breaking of NorthWall" set a thousand years in the future about the survivors of a massive, world wide nuclear war. It went through several  printings.

His agent got the publisher to give the writer a six-book contract . 

The second book was a psychological drama not as good as the first novel. He almost lost his contract. The remaining books were as good as the first novel.

My point is don't screw things up, but keep on your tract. And keep on trying. There's no controlling the audience.