I'm not a published author but my wife is a #1 NYT Bestseller, an international bestseller, published in 15 or 20 countries, and a fairly new screenwriter
The best writing advice is that all writing advice is bull ***** There isn't some secret code or magic method because what works for one author won't work for another.
I don't suggest writing every day. sometimes writing just for the sake of writing is going to produce garbage. Try to develop your Work In Progress (WIP) but understand that sometimes it just isn't going to work and that its okay to take a break. Your WIP is going to be there when you get back and inspiration often comes from a variety of places. Books, movies, music, tv, even being out in public. My wife's first book idea came from time when her library was nearly wiped out by a tornado.
Try and read a lot of whatever genre you are writing. Its going to help you identify what good looks like and also what bad writing looks like. Read current stuff. The classics are great but they aren't going to help you sell a book in today's market.
Find out if you are a plotter or a pantser. Do you prefer to plot and outline your whole novel first or do you write by the seat of your pants and develop the plot as you go. Again everyone is different.
Beyond that, below is the standard advice I give everyone when it comes to getting published. Keep in mind its solely based on my wife experiences in YA, Adult Fiction, Screenwriting, and Romance (if you are writing romance or screenwriting the process can be wildly different).
The first thing you need to ask yourself is, "What do I want from this project?" Are you looking for commercial success or do you care more about getting your story out there? If you are wanting to get your story out there, you can go the self publishing route. It's far easier but is much less likely to produce a financial windfall. If you want to self publish it's as simple as writing the book and self publishing through amazon (like their kindle direct service). If you want to go the traditional publishing route, that's a bit more involved. The first thing you need to do is write your book. It really depends on the book and genre, but most are going to be around 50,000 to 90,000 words. As you are writing the book, you should have someone critique it. Most authors have a critique partner that they trade work with. You basically read each other's stuff and provide feedback. If you can't find someone to work with, you can always pay for a professional editor.
Once you have your manuscript in what you feel like is acceptable condition, you need to find an agent. You want to find an agent that represents work like yours. Twitter is a great resource for this. Read the agent's website and see if they are accepting submissions and what they want. Most require a query letter which is kind of like a sales pitch. It's a quick letter that states who you are, what your book is about, and why you think they would be a good fit. These need to be short and concise. The agent most likely isn't even going to read it, their intern will. If the intern likes it, they pass it on to the agent who makes the call if they want to represent you. Do not send it to every agent out there, be selective. There are a ton of resources available online about how to write a query letter as well as several good books. The following websites are good sources when it comes to query letters
https://querytracker.net/https://queryshark.blogspot.com/ If you end up with an agent, they then work with you to fine tune your book. Then they go out and sell your book to a publisher which is how you eventually get paid. That is a whole other matter and to be honest it is difficult to write full time. A few notes though when it comes to agents. You should never pay someone to be your literary agent. They get paid when you get paid. They basically get 2-10% of anything you make, so you should never pay anyone to be your agent or sell your book. Most agents are going to be based in NYC because that is where most publishers are based. Nonfiction work can be slightly different so it is worth checking into.
Once a publisher buys the rights to your book you will be paid an advance. This is short for advance against future sales. Advances for authors vary wildly. It could be as little as a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands. Your agent will get paid from that advance money. This will be the only pay you receive until you earn out. That means the royalty you would typically receive from the sale of a single book goes back to the publisher until you pay off the initial advance payment. There are a lot of other things that occur, but that is the basic idea of how traditional publishing works.
Please know that this is a tough and trying process. I don't want to discourage you at all, but I do want to be honest. Traditional publishing is tough at times. Most authors take years to get published and sometimes not at all. Even fewer can make a living just as a published author. Just know that it is tough and not being instantly successful doesn't mean you are a failure or don't have a good story. Sometimes it's a bit of luck and timing.
I hope this helps and I wish you good luck on your journey.
