The biggest piece of advice is to know your craft or writing style and stay true to it no matter what. My editor gave me some sound advice. She told me that as a writer you should write to your target audience and don’t care what people think about what you write about. Meaning…..some people will talk about your work and try to discourage you. No matter what you will always have someone that will have something negative to say about what you doing no matter what. I have currently two published books and about to have a third book that will be releasing late Spring/early summer of this year. I chose to get an editor to edit my work before I published because it is always good to have another set of eyes to read your work and to be unbiased with critiquing your work before publishing. You always want your best work to be seen by the public, so getting your work edited will show that you are serious about your craft and will ensure that you are not putting out work full of errors. So with that said my advice to any person that wants to write and get there work published:

Write from the heart and never fear writing what you want to write.
Be leery of publishers and editors that are frauds. There are a lot of fakes out there. Always seek contracts and if possible meet the people face-to-face.
Get all work copy written. I send my work to the Electronic Copyright Office to be copy written before I publish to avoid getting work stolen.
Never share ideas with just anyone because some people will steal them.
Use social networks to connect with other writers. Be a sponge and learn all you can from people who have done it and have been successful.
Don’t wait for the “right time” to write a novel. Start your journey now. It’s ok to make errors along the way. That is what editors and writing mentors are for.
Research, research, research. Learn differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing. Learn about different publishing companies. Look into the importance of getting book edited by a proven editor.
Don’t be discouraged by financial needs in completion. Do things one step at a time. This is where research is important as well. Research all avenues so you will know what you will need financially as it pertains to publishing. Financial needs will vary depending on what you are writing (i.e. novel, poetry).