Becoming the best novel writer you can be is such an obvious goal to have that it hardly needs saying - but I am going to go on about it anyway!
Why? Because it is easy to cut a few corners in the rush and excitement of trying to become a published novelist.
Now, there is nothing profound or original about what I'm going to say here, but it is nevertheless one of the most important pieces advice I will ever offer you.
Actually it is 2 pieces of advice...
Obvious, right? But you would be surprised how many first-time novelists don't do these things.
You hear folks in the publishing world complain about it all the time: how a novel submitted to them started out brilliantly but then rapidly went downhill...
Don't let this happen to you, not if you want to make it as a writer.
Yes, it is important to make your novel's opening chapter, and your opening paragraph in particular, as perfect as you can (because this is the first thing a publisher will read).
But why stop striving for excellence there? If you are not going to devote care and attention to every single page, why bother to write a novel at all?
One reason novels from newcomers frequently run out of steam is down to a lack of planning - in particular, working out the novel's plot.
These writers had a great idea for a novel, started writing it, but then weren't sure how to continue and finish it, and so kind of made it up as they went. That is why plotting is especially important - you can't run out of steam if you have it all mapped out in advance.
(Follow this link for help on Plotting a Novel.)
Another reason many unpublished novels go pear-shaped after a great opening - other than insufficient planning - is that the writers are too eager to submit their fiction for publication.
The writer is so keen to send off their manuscript that they think literary agents and publishers somehow won't notice that the writing is still a little rough from the second chapter onwards.
Trust me, they will notice. Hence my advice at the top: Forget about trying to get your novel published until it is as good as you can make it.
Obvious, yes. But so many novel writers set themselves up for rejection and disappointment by ignoring it.
To finish, here is one of my favorite writing quotations ever, from the creator of Tarzan. I love it for its honesty and for the great attitude underlying it...
"My first stories were the best stories that I could write, and every story that I have written since has been the very best story that I could write. I have felt that it was a duty to those people who bought my books that I should give them the very best within me. I have no illusions as to the literary value of what I did give them, but I have the satisfaction of knowing that I gave them the best that my ability permitted."
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
You must always write to the best of your ability - whatever your ability may be - and do so consistently. Make the final sentence as strong as the opening sentence, with no weak ones in between, and you could go far as a novel writer.
Next Up: An article looking at why you shouldn't be afraid to Break the Writing Rules...