Goodreads asked David Gaughran:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

David Gaughran Focus on finishing your book rather than worrying about how you are going to publish it or reach readers. When you are starting out, it's important to get into the habit of finishing things, and you also shouldn't fall into the trap of trying to write the perfect book. There is no such thing as a perfect book. Also, it feels to me like the skills you learn when writing one book don't kick in until you start the next. I see some aspiring writers spending years and years trying to perfect their WIP - not realizing that they would improve more as a writer if they moved onto the next project. Publish it, submit it, or trunk it, but after a certain stage you need to move on to the next one. Also, you must read voraciously in your genre, and read with your writer's hat on. Try and look for the seams and pick at the stitches. Reverse engineer the story. Take it apart and put it back together again. Read widely too. Sometimes you can learn more from a poor book than a masterpiece.

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