Goodreads asked Garon Whited:

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Garon Whited First: if you're writing because you don't have a choice--if you're one of those writers that doesn't care about money or fame or anything else except telling the stories that keep pouring out... you don't need my advice. You'll write.

Second: if you're a writer that wants the money and the fame and all that...
Write. Listen to your critics; understand why they think what they do about your work. Then decide if that matters to you.
Look up Walt Whitman and "Leaves of Grass."
Once you decide if your critical readers have anything that applies to YOUR writing, go write.
Then write some more.
Pause to read what you wrote last year and see if there is anything different. Grow as a writer.
Write even (or especially) if you think it's a steaming pile of... um... crap. You may be a lousy judge of whether or not everyone else will like it. So write more. And more.
Then put it out there. Blog. Facebook. Pin It. Self-publish. Whatever it takes. Put it out there for the most vitriolic troll to read... and the most delighted fan.
Then go back to writing.

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