Don’t explain everything. Whilst there should be pointers, get your readers involved in your story by leaving them things to work out. An involved reader will enjoy your work far more and it avoids being patronizing.
Characters
Do get your characters jumping through hoops. It makes for great tension. And remember it is your characters’ story. You are merely the conduit through which it comes. Sounds luvvie? Perhaps but by not getting in your characters’ way, letting them act the tale out, you are far more likely to show rather than tell and keep a good pace going.
Keeping Them Guessing
Keep your readers guessing. Is your tale engrossing enough for them to ask questions to themselves as they read? To guess the ending? To wonder how your characters get on once the story ends?
Drafts and Editing
Be prepared to have plenty of paper drafts of your work. You never pick up all the typos on screen. You can always use the reverse sides for further drafts. Use computer spelling and grammar checks with care. They don’t always get it right. Nor do they make any allowance for the use of colloquial English, which is the way most of us speak.
Your Characters' Future
Can you work out another story based on these characters? Great - you may have a series on your hands. If not, possibly because you don’t want to do any kind of series, are you happy with the way you’ve tied things up? Have you tied things up?
Credentials
Ensure when entering writing competitions they are bona fide. Keep accurate records of what you send where so you don’t unwittingly send the same piece to a place twice. Also so you know what you can rework or resubmit to a new outlet. Use things like Writers and Artists, writers’ blogs and websites and even Companies House to check out the background of publishers and agents (especially the smaller, more recent ones). See if you can find recommendations and check those out. It is worth doing. Someone caught out by a vanity publisher may be willing to admit to it to warn others off. Equally they may not (may claim they self published with such and such a company) or worse be part of the vanity operation themselves and are meant to “lure” newbies in. And do make sure you know the difference between vanity and self publishing. Do visit the Jonathan Clifford website.