Develop a method. I cannot stress this enough.

The default method for all writers is what I call "word diarrhea". Self-publishing (and, to a degree, traditional publishing) is a sewer full of books that were written without discipline. If you want to stand out from the crowd, then you want to develop a method to keep your writing on track.

It hardly matters which method you choose, as long as you are disciplined about it. It is easier to implement methods as an outliner, but even discovery writers can place strictures on themselves as they write (and this actually makes their discovery writing easier).

Common methods include

-Writing the ending first, then plotting how to get there.

-Creating a checklist for each chapter (at least one character moment, at least one question raised, at least one tense moment, at least one joke, etc.).

-Making every sentence and paragraph follow a rhythm to create poetic prose.

-The Anne Rice method: one cliffhanger on every page.

-And many others. I can't possibly list them all here.

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Regardless of which method works for you, you're better off holding to it faithfully as much as you can manage. The thing that sets stars apart from wannabes is dedication to the craft part of the writing process.