Am I on the Right Track, ...Any Tips ?

Hey Stingray,
I do Rock and Ballads, so the material has a lot of dynamics, I think my tracks are OK, but I do think my final mixes might be too hot.
I’m just trying to get close to todays standard volumes, and still maintain quality. I was under the impression -5 Avg RMS was getting to be the standard.
This batch of songs will be submitted as an album in the songwriting contests.
Never used a loudness meter, I’ll check it out on Youtube and see what’s up.

Thanks for the heads up
Cheers
John S.