One of the most common questions that junior scholars ask me about writing is, “how do I know when a manuscript is ready to submit?” This is a million-dollar question because there are both pragmatic and intrapersonal matters to consider. I'll respond to the question in two ways. This week, I'll walk you through my checklist for determining whether a manuscript is "ready," which is a more logistical answer to the question. Next week, I will address the internal issue underlying overwriting—our old friend perfectionism.
A Manuscript Readiness Checklist
I use a few criteria to determine if my manuscript is ready to submit to a journal, for example. These can all be used for other types of manuscripts as well. Here are the questions I ask myself: