When to Submit.

How do you know if you're ready to submit a story or novel to an editor?

When's the deadline?

Have you proofread? Have you put "the end" at the end? Then it's time. Go for it.

Okay, so I'm being a little facetious. But not entirely. More than once I have used a deadline (perhaps adjusted to account for mailing time) to inspire me to finish a story. Or I've used a deadline as a goal. After that, I trust myself to get it done in time.

Trusting yourself isn't something you learn automatically. Well, you might trust yourself automatically, but if you don't have the experience to back it up, your trust in yourself might not be useful.

I'm not being very useful, am I?

I can't help it. Writing cannot be turned into a tidy set of rules. Trying to turn the psychology of writing into tidy rules is even worse. But "know yourself" is a good one.

Know when you've gotten as far as you can get on a story in the time you have. And then submit it.