Asking for help.

Today. I finished the submission of a grant to the National Science Foundation. Over the years I have written about 20 grants to NSF and have been fortunate enough to have been awarded 7. Writing grants is a long process. There are several parts, but the heart of the proposal is a 15 page document called the "project description". It takes about 40 hours to write a good project description. Over the years I have encouraged different people to get help with their writing - get fresh sets of eyes to review and make suggestions. Some people will, tell me "I can't get help. That would be cheating. Then it wouldn't be my work." I say bologna. Getting help on your writing to make it the best is not only smart, but essential to getting the most out of your writing.

This afternoon, I was fortunate enough to have my Mom, my supervisor Barbara, and my colleagues Liz and Bart all take their time to read my paper before I uploaded it. This help improved my product and caught several small errors that would have been embarrassing. Over the years Angie and my Mom have consistently been there to help out.

TBL: Build yourself a support network of good editors. It will make you a better writer and better professional.