Dear Geist,

I have been writing and rewriting a creative non-fiction story for about a year. How do I know when the story is ready to send out?

Dear Teetering,

When you have gone as far as you can with the story (substantially, that is; not that sad little place where you change “find” to “discover” and back again), it’s time to ask someone else to read it and comment on it. That may be a trusted colleague or editor or teacher, or it may be a publisher you don’t know.