Avoiding 'unready manuscript embarrassment (ume)'

I recently (re)learned the importance of taking a break from a piece of writing. You know, the old 'put it in the drawer for three months' type of a break. I was (too) eager to send out my last manuscript, having had the idea for years and already going through a number of early versions, especially the first chapters.

But I shoulda shoulda... waited. Been patient. I did eventually go back to the manuscript after three months and decided the opening was a piece of rubbish. I am now in the process not just of rewriting the opening chapter, but redeveloping the whole manuscript, while at the same time writing the next novel. Actually, I am a bit excited because I like my new ideas and am having fun implementing them, but there is also this huge sense of embarrassment at having sent out a manuscript that was not yet ready. I can only hope that the current version never makes it out of the slush pile.

So to avoid UME, don't forget the 'three-month rule'. Ever.