One of the three talks I did at the AALS Annual Meeting in Washington last week was for the new law professor’s section. There is a thread about my talk over at Prawf’s Blawg–How many drafts on SSRN?. I think the most interesting parts of my remarks focused on the implications of "disintermediation" for new law professors and on the mantra "It’s all about the work!"–a slogan that summarizes the idea that scholars do best when they focus on the intrinsic rewards of doing good work. But I also gave some very practical advice, including a recommendation that significant papers should be posted on SSRN three times: once as an idea paper, a second time as a draft, and a third time in final forms. Here is a comment I just posted over at Prawfs:
The advice that I gave is to post three versions of each paper on SSRN.
Version one is the "idea paper," the version that sets out the thesis and the core supporting argument. 10 single spaced (or 20 double spaced) pages is only an approximation. Also, I think it a good idea to use a different title for the idea paper–one that reflects its early stage and tentative nature, e.g., "A Preliminary Analysis of . . .". Idea papers "lay claim" to the new idea–the real contribution to the literature–at an early stage. They also are the perfect vehicle for an "early stage" workshop or brownbag lunch discussion. Idea papers are especially important if you are worried that your new idea may be scooped while you are building the full fledged 50-70 page law review version.
The second version is the official "draft." This is the version that you would circulate widely for comments, present at a "work in progress" workshop (or "job talk" workshop), and in revised form would be the version submitted to law reviews or peer-edited journals for publication.
The third and final version is the "final" version of the paper–hopefully the PDF of the paper as published with pagination. This is the version that would be downloaded and cited by others & a link to this version would accompany the citation to the article on your c.v. or resume.
I think it is very important that all papers posted to SSRN be in "good shape" before posting. The "ideas" in "idea papers" should be carefully thought out; the paper itself should be carefully proofed and edited. If possible, I would ask a close professional friend to read the "idea paper" before posting–to get comments, catch glitches, and avoid the danger of posting a "less than half baked" idea with glaring defects.
Check out the discussion over at Prawfs.