A writer often becomes too close to his or her work and cannot be an objective editor. This is particularly true of grant writing since the audience is unfamiliar with the organization and because you have a limited space for explaining ideas and details.

You need two kinds of readers. First, you need readers with expertise in the field you are writing about. They are most like the final judges and will be ruthless about making sure that you meet the highest level of the rubric with your descriptions and explanations.

You also need readers who are completely unfamiliar with either the field or the organization for whom you are writing the proposal. If they don't “get it,” you know you have more work to do. Use their questions or concerns to flesh-out ideas.