Timing your papers - a practical viewpoint

Over the years I have seen many different approaches taken  by researchers as far as writing articles and submission is concerned. Some are overtly eager to write up, submit and get external feedback. Some others just wouldn't submit.  Most people lie somewhere in between these two extremes. 

Broadly speaking; timely writing, and submission for peer  review is to be aimed at. What 'timely submission' means is  subjective, and I hope your advisor or collaborators help you with this. As a thumb rule though, it is reasonable to write and submit soon after you become confident that a 'theme /  thesis' is emerging clearly from your work and analysis.  This gives you opportunities to get some external feedback,  which is hopefully unbiased. 

However there are sometimes good enough reasons to  withhold submission to an academic journal. Some of these  include, the need to secure patents before submission, and in other cases; inadequate confidence in the results. If you are certain that your data, analysis and thesis is right - it is time to put yourself and your story out there for evaluation. 

Peer review can be a reality check for you. At times, you may run out of luck and get a harsh or rude reviewer who sees no value or takes a purely one-sided approach to your work. You may be able to see a limitation in the reviewer viewpoint; she/he may not be able to see value where there clearly is some or plenty. Stand for yourself in such cases. In any case, you will do yourself lots of good if you remind yourself that peer review is (i) a gateway for a plausible external expert review, and (ii) a gainful activity, especially when availed in a timely manner. 

In all of this, the quality of peer review services provided by the journal is key. Hence going to journals that have a reasonable professional standing would enhance your chance of getting a decent external review, which is hopefully unbiased and formative. 

Wishing you all the very best with your writing 

Tiju  

PS: In my group, we have a practice of using Gantt charts to envision (i) themes to work on, and (ii) associated publication pathway. This may not always work in all research areas, but this or some customized version of this approach might be a strategy that could work for you.