Karen:
I'm definitely going to postit on SSRN. But you're right - there are pluses and minuses.
The downside is that someone will see your idea and publish something like it before you get yours into print. In fact, I got one of my best pubs that way. The piece we did really wasn't the same paper (we used domestinc instead of U.K firms, and very different methodology). But it was strongly influenced by the SSRN piece (which we cited liberally). And we DID get ours published first (heh heh).
The upside is that your work gets cited more often and much sooner than if you didn't use SSRN. I've gotten a fair bit of career mileage out of the visibility my stuff has gotten on SSRN, and I've seen citations of my stuff much earlier than for similar pieces that weren't on it.
I think the question comes down to WHEN you post to SSRN. My sense is that once you've already had a revise & resubmit (and sent it back), it's o.k. to post it. At that point, it's less likely that someone can "jump your claim", but you still get accelerated visibility.
Goodluck mate. All the best.
I agree. Polishing is a pain. Once you've re-read the paper several times what you see is what you think you wrote, not necessarily what's in black and white on the page.
Once you've submitted the paper, will you distribute it on SSRN as well? While SSRN is a great resource, I think there are pros and cons to participating from the view of authors. I'd be interested to hear your view on that.
Good luck...I feel your pain 
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