When it comes to grant writing one thing is certain: once the application is sent in, its fate is at the mercy of the readers who pick it up at the other end. At that point, there is nothing that can be done to impact the future of the grant. However, before placing the fateful stamp on the envelope and driving to the post office, there are things that can be done improve the odds. Chief among them is looking at the grant process from the reader's point of view. By getting inside the minds of the readers during the writing process will help in crafting a better proposal and ultimately elevate the chances of having funding approved. In this article, the author discusses who these grant readers are and how to get inside their minds. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)