What next?

I submitted my dissertation today at about 2:05 PM PDT. Now comes the anxiety-ridden waiting game. We don't have oral defenses, which to my mind would be more concentrated stress but less drawn out anxiety. Instead, I submit the dissertation, which then goes to my primary reader, who has been involved with the writing all along. The primary reader must pass it, then it goes to my secondary reader. At any point in the process the readers could send it back to me for minor or major revisions, or they could refuse to pass it because it is beyond repair. After both readers, who are internal to my school, pass it, the dissertation goes to an external reader. I will not know who this is. The dissertation then has to be approved by the external reader, who can send it back to me for more revisions or refuse to pass it altogether. I am told that there are at least 2-3 dissertations each year that do not get passed by the external reader. I know of someone who had to make serious revisions based on comments by the external reader. This friend's completion was delayed by at least a year because of this. So, this is where I stand. It is out of my hands for a while. I hope the worst-case scenario does not play out. I think at worst I will be asked to make some major revisions. At best, I could be all but done right now. What makes me a bt anxious is the fact that my dissertation is not a traditional NT dissertation. Rather, it is more in the realm of hermeneutics. It is also not a pragmatic argument, but rather a conceptual one. I'll have to wait and see how this is received by my readers who are probably more used to reading standard, practical dissertations. Feel free to pray!

BTW - The dissertation's title is THE MEANING OF SCRIPTURE: THINKING THEOLOGICALLY ABOUT SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO STEPHEN E. FOWL AND KEVIN J. VANHOOZER