Let's say I have a 10 step guide to something written out on MY OWN website, and I want to write articles and submit them to article submission sites for backlinks to my webpage. I want to write "teaser" articles, such as cover the first 3 steps in the article, and link to my page for the whole story. I wouldn't just copy my own first three steps, but I would abbreviate them and rewrite them, so it is not duplicated. The question is this. I know many people use these directories for copy and articles to include on their own site. Would another website use an article like this, or would they skip over it? Would I be better off rewriting it so it doesn't act as duplication, but include all 10 steps? Another thought I had is to just wait 6 months after writing articles on my site, wait to make sure they have been indexed for a time in the search engines, then send them out to these article sites. This way the SE's cache shows that my article was clearly first. Which one seems like a better road to take? I'm anxious for quality backlinks now though.
I think that your first variant is better. Write the first 3 steps there (don't forget about different words there, don't copy/past it) and keep a link to the original version. It's also better to have some links from the body of your article. It's ok if you can wait and if your site has a sufficient value to be considered as a source of these articles from the SE point of view. If BBC site, for example, will copy and past any article from your low pr site, it will be considered as a source in any way. In any case don't post the original version of the article on these sites, rewrite it.