Cheryl Klein from Arthur A. Levine Books (yes, that Arthur Levine, the imprint of Scholastic that publishes HP) has just set up a web page with a couple of absolutely smashing outlines for talks she's given on what editors like herself look for in a manuscript, and what aspiring authors can do to improve their chances of selling a novel.
She does all this via an extended metaphor about falling in love, used in both outlines, which makes the information she's trying to convey not only entertaining, but memorable. I would have loved to hear her give these talks in person, but having them on the web is surely the next best thing...
fascinated