Perhaps the most relevant panel I attended at Boskone was titled "Out of the Slush Pile (Endlessly Orbiting?)." The panelists, most of whom had decades of experience in publishing, spent a good hour talking about what made a strong submission and how to get your work noticed.

Though none of what they said as far as story construction was in any way new - in fact, my undergrad professors stressed the very points they hammered - it was a refreshing reminder that not everything you're told in college is a lie. In addition, there was a lot of discussion as to places to submit, how to make your manuscript look good, and all the other things that make you stand out in a heap of things the editor really doesn't care to read.

( And beneath this cut I shall reveal all I learned... )

Any questions?