Rachel Kramer Bussel talks to Jill Schwartzman, 3-year Associate Editor at Harper Collins:

Mediabistro: Do you have any advice for authors and/or agents submitting work to you?

Schwartzman: Personally, I'd like to be a bit more informal, since my list is still developing. I love getting a phone call or email before someone sends something over to tell me a little bit about the book and figure out if it's right for me. The answer is almost always yes, but sometimes I'll steer the agent towards another editor at Harper who might like the book more, and I think that’s very productive for both of us.

Also, maybe this is just me, but sometimes an agent seems to insist on reading a very long pitch letter over the phone, even though I've already said yes. I just want to stop him or her and say, "I already said yes-just send it to me and I'll start reading!"