From the Upod Yahoo group I belong to, writer Bill Becher shared a great little capsule based on some recent experience of his, which he generously allowed me to share here:

After a few months on the other side of the fence editing the LA Weekly's OUT THERE adventure travel section, I've learned a bit about being an editor and thought I'd share a few observations with podsters. And yes, I try to respond to emails in the same decade they are sent.

Don't:

- Send in a "rough draft." I only want to see your best,
finished work.

- Send me a complete ms when I ask for queries (pitches) only.
I can scan a pitch quickly and tell if it's of interest and not
something we've already done or already have in the works. I don't
have time to read the entire story to figure this out.

- Send me a 1,200 word ms when I've asked for 650 and suggest I
cut it.

- Show AND tell. If you show a guy applying product and
carefully parting his hair and then rubbing wrinkle cream to his
face, you don't need to then say he's vain. We get it.

- Nitpick editorial changes when I send a story to you for a
backread. I expect you to spot any errors I might have introduced in
the edit process and stand up for important stuff, but we don't have
time to argue every comma.

- Miss deadlines.

Do:

Write clean, sharp, compelling stories.