By Leslie Lindsay She came flying into our meeting last night a few minutes behind schedule, but it wasn’t because of the parking problem the rest of our members experienced, “Oh, I got a spot right in front,” she chirped.  With her tall silver heels and an energy that got us all excited about the possibility of traditional publishing, Kelly Bale, assistant editor at Sourcebooks in Naperville, IL took us through the steps of getting published. As an editor, her first three questions are these: Is it any good?  The writing needs to grab me.  Period. Will it sell? Does it work for this publishing house? Okay… let’s say that all of those criteria are a ‘yes.’  Now, here’s what you as a writer can do to  improve your chances of landing a contract: Write a darn good proposal (non-fiction) or a query letter (fiction) Do your research.  Know your writing category well.  Are you writing romance or women’s fiction?  Do you know the difference?  Are you writing thrillers or mysteries?  Historical fiction? Now do some competitive …