Editing and the Slush Pile

I wanted to take a moment and let authors know that plot is important. I don't mean the plot that goes like this:

Jill is a good character who lands in a bad situation. She becomes involved in a conspiracy that threatens her life and forces her to steal secret documents to stop a national disaster.

I mean the type of plot that reads like this:

Jill ins introduced and well developed in the first chapter.
The villains introduced in the first chapter but we do not know that for 80 pages.
Chapter one introduces the first conflict. Her decision forces her into the next three conflict rapidly.
The hero is introduced in a 'breather' in chapter 2.
Plot 2 (her growth) is introduced at the beginning of chapter 2.

This is the type of thing an editor will do when they read your work. If the novel appears thin, or there are big gaps between the plots being 'played out' then the novel is weak.

It is easy to study this topic. Type blueprint of a novel, story arc, novel structure, etc into the browser. Unless you work with a publisher, you probably will not find an actual story arc or real blueprint, but you will find enough to get your book out of the slush pile.