At Sage Connection, some useful advice on journal publishing. Well worth a read – even experienced people miss some of these things. Here’s one answer:

8.       What should a person submitting an article for consideration NEVER do?

I think you can probably glean from the above, but never send your full article to the editor outside of the submission process; never be rude to an editor; never try to find out who is reviewing your article; never assume you know who is reviewing your article – as I’ve heard from nearly every editor, likely, you are wrong even if you are sure you’re right; and if your article has been rejected, never email the editor immediately after receiving a rejection. Even if you have questions or feel like there was a major issue in the process, take at least a week and then reread the decision letter. If you still feel like you should write an email, have a diplomatic colleague review it before hitting “send.” And never, ever submit your paper to multiple journals at the same time. Wait for a rejection from one before submitting to another.