meeting a journal editor at a conference

[serenade]

If you're thinking about submitting a paper to Journal X and the editor of said journal will be at a conference at which you will also be presenting, is it a good idea to arrange a 10 minute chat with the editor? Not so much as "will you accept my paper" but rather "what makes a strong paper that is a good fit for the journal" etc. Does attaching a name to a face before you submit give you any advantage with the editor when he or she decides whether to send it out for peer review? 

[fuzzylogician]

It can't hurt, but it's unclear how much it will help. The decision where to submit a paper -- and if possible, which particular editor to request to have the paper assigned to -- is something that you should get advice on from your advisor. The fate of a paper can easily be determined by how much an editor cares about it, and whether s/he assigns it appropriate reviewers. So yes, generally having conversations with editors is a good idea in order to learn how to help the process along (the right ways to communicate, format the paper, some finer points of wording and politics, etc). How much it will specifically help a particular paper is too much up to the details of the individual case. 

[t_ruth]

Journal editors are busy people. Being introduced at a social would be good, but arranging a special 10-minute meeting, I don't think so. Editors will often present at panels aimed at graduate students and other junior scholars at conferences. I'd attend those to learn the "what makes a good manuscript" advice.

They do all have their pet topics, etc., as fuzzylogician alludes to, and I agree that conversations are good, but you want to put yourself in positions where they arise naturally. I think an editor might be annoyed if you tried to schedule some kind of meet-up with them--and you certainly don't want them to be annoyed at you!