/lit/ - Literature

Few questions.

1. I want to write sci-fi and fantasy stories. Is it true that it's easier to get a full book published by a place like Tor in that vein if you write some short sci-fi/fantasy stories first and have them published in stuff like Fantasy&ScienceFiction Magazine?

2. I didn't learn English properly until I was 10. I know that my prose and wording are pretty bad, and my grammar is pretty much on the level of a high schooler. I've heard that in scifi and fantasy genres though, you just need a very good world and concept. The prose just needs to be passable and story itself could be cookie cutter as all hell but it will still do well if the idea is unique or interesting. How much of that is true.

3. How do agents and publishers feel about writers who want to write under a pseudonym and remain anonymous?

4. How often do editors or agents sit down with writers and have them completely change concepts and characters? Do they play sounding board with established writers and riff with them?

5. How welcome are one line or elevator pitches along with the novel itself or a few chapters during submission? Any tips on strong elevator pitches?