Deal! I have no idea how to go about it, as I've said...but we can share what we find out on the subject, no?
And I'll keep your suggestions in mind when I start into serious editing. I won't have time to really start hacking it apart before Christmas, of course, but there's nothing that says I have to cast it aside after that.
Or I may start another story. Dunno! But in any case, here's extending a cyber handshake on our mutual goal! ;-)
You got it!
There are a lot of steps involved, but a good rule of thumb is - figure out who publishes the sort of story you write, and submit it there. So I might eventually try to get a story published with Del Rey or Baen, while your story might be more likely with Scholastic.