Present Tense Vs. Past Tense

More and more, novels are written in present tense. Still, I've read several articles in writers' magazines (like Writer's Digest) which say some editors frown upon this practice. They even went so far as to say present tense writing may cause the manuscript to get tossed in a bin. I'm talking about narration here--not dialogue. Here's an example: Past tense: Rebecca put down her cup and looked out the window. Present tense: Rebecca puts down her cup and looks out the window. I write in past tense but have read many novels recently that are written in present tense. It always gives me a start and sounds like poor grammar (unless it's dialogue like I mentioned). What do you think? What is your preference? Labels: English, grammar, writing