Flat-Picking may be  the single most difficult aspect of playing the guitar. That being said, there is one -- and only one -- right way to do it... read on:  

Holding the pick:

 1. The pick should be held between the thumb and the side of the index finger as near the tip as possible... it IS the tip of the pick that you ultimately need to control.  

2. While picking, the fleshy part of the side of your hand and the part of your thumb that is the palm of your hand should be on the strings lower in pitch than the one you are playing. Your fingers -- middle, ring, and little -- should NOT be anchored to the guitar. It is okay if they touch the guitar, but should move freely with the rest of the hand. Any other technique is at best, second best and will make your playing less precise.  

Good examples of near perfect technique: Al DiMeola, Paul Gilbert  

3. There is one optimal picking angle -- it may be slightly different for each player... you may have have found it already... Be sure when you are changing strings that you are not pivoting your hand, but you are instead moving your arm so that the picking angle is the same on every string. The picking motion itself should come from the wrist -- not the elbow, or the fingers. "Elbow" pickers, while they can play fast, will never be able to play the intricate rhythmic figures that a "wrist" picker can unless they correct their technique.

Tip: Picking is very much like writing with a pen. If you hold the pen near the tip, your writing will be clear.  

Try this:  

Write your name on a piece of paper as you normally do.

Now write it again without touching the page with your writing hand -- much more difficult to do, isn't it?! The point is, you become the best you can be by doing things the easiest way possible, and then mastering that easiest way.  

Write your name at the top of the page... Now write it again at the bottom of the page... You relocated your hand, didn't you? This is an exaggeration of changing strings...

Now write your name again at the top of the page... Now, without relocating your hand, try to "pivot" down and write your name at the bottom of the page -- This is much more difficult and is a common pitfall that guitar players stumble into when they are developing their technique.  

Now that you are aware of how you use a pen, position your picking hand on the guitar as if you were going to sign your name on the first string... But be sure your wrist, not your fingers, is what is controlling the movement of the pick.  

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