Do you guys know how hard it is to come up with these quirky little introductions?   After flagging the articles around the web I want to share, devising a compelling preface is often the most difficult part of the process.

The pressure to tap out enough text so that it wraps down below the badge!   Something topical, quirky, engaging, and yet not too distracting from the cool links to follow?

The need for a new joke, a new angle, a new … oh, hey!  Hmmm, I guess I’m done.

And now, links from publishing industry insiders:

Eric at Pimp My Novel:
♣ provides an excellent virtual tour of a publishing house to explain what role each person plays in getting your book into a reader’s hands, and
♣ offers writers a sales professional’s advice on how to write a better query letter.  This is an angle you won’t often see, so I urge aspiring writers to take a look!

Alan Rinzler at The Book Deal :
♣ advises writers to eavesdrop on conversations to hone our dialogue skills (drawing in part on his first-hand experiences with Norman Mailer and the buses of New Orleans), and
♣ explains how the iPad can add “sizzle” to a book.

Moonrat at Editorial Ass:
♣ explains why you must be your own evil drill sergeant (don’t ask, just read it),
♣ addresses the common problem of duplicate books titles, and
♣ emphasizes (in ALL CAPS) that real agents do not cost money up front.

Over at the Moby Lives blog:
♣ Kelly Burdick posits the rise of an anti-ebook movement, while
♣ Dennis Johnson offers his list of trailers least likely to sell a book.  Give it a look-see!

The blog editor at Author Magazine:
♣ offers some contrarian advice about when not to rewrite,
♣ discusses how writers should respond to readership, and
♣ provides an incredibly insightful analysis of how the three arcs of fiction (the physical, the emotional, and the intentional) can be applied in the real world to help find contentment in life.