It has been over a month since my last Link Love. In lieu of the Hail Marys and the Our Fathers, I’m finally going to own up to the fact that something’s gotta give.

I mean, my grandfather died. And then I started a new copy editing gig. And then I launched a mom blog over at YourTango. And Michael and I started making plans to go hang gliding, maybe go on a French wine cruise, clean out our condo and sell it, buy a house.

Things fell by the wayside. My plans to do market research for my career coaching practice. My e-book. This blog.

Something has to give, but I don’t want to give up any of it. Which is why, at the very least, I can at least stop feeling guilty over the infrequency of my blog posts. At least for now.

Last night, I attended a callanetics class with my mom. I’ve been going every week for the past 11 years (give or take the few years I was away at college). It typically serves to simultaneously relax and invigorate me, both stretching me out and strengthening my core. Last night, however, I had a panic attack during class, and started crying on the drive home. I just felt so overwhelmed.

So yes. I’m going to try to feel less guilty. I’m going to try to acknowledge that I am merely human. I am not going to give up this blog. But I will be here less often. If you’d like to stock up on some reading material in the meantime…

Blogging:

• BlogWorld’s 10 Must-Have Pages and Why Your Blog Needs Them
• WordCount’s 10 Sure Cures for Blogging Burnout
• Inc.’s How To Build a Loyal Blog Following

Jobs:

• The Freelance Writing Jobs Network’s 47 Places To Find Telecommuting Jobs
• The Freelance Writing Jobs Network’s The Freelance Writer’s Guide To Passive Income
• This Is Going To Be Big’s How To Hire a Hacker in NYC
• Coupon Sherpa’s 25 Hot Dang Inspirational Resumes
• MediaJobsDaily’s DOA Clarifies Unpaid Intern Rules — Unpaid Internships Are Basically Over Now
• Glassdoor’s The Myth of Transferable Skills
• Writing Coach’s Laid Off? Reassess Before You Start Fresh as a Freelancer
• Freelance Folder’s How To Find Work Without Using the Freelance Job Boards

Networking/Marketing/Self-Promotion:

• Nine to Thrive’s How To Make Time for Networking
• Jargon Writer’s I’m Done Holding Up Walls
• Valleywag’s Copywriter Uses People’s Incessant Self-Googling To Get a Job
• Living In Place’s On Justifying Social-Networking (or Why I Might Abandon Social Media)
• Yahoo! HotJobs’ Mastering the Art of Public Speaking
• C-Level Strategies and Awakenings’ You’re Just Not That Into Me (The Introvert’s Guide To Attending a Conference)
• Mack Collier’s The Introvert’s Guide To Speaking

Running Your Business:

• WebWorkerDaily’s 4 Ways Not To Be a Doormat
• Freelance Folder’s 10 Hidden Skills of Successful Freelancers
• The Urban Muse’s Open Thread: What’s in a Name?
• Lindsey Pollack’s 10 Great Career Books for Young Professionals
• WordCount’s How To Know If You’re Freelance Editor Material
• Freelance Folder’s Freelancing Without a Safety Net
• Freelance Folder’s How To Know When To Walk Away
• The Wall Street Journal’s More Freelancers Fight To Be Paid
• The Freelance Writing Jobs Network’s Your Freelance Writing Business: Important Considerations for Choosing a Name
• Men With Pens’ Imperfection Is a Good Thing
• Folio’s Inc. Edit Staff To Try Virtual Office for One Month
• WebWorkerDaily’s Is It Time for You To Telecommute?
• Brazen Careerist’s When Passion Strikes, How Do You Find a Balance?

Writing:

• The New York Times’ Taylor Momsen Did Not Write This Headline
• Babble’s Why My Life Is an Open Book
• Writing Roads’ Mothers… of Creation
• Jezebel’s Anonymous Sex Blogger Fired From Her Day Job
• The Freelance Writing Jobs Network’s Use a Skills Inventory To See What Writing Jobs You Can Do

Fun:

• The Life and Times of a Freelance Writer’s 13 eCards for Freelancers
• Gawker’s The (Potential) Intern From Hell
• The New York Times’ A Tax Form for the Marginally Employed

Hey there. Remember me? I’m Steph, your friendly neighborhood blogger, who just happened to drop off the face of the blogosphere due to her new, part-time freelance gig as Assistant Editor for YourTango, in addition to other copywriting, newspaper, and magazine deadlines. And career coaching teleclasses. Not to mention Christmas.

As you can imagine, I’ve saved up quite a few links for your reading pleasure in the past few weeks. Please read them instead of dwelling upon how I’ve let you down:

• SmashingBuzz’s 50+ Most Creative and Unusual 404 Error Pages
• Fuel Your Writing’s Simple Holiday Marketing Ideas for Freelance Writers
• Chicago Tribune’s Survey: 58 Percent of Teens Would Consider Access to Social Network Sites When Accepting Job Offer
• Gawker’s AOL News Borg To Be Ruled By Former New York Times Reporter
• WordCount’s 25 Reasons Editors Don’t Get Back To Writers Faster
• Real Words’ 20 Great Things About Dating a Writer
• Blogging for a Living’s 10 Ever So Helpful Lessons in Blog Comment Etiquette
• Freelance Folder’s 50+ Free Resources for Writers, Bloggers, and Other Freelancers
• The Renegade Writer Blog’s On Lazy Writers
• GalleyCat’s Mediabistro.com Book Club
• Writing for a Living’s What’s Wrong with Writing About Writing Because I Like Writing About Writing
• Happily Ever After’s Help a Needy Writer
• Writing for a Living’s Dear Freelance Writer: While You Were Partying, I Stole Your Client…
• The Urban Muse’s Maximizing Your Freelance Writing Income
• Mediabistro’s So What Do You Do Bill Wilson, President of AOL Media?
• Addicted to Social Media’s 5 Social Media Rules Worth Breaking
• Alexandra Levit’s Water Cooler Wisdom’s 5 Workplace Predictions for 2010
• FreelanceSwitch’s Doubling Your Rate: A Thought Experiment
• WordCount’s AOL’s News Initiative: Freelance Friend or Foe?
• NWJobs’ Day of Thanks Has Special Meaning for Job Seekers
• Brazen Careerist’s Gen Y Gives Thanks: Fellow Entrepreneurs Unite

I have to admit. I usually mark most of the press releases that pop up in my inbox as spam. After all, I’m of the mind that these typically untargeted e-mails are just as insidious as the random penile enhancement e-mails my spam folder actually catches.

But then I received an e-mail about InternInc — a new social networking site that touts itself as “Facebook meets LinkedIn for students, employers and universities” — and I was intrigued. I’ve always thought that internships were invaluable for gaining experience, making connections, and trying out new industries commitment-free, and a social networking site that connected students with established internship programs sounded, well, genius.

How did you stumble upon your past media internships? I can’t even remember how I found the two internship programs I was accepted into back in college. Career services, maybe? MediaBistro? I do remember that — post-college — I actively targeted the companies I most wanted to break into, ending up in fabulous internship programs with both The Feminist Press and Nerve. Would I have benefited from an internship-based LinkedIn? Or would this have only made me more likely to blanket the entire media industry with desperate cover letters/resumes? Do you wish that something like InternInc had been available way back when? Or do you feel that social media is making people lazy, leading them to rely more often on clever profiles rather than actual legwork?

I’m torn, but if you’re interested in reading more on this new service, 9News has posted an interview with the CEO and founder of the site.

Related: Nothing to do with Luck, My 5 Favorite Things in: Test-Drive Your Dream Job, Continuing Education for Freelancers, Unpaid Internships: Something White People Like!, How to Make It Big While Working for Free

Whew! Friday already, and I am wiped. Though the week started out as a major time-suck (eight hours of the Game Show Network on Sunday…don’t ask), I ended up sending out multiple pitches and letters of interest, got myself another copy editing project and another article assignment, got new clips up at the Frisky and Nerve, and managed to be pretty consistent with the blogging. Go me!

Of course, all that productivity didn’t stop me from obsessively checking my Google Reader and Twitter feeds for updates. The best of what I’ve read lately:

• Mashable’s She’s the BEST Employee I’ve NEVER Met
• Mashable’s Twitter Launches Suggestion Tool
• Gawker’s Big Raises for New York Times Web Staff
• Mashable’s 7 Secrets to Getting Your Next Job Using Social Media
• TwiTip’s 8 Ways That Twitter Can Grow Your Freelance Business
• Freelance Folder’s Do You Hate Your Customers?
• Don’t Forget to Write…’s Should You Have to Audition to Get a Writing Gig

Let’s hear it guys. What have I been missing?

As a writer who has focused primarily on short-form blogging and personal essays, hunting down sources has never been a huge part of the work that I do. A portfolio that relies solely upon the self, however, can become an echo chamber. At some point in your writing career, It’s important to bring in new and differing perspectives.

Where to turn when you need an expert, and fast?

1. Media-Centric Sites and Expert Databases and Directories:

I’ve been using MediaBistro for so long that I tend to rely upon it for any publishing-related quandary. That’s why I often post SOS-style posts on the Sources for Stories section of their bulletin board. The only problem? Those frequenting the bulletin boards are usually media-types like myself, with an even bigger network of media friends. Someone may know someone, though, so I always try it when I’m desperate.

There are other sites, however, that exist solely to connect experts with reporters. ProfNet, run through PR Newswire, is a community “of nearly 14,000 professional communicators,” whom you can connect with via a search, or by posting a detailed request. Help a Reporter provides a form with which you can post queries, which are then e-mailed out to a database of sources who have signed up for the site. There is also Newswise, a database of universities, colleges, and other research organizations containing contact information for media relations personnel and websites, and ExpertClick, which allows one to search for experts by subject area.

2. Professional Organizations:

Looking for a marriage counselor? Contact Smart Marriages. Looking for an early childhood education specialist? Try the Early Childhood Development Association. During my time as a marketing associate for an academic book publisher, I attended many conferences and, let me tell you, they were a goldmine of field experts eager to share their knowledge with others. Most major search engines provide directories for professional organizations, organized by type. Contact an organization’s press office, and they’re usually more than willing to provide you with someone whose brain you can pick.

3. Word of Mouth:

In much the same way that you should tell everyone in the free world that you’re looking for a new job (you never know!), you should also spread the word among friends and family if you’re looking for someone with a specific specialty, or in a specific situation. Chances are, someone will know the exact someone you need.

4. Social Networking Sites:

This tactic is sort of an extension of word-of-mouth expert-hunting, and one that I’ve found to be effective in the past. I’ve posted SOSs on my MySpace bulletin board. I’ve joined interest groups on Facebook, and then posted to their message boards. My strongest ally lately has been Twitter, on which I’ve directly tweeted press queries, and even searched for people using Twellow or Twitter Search. Blogs such as Freelance Switch have also touted the usefulness of Twitter in this area. Harness the power of your extended network!

Anyone one have helpful tips and tricks they use to find story sources?

When I left my full-time job about a year ago, I was lucky in that I didn’t need to actively seek out work. My one regular proofing gig was snagged through a job ad forwarded to me by a former classmate. And all my other work came to me similarly, through friends and former co-workers who were aware that I was forging ahead on my own.

Such passivity only works up to a point, though and, recently, I found that I had hit a wall. If I wanted to grow my business, I had to bust my ass a bit more. This terrified me. I’m a shy gal, and had probably ended up as a writer/proofreader because of the quiet reclusiveness it afforded me. Thankfully, it’s possible to cover a lot of ground marketing-wise on the web alone:

Practice Blog Love.

Blogs aren’t just for LJ confessionals anymore. Many people — yourself included, I assume — are using them as a means of self-marketing. This is the time to hook up with the competition. Comment on other blogs in your niche. But make sure you’re adding value to the discussion. A helpful or insightful comment can draw readers on one blog over to yours as well. Spread linkage by linking to other blogs within your posts, or adding them onto your blogroll. If it’s appropriate, they may return the favor. Extend solicitations for walk-on roles. Guest posting is a fun way to collaborate, and can also aid in bringing in new readers.

Create Personal Profiles.

Opening accounts on such sites as MySpace and Facebook can provide you with a central platform from which to market your wares. MySpace, for example, allows users to set up band/musician, comedian, and filmmaker profiles, designed specifically to market personal projects. It also offers a blogging function, and a Bulletin Board, where you can make announcements to your followers/friends about what you’re working on. Facebook allows you to actually stream your blogs through your profile, making every new post viewable by your friends. You can also set up Pages dedicated to your business ventures.

Microblog.

Twitter and, more recently, Plurk are platforms for microblogging. Basically, you get a very limited number of characters (140) to update your followers on what you happen to be doing at any given moment. Feel free to embrace self-promotion on a site like this, as users can decide whether or not they want to follow you. On the newer Plurk, you can also manipulate who sees which “posts” by setting up cliques. On my Twitter, I’ll “tweet” about random things, such as my writer’s block or my inability to find a cute, khaki skirt, but I’ll also post links to some of my newest blog posts in a blatant display self-promotion. I don’t feel bad. It’s the nature of Twitter. It’s all about you, you, you!

Practice Social Bookmarking.

StumbleUpon and del.icio.us are just two social bookmarking sites out there, in an internet rife with them. Sites such as these allow you to rate, review, and bookmark web pages. Once a web page is in the system, it is a lot more likely to be stumbled upon by others, allowing the possibility for huge jumps in traffic. You must use this power wisely, however. If all you’re doing is bookmarking your own blog posts, you stand the chance of receiving a bad bookmarker review, not to mention bad vibes. You can also submit online stories through sites such as digg, propeller, and reddit. After submitting these tidbits of media along with a title and description, other users can vote on the awesomeness of the submitted story. Stories with a ton of votes get front-page status and, therefore, tons of views.

Before signing off, I’d like to invite you all to share, in the comments below, the social networking sites you’ve been using, and to what effect. Are there any I’ve missed here?