Books from boxes.

Let’s get started with this week’s speedlink.

As a professional writer myself, I always find it best when I can produce my articles in a single session as the resulting piece usually feels more cohesive. The same is true with longer works too, which is why Allison Winn Scotch is wondering whether or not she should finish her story now that its writing has been on hiatus for such an extended period of time. Picking up where you left off can be hard, especially if that initial spark isn’t there anymore.

When it comes to the world of freelance writing, there is still a certain shroud of secrecy in terms of how much we make for a living. Luke O’Neil is looking to demystify the industry by listing how much he makes (or made) at each publication in the last couple of years. There are naturally many factors that go into determining the rate. Sometimes it’s set by the publication and other times it’s the freelancer who is asked for a quote.

One of the biggest and arguably most challenging lessons that anyone can learn is that it is not about you. This isn’t to say that you don’t matter, but there is a definite disease of self-importance in today’s culture. Kristen Lamb explores this in her recent post, including a discussion on finding a cure to this problem, particularly when it comes to racism and politically correctness.

The real world is quite different from the online world. More specifcally, Stacey Robinsmith looks at the world of online advertising and how it differs from the “junk mail” that we receive in our actual physical mailboxes. With online advertising, it is far easier to track not only how many people see the ad, but also how many click on it (or otherwise engage with it) and how many follow through with a desired action, like buying the product being promoted.

Last but not least, BC BookLook turns things around by placing Joseph Planta in the interviewee seat. As you may know, Joseph is the host of the On The Line program on TheCommentary.ca, so it is interesting to have him answering the questions rather than posing them. I interviewed Joseph way back in 2007 too.