Alyce Wilson

As I announced earlier this week, I’ve challenged myself to a project I’m calling “30 Queries in 30 Days,” where I’m going to be making specific efforts to increase my freelancing income.

Today, I set myself a big goal: to finally write the query to “Parents” magazine that I’d been contemplating since this spring. It’s my first query to a major national magazine (though I had a feature published in the state-wide “Pennsylvania” magazine about 10 years ago). I referred heavily to their writer’s guidelines, which were very helpful. So I’m proud to add to the list:

5) Wrote and mailed a query letter to “Parents” magazine, proposing a travelogue piece about my trip to Illinois with KFP, concentrating on tips for traveling alone with your child.

Then, because I didn’t submit any queries yesterday, I worked on something far easier. I pulled together several examples of press releases I’ve written to submit with another Elance job proposal:

6) Submitted a proposal via Elance.com for a job writing a press release for a new business book.

I will, of course, post any feedback or response I get for the queries I send out this month. Wish me luck!

While I can be the most determined person when I have a specific goal in mind, my failing as a freelance writer is not putting my writing out there as much as I should. This is a long-time issue for me, something I’ve been dealing with for as long as I can remember. Simply put: It’s more fun writing than it is doing the work of trying to get that writing published.

However, our family has been making due with approximately one-and-a-half salaries since I gave birth to our son three years ago, and that just simply isn’t enough when we’ve got three people now instead of two to feed, clothe, and provide for basic needs. The solution seems simple enough: I’m more likely to be successful the more I actually try.

That is the purpose behind the “30 Queries in 30 Days” project. I am challenging myself throughout the month of September to take action that will potentially lead to more revenue and more opportunities. Here’s how it’s going to work:

I’m using a loose definition of “query,” defining it as a specific effort to earn money through my writing. For that reason, I’ll include not only query letters, which are sent to publishers to propose a story idea, but will also include submissions of poetry, stories and articles to literary magazines; applications for grants; proposals submitted on online freelancing sites (such as Elance and Odesk) for advertised writing jobs; and submissions to paying writing contests (preferably those without submission fees). I will track both my efforts and my results on this blog, so stick around. If you haven’t already, this might be a good time to subscribe to my blog, which means you’ll receive an e-mail notification whenever I post.

Hopefully, this experiment will push me past my sticking point. If I can do this for a month, I’m hoping it will become second nature to me. After all, it’s only a short amount of work every day. And like I keep reminding myself: You can’t win if you don’t play.

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

1) Submitted a proposal for a job proofreading a memoir at ODesk.com.

2) Mailed a poetry submission to The Georgia Review.

3) Entered a poem in the 2014 Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest (winners announced August 2014).

4) Submitted a proposal via Elance.com for a job writing humorous commentary for a “caught on tape” Web site.

As a writer for Yahoo! Contributor Network, I have a regular beat to submit stories of interest to the Greater Philadelphia area (i.e. the five counties: Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, Bucks). I am looking for the following: feature ideas, upcoming event info and possible interview subjects. In particular, I’d welcome ideas related to family-friendly activities, since I’m thinking of writing a series.

You can look through my existing portfolio to see what sort of stories I’ve written in the past. Pay particular attention to the Philadelphia-area stories, since I’ve also done a lot of entertainment writing.

Please e-mail me with any of your suggestions.

Here’s more info from Yahoo! about what sort of stories they’d like me to write.

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Submit unique, well-written, and compelling local content of metro-wide interest in your area. Submit only when you have a submission that meets all guidelines and expectations. Only professional-sounding bylines are acceptable.

Write local features or news stories that aren’t being reported by other news outlets or go beyond coverage by other media. Think about the stories that local readers need to know — answer questions for them, tell them something new about their area, reveal and explain local controversies, solve local mysteries, etc. Think outside the box!

Find unexpected and compelling local stories — don’t tell readers what they already know or what they aren’t likely to click on to find out more. This content must be objective — opinion pieces are generally not accepted.

Don’t rewrite other coverage — all submissions should be original, unique, and go beyond other coverage.Search Yahoo! News before writing to ensure that your topic hasn’t already been covered.

Write with authority. Be detailed, specific, and authentic. Cite authoritative sources for all factual claims and information (no Wikipedia or other user-generated sources). Include all essential information, such as websites, locations, contact information, hours, pricing, etc. as applicable. Proofread carefully.

I’ve put together a short video on how to help me win America’s Next Author. Since the ratings for Round 2 first appeared this morning, I’ve jumped up from #133 (out of 244) to currently #93, but that’s nowhere near where I need to be. The top-ranked author for each round will make it into the semifinals, along with four Wild Card selections chosen by the jury.

Watch this brief video and find out how you can help me.

So that you don’t have to cut and paste it, here’s a quick link: Alyce Wilson author page

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The voting for Round 2 of America’s Next Author will begin soon, and my story will be eligible for votes.

In the meantime, I’ve done some research into how voting works, and here’s what I’ve learned. According to a guide on how to vote for America’s Next Author, there are three ways:

1. Quickvote: This is the box on the right side of the page where you can select your impression of a story and then click VOTE.

2. Share stories on Facebook and Twitter. This also counts towards an author’s ranking.

3. Leave reviews. This counts towards an author’s ranking as well. Plus, leaving four or more reviews might win you an iPad!

From reading other information on the site, however, they are looking for reviews of at least a few sentences. If you leave a review of just a couple words or a short sentence, such as “Good job, Alyce!” it could wind up being thrown out. In their FAQ on author ranking, the contest organizers state:

Low quality reviews will not be taken into account for the final results. For example, if someone were to quickly write four 5-star reviews with one line of text, or four 1-star reviews with short complaints, those would not count towards rankings or win an eReader.

The takeaway: please write reviews that actually mention aspects of the writing, and make them at least two sentences long. It will help me, and if you also review three other writers’ works, you could win an iPad.

The more that you can share the link to my story on Facebook and Twitter — and encourage your friends to do the same — the better off I should be in the rankings.

Top prize for this contest is $5,000, which if I win it, will go towards a four-door family-sized vehicle to replace our hatchback. No more hitting my head while putting my little Kung Fu Panda in his car seat!

ETA: Voting is now open! Visit the Alyce Wilson author’s page to vote.

I’ve been sending out the following press release, thanks to a fellow contestant, Whipchick, who wrote up a template for the Top 30 contestants to send.

So far I’ve sent it to the Delaware County Times, Philadelphia Weekly, Philadelphia Inquirer & The Daily News, New Jersey Star-Ledger, Milton Standard-Journal, Sunbury Daily Item, Williamsport Sun-Gazette, and the Bloomsburg Press-Enterprise. I also plan to send it to The Penn Stater and am open to other suggestions.

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For immediate release: July 9, 2012
Contact: Alyce Wilson
Email
Author photo: http://flic.kr/p/ctssjw

LOCAL WRITER FINDS SUCCESS IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEST

Anyone can enter. There is no prize. And more than thirty grueling weeks into The Real LJ Idol, Alyce Wilson is still writing alongside contestants from the UK, Australia, Sweden, Canada, and across the USA.

“Winning mainly means bragging rights,” says Wilson, a Philadelphia-area freelancer and stay-at-home mom who joined the contest “to keep my writing fresh and to challenge myself. In addition, I’ve made a lot of contacts in what is essentially a virtual writing community.”

Created and moderated by a Florida writer, Gary Dreslinski, The Real LJ Idol is structured somewhat like a reality show. Each week, a prompt is posted, and the competing authors write pieces inspired by it. There’s no restriction on form or content – entries have included personal essays, science fiction, horror, poems and songs. Some writers, like Wilson, try to write something different each week; others become known for a specific genre or unfold a novel chapter by chapter. Anything goes, as long as they survive the voting rounds.

“Standing out from the pack is essential,” says Wilson, “so I try to take a creative approach to each topic. Over the course of the competition so far, I’ve written everything from personal essays to skits to poems, and I’ve even produced a video. I enjoy changing it up.”

Voting is open to the public most rounds, with the lowest vote-getters “going home.” Many stick around to write for the “Home Game,” to vote, and to engage in the community as “beta readers” who give requested feedback on drafts so other writers can improve their entries before posting.

A record-breaking 367 writers signed up when the contest’s eighth season began in October; fewer than 20 are still in the running. Some of the entrants were already professional writers (Wilson has published a book of columns and essays, “The Art of Life,” available at her personal Web site AlyceWilson.com, and is a featured contributor at Yahoo! Movies and Yahoo! Television), but many are talented hobbyists. Writers in Europe and New Zealand carefully count time zones to make the submission deadline every week.

In Season 5, Wilson’s first time participating in the contest, she placed fifth out of nearly 200 participants (some of that work appears in “Art of Life”). In Season 6, under a pen name, she made it into the Top 25 out of roughly 240 but was cut, ironically, the week her son was born. She found out the results while she was in the delivery room. “It was a disappointment, but a bit of a relief, with my new responsibilities,” she admitted. Now, she’s learned to juggle childcare with writing, which she feels has helped her reach this stage in the competition.

Past winners have landed professional gigs, such as Season Six winner Ellie DeLano, now a columnist for “Women’s Day.” Wilson says, “Looking back at my entries to date, I’ve created a range of pieces I never would have written otherwise. Whether I win or not, I’ll still consider that an accomplishment.”

Wilson’s work may be read here: alycewilson.livejournal.com. The weekly contest postings can be read here: therealljidol.livejournal.com.

Writers become used to rejection, but despite making snarky comments about papering our bedrooms with rejection slips, few of us really enjoy hearing “no.” Whether it’s a letter with a hand-written note from the editor or an impersonal slip of paper, rejection notices are never fun to read. It’s hard not to view them as a personal assessment: an indication that perhaps we’re not the writer we thought we were.

Losing a contest is no easier, especially in the cases where we were certain we had a chance. Perhaps we imagined how much of a difference the cash prize would make, or exactly what we would do with the free time that a grant would allow us.

So how do you get something positive out of rejection? First of all, if possible, find out what beat you out. In a contest, read the winning works. In the case of a literary magazine, check out the latest issue. Compare that to the pieces that you had submitted and try to figure out what the published pieces had that yours might have lacked.

About 90 percent of publication has to do with finding the right fit, with 10 percent being professionalism (proper spelling and grammar, polite cover letters, following all guidelines). So when you’re rejected, try not to take it personally. Instead, try to figure out where your work might fit better.

I compare it to trying on clothes in a department store. As any woman knows, this can be a disheartening experience, whatever your body type. A long time ago, I learned a technique for saving my self-esteem: rather than blaming myself for every ill-fitting outfit, I tried to assess what it was that made the outfit a poor choice. Then, when I returned to the floor, I looked for items that might be cut in a more flattering way. In other words, don’t blame yourself; just accept that the clothing is wrong for you and spend your efforts finding something that works.

You can’t avoid rejection, but you can change how you respond to it and find a way to turn it into something positive.