The Role of Popularity in Writing Success
As many who know me are aware, I have competed three times in an online writing contest called The Real LJ Idol. The first year I competed, I placed fifth out of about 200. The second year I competed, I placed in the Top 25 out of about 250. This past season, I finished six out of more than 300.
Whereas LJ Idol is a grueling competition with twists and turns and weekly votes over a period of more than six months, I'm currently participating in another contest, America's Next Author, with relatively simple requirements. Roughly 220 writers are competing at the moment for a top prize of $5,000, and I'm ranked 83 (up from 131 early yesterday). Still, I've got a long hill to climb if I want to place in the top three.
This is a very different contest than LJ Idol in many ways. Rather than write a different piece every week, which can be in any genre, contestants are only allowed to submit one fiction piece, 2,500 to 5,000 words. Whereas LJ Idol results always came from voting (although the groups who were allowed to vote varied from an open vote to community-only vote, to a contestants-only vote, to a jury-only vote), America's Next Author also incorporates social media mentions. This means that in addition to convincing friends and associates to vote for you, you need to convince them to share the link to your author page, as well.
In actuality, this might be a more realistic real-world model than the voting required from LJ Idol. People may like your writing, but unless you can motivate people to share their interest in your work, you stand little chance of finding new readers. And, as many writers will attest, it's sometimes harder to make a sale to friends and associates than it is to strangers. Friends often take for granted the fact that they can pick up your book sometime in the future. Strangers, however, are more likely to pick up a book the minute it strikes their interest.
As someone who had trouble selling Girl Scout cookies as a girl, this contest is proving to offer valuable lessons in the real-world marketing techniques I need to further my success.
Here's a short video with more information on how to support me in the contest: How to Vote for America's Next Author.
You can read my story, "Dating Safari," at my official page: Alyce Wilson author page
Whereas LJ Idol is a grueling competition with twists and turns and weekly votes over a period of more than six months, I'm currently participating in another contest, America's Next Author, with relatively simple requirements. Roughly 220 writers are competing at the moment for a top prize of $5,000, and I'm ranked 83 (up from 131 early yesterday). Still, I've got a long hill to climb if I want to place in the top three.
This is a very different contest than LJ Idol in many ways. Rather than write a different piece every week, which can be in any genre, contestants are only allowed to submit one fiction piece, 2,500 to 5,000 words. Whereas LJ Idol results always came from voting (although the groups who were allowed to vote varied from an open vote to community-only vote, to a contestants-only vote, to a jury-only vote), America's Next Author also incorporates social media mentions. This means that in addition to convincing friends and associates to vote for you, you need to convince them to share the link to your author page, as well.
In actuality, this might be a more realistic real-world model than the voting required from LJ Idol. People may like your writing, but unless you can motivate people to share their interest in your work, you stand little chance of finding new readers. And, as many writers will attest, it's sometimes harder to make a sale to friends and associates than it is to strangers. Friends often take for granted the fact that they can pick up your book sometime in the future. Strangers, however, are more likely to pick up a book the minute it strikes their interest.
As someone who had trouble selling Girl Scout cookies as a girl, this contest is proving to offer valuable lessons in the real-world marketing techniques I need to further my success.
Here's a short video with more information on how to support me in the contest: How to Vote for America's Next Author.
You can read my story, "Dating Safari," at my official page: Alyce Wilson author page
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