Archive for non fiction

You can’t win if you don’t enter

August 24, 2008 at 20:15 · Filed under books, non fiction ·Tagged

You Can’t Win If You Don’t Enter by Carolyn Wilman

Carolyn Wilman calls herself the Contest Queen. Having won numerous prizes from hundreds of contests, some of the larger ones including trips to Barbados and Europe, she is an expert. I thought this should be a useful read, because I like entering contests.

I skimmed through some parts and ignored the chapters on viruses and spyware, contest software, and attracting luck; there’s some good information though. For instance, the differences between the terms contests, lotteries, and sweepstakes are defined. The contests I’ve entered are actually sweepstakes – a promotion with no entry fee, which is a game of chance with a prize. Contests involve a skill, like writing, have no component of chance, and have an entry fee, likely in the form of proof-of-purchase labels from a company’s product that you’ve purchased.

The author outlines her method for keeping track of and entering online contests (online contests are the book’s focus, although mail, phone, in-store and text messaging methods are briefly mentioned). There are tips and resources like newsletters, web sites, and groups listed, with anecdotes from other contest winners sprinkled throughout. As a much more casual contest person, I won’t be making use of all the information presented, but I did learn about the subject from this book.

self published, 2005
isbn: 1419613286 or 9781419613289
Carolyn Wilman’s site is here.

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contests

June 6, 2008 at 03:51 · Filed under books, non fiction ·Tagged , , ,

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less by Terry Ryan

Written by one of the daughters, this book is about a woman who voraciously entered contests in the 50s and 60s, successfully winning many prizes amongst dealing with her alcoholic husband and raising ten children. The entries were mostly coming up with jingles and slogans, whereas most contests these days are just random draws. There’s a movie starring Julianne Moore based on this book that I’ll have to track down sometime. And I stumbled across this great site that lists various book contests, it’s called Bookloons.

4/5

blurb from library journal:

This is the story of Evelyn Ryan, whose brood of ten children is not fully supported by her working husband, in part because of his perpetual drinking. Her sixth child here recounts how the family depended on her poems, jingles, and contest entries to make ends meet (and sometimes not even). When they must move, Evelyn wins $5000 for a down payment on a house; when their car breaks down, she wins a new one. In addition to her seemingly boundless flow of words is her positive outlook on life, one that her children inherited despite their subsistence on fish sticks and hand-me-down clothes.

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