What should I do to improve my chances of being selected as a GSoC contributor?

After organizations are announced, look through them on the program site and find a
few that appeal to you.
Read through the Project Ideas lists of these orgs.
When you see an idea that piques your interest, reach out to the organization via
their preferred communication methods (listed on their org page on the GSoC site).
Talk with the mentors and community and to determine if this is a project idea that
is something you would enjoy working on during the program. If you are not working
on something that motivates you it will not be a fun summer for you or for your
mentor.
Use the information you received during your communications with the mentors and
other org community members to write up your proposal.
Submit your Proposal early so the mentors have time to give feedback. You want to
have have time to incorporate their feedback and resubmit before the deadline.
Don't wait until the last minute to submit your proposal!

Can I submit more than one proposal?

Yes, each GSoC Contributor may submit up to three proposals. However, only one per
GSoC Contributor may be accepted. No more than one proposal per GSoC Contributor
will be accepted, no matter how many proposals you submit.

Should I send proposals directly to the mentoring organizations?

No, all proposals must be submitted through the program site. Proposals submitted
outside of the Google Summer of Code program site will not be considered for Google
Summer of Code.

You are strongly encouraged to reach out to the mentoring organization early to
discuss your ideas and get feedback and a better understanding of the work they do
before submitting your final proposal.

What does a good proposal look like?

The Contributor/Student Guide has a section on "Writing a Proposal".

The best proposals are from participants who took the time to interact and discuss
their ideas with the organization before submission. Be sure to include the
following: detail on exactly what you're proposing, why you're proposing it, the
reason you're qualified to do it, your development methodology, your expected
timeline, etc. It should also include details of your academic, industry, and/or
open source development experience.

Do not just read a Project Idea from the org's list and then write your proposal -
you need to talk to them. Contributors who don't discuss their proposals with the
target organization are very unlikely to be selected for GSoC.

What forms will I need to provide?

Accepted participants will need to provide appropriate tax forms. This includes
providing proof of residency in the country you will be participating from and thus
receiving the payments in.

Pro Tip: Read the organization’s requirements or skills they are looking for in
potential GSoC Contributors

Be aware that some requirements are likely to be firm and you must meet those
requirements for the organization to consider your application. For example, many
organizations require potential GSoC contributors to submit pull requests as part
of their application, or they require you to have a chat with someone in the
community about your idea before submitting your proposal. More complicated
projects will likely require familiarity with particular programming languages,
processes or techniques. It is also possible some organizations may be looking for
students who are earlier in their development, while other organizations may be
looking for applicants more advanced in their skills.

However, some of the requirements may be less stringent and could be things you can
learn quickly, just be sure to mention that you are working on these skills, etc.
when you are discussing your proposal with the organization

Who Am I?
The very first requirement for a successful GSoC experience is finding a
project/organization that interests you. Take a few minutes to consider the
following questions. You can use the answers to these questions to search and
filter through the organizations participating in GSoC.

What open source software do you use?

What are your professional interests?
What are your hobbies?
What is your skill set?
What do you want to get out of GSoC?
Who Are They?
After the GSoC program is announced each year, a list of accepted organizations is
published on the GSoC website (usually in February). Compile a list of
organizations based on your answers above. The projects are also tagged with
categories of programming language, platforms, topics and applications. Use the
tags to filter organizations based on your skills and interests.

For each organization, take some time to learn more about what they do (i.e.,
Google them!). The organization’s mission, its size and range of applications may
all influence your interest in working with them. Realize that through GSoC you
will be joining an open source community. Ideally, you’ll find an organization that
you are enthusiastic to be a part of for many years to come!

From Project Idea to Project Plan

You’ve narrowed down your search of organizations and projects, you’ve made first
contact, and you’ve started communicating directly with potential mentors. Now it’s
time for the critical process of turning a project idea into a project plan.

In most cases, your potential mentor(s) will have lots of ideas and preconceptions
about each project that were not included in its original description on the
Project Ideas page. Discuss and research the project idea in as much detail as
possible. You may even consider preparing mock-ups (illustrations, powerpoint, or
websites) to help clarify your understanding and vision of the project. You will
want to discuss the scope of the project idea, including which parts are critical
versus optional for the program timeline. This process will directly feed into your
application and ideally distinguish it from all the others. Just think about it: if
you’ve helped clarify the project idea and contributed to an actual plan of action,
it makes it an easy process for mentors to evaluate your proposal and give it a
high ranking!
Pro Tip: The earlier you apply, the better. Submitting your proposal early helps
you get early feedback.

Don’t be that person: Cut and pasting an idea from the organization page and
turning that in as your project’s description is a big no-no. You’ll be expected to
research and submit your own ideas about how to accomplish the project your way,
not just state the end result.