How to Write for Greeting Card Companies
Freelance writing opportunities abound on the Internet, but breaking into more lucrative markets like greeting cards is a lot more challenging. Writing for magazines requires a thick skin and results in lots of rejections, but writing for greeting cards can be even more financially rewarding if you are good. Pay can range from just a few dollars per verse to upwards of $100 depending on the company!
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Instructions
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Visit a store that sells greeting cards.Take notes on the publishers of the different cards.
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Visit the web sites for each greeting card publisher that you find. Look for writers guidelines or an email address. If you can only find the email address (or even if all you can find is a snail mail address), write to ask about guidelines. (If you correspond by snail mail, include a SASE with your query).
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Match your ideas to the companies. Some companies like humor, some sarcasm, and some prefer solemn cards. Likewise, some companies prefer rhyming verse while others do not accept rhyme at all.
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Submit ideas to card companies. Type your submissions on a three-by-five-inch index card with your name and address on the card. It is best if you also assign each verse a specific "item number" for your records. Send a batch of about 10 to 12 verses at a time to each company on separate cards. This allows them to choose from a range rather than reject only one idea at a time.
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Send your verses to one company at a time. Simultaneous submissions are not acceptable in this industry.
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Tips & Warnings
Differentiate the lines that go inside and outside the card by marking them with an "I" and an "O."
Add notes for artwork that would enhance your lines if the art is necessary to the card.
