How to Become a Greeting Card Writer

Even with the ever-growing popularity of e-cards, traditional paper greeting cards are still a huge business, with greeting card companies grossing an estimated $7.5 billion annually, according to the National Artists Council. Becoming a greeting card writer can be a lucrative freelancing opportunity. But before you rush out to mail your verses to greeting card publishers, make sure you know what to expect from the process.

Instructions

1. Go to your local greeting card store or a store where greeting cards are sold, and spend time reviewing the greeting cards sold by different companies. The Greeting Card Association recommends paying close attention to the style of the verses and to how the verse goes hand in hand with the graphics.

2. Identify your target market, so you can find potential greeting card publishers to which you will submit your work. For example, are you a humor writer who prefers to write humorous greeting cards, or do you want to write traditional, sentimental greeting card verses?

3. Write, because the most important thing you can do if you want to become a greeting card writer is to just write. Try to write every day and to submit greeting card verses as often as possible to increase your chances of success.

4. Request submission guidelines, either by snail mail or by email, from your chosen greeting card companies. Carefully read the submission guidelines to determine how many ideas you are allowed to submit each time and the average time it takes for the greeting card publisher to respond to submissions.

5. Submit your greeting card ideas to the greeting card companies. If you are submitting your ideas by snail mail, write your name and your contact information on each index card or each piece of paper you submit to avoid confusion should your pages become separated.

6. Keep track of your submissions, so you don't inadvertently send the same ideas to different greeting card publishers. An easy way to keep track of submissions is to join Writer's Market, where you will also find greeting card companies' submission guidelines, or to create a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

7. Apply for a job, if you prefer a full-time gig to working as a freelance greeting card writer. Some greeting card companies, most notably Hallmark, do not use freelancers, preferring only to hire permanent staff.

Tips & Warnings

• Include a self-addressed stamped envelope with your submissions if you want the greeting card company to return your verses. According to the Greeting Card Association, greeting card writers face hefty competition as opposed to greeting card artists because greeting card companies generally buy fewer written submissions. It will likely take you time to break into the greeting card industry, so don't give up. Make sure you are always writing and always submitting your verses to companies. Success as a greeting card writer requires persistence. Greeting card companies typically pay anywhere from $25 to $150 for verses. You can find greeting card publishers online by doing an Internet search for individual company websites, and you can find a list of most greeting card companies at Writer's Market.

Resources

• Greeting Card Association
• Writer's Market
• Hallmark
• National Artists Counsel