Have a little poetry in your soul? Tips on becoming

Have a little poetry in your soul? Tips on becoming a greeting card writer

It's not easy to make a full time living as a creative writer. If you enjoy writing a little poetry, you might want to consider the greeting card writer's market. This market takes a while to break into, so approach this idea as a sideline, at least at the beginning.

This is definitely big business. Consumers spend billions of dollars each year on greeting cards, with the lion's share of this market divided amongst the three largest greeting card companies: Hallmark, Gibson and American Greetings. These companies generally use in-house greeting card writers. They rarely accept submissions from freelancers. However, the good news is that there are close to 2,000 small, independent greeting card companies which do accept submissions.

So how do you find these opportunities for greeting card writers? The Greeting Card Association's website is a good place to start. You'll find some listings which require that you use snail mail to get a copy of their writer's guidelines and submit your ideas, again by snail mail, on index cards, with a SASE to assure a response. However, there are many more which have websites, with online writer's guidelines and accept submissions by e-mail.

Also, check out the latest edition of Writer's Market. If you don't own a copy, you can find it at your local library. Writer's Market has a section which covers the greeting card market. The last time I checked, pay rates ranged from about $50-$200 per verse.

With the huge number of online e-card companies, this opens up many possibilities for the freelancer. All you need to do is Google 'ecards', or 'e-cards'. Visit some of these websites and browse some of their cards to get a feel for what styles they publish. When you find a greeting e-card website which matches your style, look at the top or bottom of their home page for a 'writers' or 'jobs for greeting card writers' link. Follow the link and copy and paste their writer's guidelines to a notepad, being sure to include the URL above each, so you can easily return to the site later. These smaller greeting card publishers are more likely prospects for the beginning greeting card writer. If you find a site which doesn't have a 'writers' or 'jobs' link, but is a close match to your writing style, it doesn't hurt to fire off a quick email to the editor on their 'contacts' list.

Browsing their catalogs is a good way to observe new trends in the style, voice and sentiments each publisher leans towards. Again, you'll meet with success soonest when you submit material that is a good fit with what they're selling.

Keep in mind too, that, if you are artistically inclined, creating the cover of the greeting card, in addition to the verses can be another lucrative sideline.

As every creative writer knows, you'll meet with some rejections before finally landing a gig. It may take a while, but if you consistently surf the greeting card sites, dedicating a little time each day to the effort, you can succeed in breaking into the greeting card writer market. Good luck!