Get paid to write greeting cards!
Love spreading good cheer? Have a way with words? Make people smile—and earn big bucks—as a greeting card writer! Tons of card companies not only welcome submissions, they pay anywhere from $25 to $300 to use your work. Here’s how to get started:
✔ FIGURE OUT YOUR FORTE!
There are three basic types of greeting card text: verse, prose and punch lines. Browse the card aisle of your neighborhood store and read a sample of each. Which style seems to echo your own? Take it as a cue to pursue that type of writing. Is there a line of cards you especially like? Check the back, where you’ll find the publisher’s info, and contact the company to see if they are accepting freelance submissions.
✔ GIVE ’EM WHAT THEY WANT!
Companies like Blue Mountain Arts (SPS. com), Oatmeal Studios (Oatmealstudios.com), Calypso Cards (Calypso Cards.com) and other companies are eager for submissions—just be sure to log on to each site and study their writer’s guidelines. For example, Blue Mountain Arts is looking for “genuine emotions on topics like love, friendship, family, missing you,” but they don’t want rhymed poetry or religious themes. Calypso, on the other hand, is looking for humorous, edgy text for its Selfish Kitty line.
✔ READ THE FINE PRINT!
Not only will the writer’s guidelines clue you in to the type of greeting a company is looking for, they will also spell out some important info. For example, some companies limit how many submissions they accept at any one time, while others require you to send your greeting card copy via snail mail on index cards. The bottom line: If you submit your work the wrong way—no matter how good it is—it won’t be considered!
✔ KEEP LOVED ONES IN MIND!
Getting sincere feelings across is easier if you pretend you’re writing to a special someone, whether that’s your mom, son or husband, says Lynda Schab, whose work has been accepted by Blue Mountain Arts and Dayspring (a Christian division of Hallmark), among others.
✔ GET TO THE POINT!
Whatever your sentiment, it’s important to use as few words as possible. According to Hallmark card writer Keion Jackson: “It’s about getting to the joke fast—or if it’s a heartwarming card, getting to that emotional ‘aw’ moment as quickly as possible.”