by Amanda Evans

Created on: December 04, 2008

If you are a freelance writer, there's a chance that you might also be interested in writing for greeting card companies. This is an excellent source of additional income if your verses are chosen and no you don't have to be an avid poet to be successful. There are ample writing opportunities out there for anyone interested in writing for greeting card companies and each company has their own style and preference for their card content.

Like I said, greeting card writing is an excellent source of income paying from $100 upwards. Blue Mountain
Arts pays $350 if your verse is chosen for their cards and $200 if it is to feature on one of their calendars. They also accept submissions via email which is excellent. Their website is bluemountainarts.com where you can find out more.

The best thing that anyone can do if they wish to write for greeting card companies is to study their market.
Start visiting your local card shop and read the verses that are printed. You will see that different companies prefer different verse style.
Some prefer rhyme whilst others prefer free style. If there is a website address on the back of the card be sure to take note of it and then you can check and see if they accept freelancers.

If you decided that this is something that you would like to do, the first thing you should do is google greeting card companies and visit each publishers website. When you get their website make sure to look for writers guidelines to see if they accept submissions.

It might be a good idea to create your own database or list of companies and beside each one write the preferred style of the company. Some companies look for humour, other look for sarcasm, and then there are those who specialise in heartfelt messages.

Once you have that information the next thing you need to find out is how they prefer submissions to be sent.
There are some companies that accept email submissions but the majority of greeting card publishers still use the old method of index cards.

What you will have to do, is type your submissions on 4x6 inch index cards that include your name and your address in the right hand corner. The verse should be printed in the middle of the card. If you are submitting more than one idea it is a good idea to number each one. Most professionals will advise that you send between 10 and 12 ideas to each company at a time. This gives you a better chance of having one of your ideas chosen. One thing that is extremely important to note, is not to send out simultaneous submissions, this is really frowned upon in the greeting card industry. It is best to wait to hear if your ideas have been accepted or rejected before sending them to another company.

If you have different verses for the interior and the outside of the card you might like to differentiate between them by using symbols such as "I" for interior and "O" for outside. You can also add any notes that you might have for appropriate artwork for your verse. Make sure that you include a cover letter with your submission which will describe what you have included. Remember to keep this cover letter short and to the point.

That's all the information you need to get started writing for greeting card companies as a freelance writer. Now all you need to do is buy some index cards and start writing.

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