Freelance Writing for Greeting Card Companies

Rating:
Summary: Useful Knowledge
Review: I found this book well-written and by & large, accurate. Other books I've found helpful have been Molly Wigand's and especially a new book out by Sandra Miller-Louden, called Write Well & Sell: Greeting Cards. Armed with any of these books, a "newbie" can certainly break into the business of card writing.

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Potential Market
Review: Now here's something you may not have considered writing ... greeting card messages. Just pause to think for a moment how many cards there are in gift shops, newsagencies, department stores etc. Squillions of 'em ... and someone has to write all the verses in them! Why not you?

Patrisha Stauss has been doing this for a number of years and has written an informative little booklet that explains how to go about researching the market, contacting publishers and protecting your rights. She also emphasises the importance of taking a professional approach to your writing. After all, if you hope to support your brood of starving children or keep your spoilt furred, finned and feathered friends in the manner to which they have become accustomed, you need to adopt a business-like attitude.

Many of the tips Patrisha gives in her book Freelance Writing for Greeting Card Companies would apply to any type of writing, not just greeting cards. She gives a list of the basic equipment you need to set up as a professional writer and some of the ongoing costs associated. Things we tend to overlook like paper, ink cartridges, discs and then visits from your friendly, local 'puter doctor.

Because greeting card verses and messages are brief, you need to submit multiple ideas to publishers, so you really need to have a foolproof system to keep track of your submissions, and Patrisha has some practical ways you can do this in her book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Freelance Advice
Review: The book helped me to better understand what is expected of editors &/or greeting card companies. The material in the book was well organized. It helped me to get more organized within the realm of preparing my work for the market. This is a good business type book to get one started in pursuing a possible career in writing for greeting card companies. I found it to be very informative and recommend it to anyone who plans to be a freelance writer for greeting cards.