You Can Make Money Writing Greeting Cards

Image Gallery Here's how a finished studio submission should look. Note that the card has been coded F-5: ""friendship card number five"". The next friendship idea will get the code F-6, the one after that F-7, and so on ad infinitum.

Ever wonder who writes the messages that appear in greeting cards? Well, CarolEannarino? a freelance writer from New York City—is here to tell you how . . .

Step inside a drugstore or gift shop and take a look at all the greeting cards. Obviously, there's money in the card business . . . and whoever writes the verses and gags that appear on these preprinted missives must be getting a piece of the action. But who are those people? And how did they "break into" card-writing?

Well, as I've long since learned, most greeting card publishers rely on freelancers to supply most of their ideas . . . and the only qualifications needed to become one of those freelancers are [1] imagination and [2] a sense of humor. When I found out how good the pay was, I immediately decided that I met both requirements. Quite possibly you do, too.

SOME SPECIFICS

Please let me qualify that statement about the "good pay" just a bit. I don't know anyone who's become rich—or even comfortably well-to-do?as a freelance greeting card writer. (The money's not that good.) Still, the constant flurry of $10, $15, and $25 checks you're likely to receive as a part-time card poet can pay the rent (and then some), if you're able to churn out fresh ideas regularly.

The best money is in studios (those long, slim cards that pack a humorous hello). Originally, the studios were aimed at a somewhat sophisticated audience, meaning that quite often the greetings were rather risque. Nowadays, only a few companies actually solicit bawdy gags . . . the rest?if they use such material at all?want it to be subtle and "in good taste".

There are studio cards for all occasions: birthdays, friendship (almost anything goes here), get well, anniversary, holiday greetings, etc. Some publishers read seasonal (holiday) ideas year round . . . others have a definite schedule. You can write to the various companies to learn their requirements (see the sidebar that accompanies this article).

Although most card firms pay around $25 for a studio idea, the rate of remuneration varies. Really big outfits—like Hallmark?can afford to (and do) fork over $50 or more, while smaller companies pay as low as $10.

Another type of greeting?similar to the studio, but a bit smaller in size and more overt in its humor?is the humorous card. (Note: There's also a cute card, which is softer and more feminine in its approach than either the studio or the humorous.) Sometimes, an editor at a large company may decide that your studio idea would be better as a humorous, in which case you'll probably be paid less. Frankly, I don't care how my ideas are classified as long as the checks keep rolling in.