How to Write Greeting Card Verses and Make Cash
The way to get started, as I did, and make some extra cash, is to perform a search on the Internet for “Greeting Card Publishers.” Many companies, such as Blue Mountain Arts, (www.bluemountain.com), have their own website for people who write greeting card verses and want to sell them for cash. Blue Mountain also runs a contest for the best greeting card verses from time to time. It’s a bonus chance for you to make extra cash.
Then, once you have found several greeting card publishers, read their guidelines to see if they accept freelance submissions. Major companies like Hallmark don’t. They have their own staff of creative writers. However, if you’re willing to relocate, you may want to apply for a position.
Note: Many companies don’t post their guidelines for greeting card verses on their websites. Therefore, you’ll need to send them a self-addressed-stamped-envelope via snail mail and request them.
Before I started writing greeting card verses for cash, I studied the market. I visited greeting card stores. And I read verse after verse after verse to see what people were buying. I then checked the Internet to read company guidelines.
I had some previous experience writing poetry. However, as I said, rhyming words- no matter how salable the message may be- isn’t necessarily what greeting card publishers are looking for.
When I thought I had an idea of the types of verses greeting card publishers wanted, I bought a spiral notebook, a pack of pens, and I got to work creating. I was especially interested in submitting greeting card verses to Blue Mountain Arts because I liked their line of cards. So I concentrated on that company.
Greeting card publishers want your verses submitted to them in a batch. Some companies accept e-mail submissions. Others prefer you send your work by snail mail. If you send hard copies via the postal service, every verse you want them to consider for cash should be typed, not hand written. Some companies prefer that your verses are typed on individual index cards, while others accept submissions on conventional sheets of 8-1/2 X 11 inch paper. No matter what type of format you use, your greeting card verses should be double-spaced. Every index card or sheet of paper should have your name and contact information in the upper left hand corner. And when you send it, make sure you include a SASE. The greeting card publisher will use this envelope to reply to you.
Make sure, before you send your verses either electronically or manually, that you have followed the greeting card publisher’s guidelines right to the letter. If you don’t, you can risk having your verses rejected simply because you didn’t follow the rules.
And finally, cash payments for greeting card verses vary from publisher to publisher. Some companies might pay as low as $10 for a verse. While others are willing to gladly hand you a hefty $300 check in payment for one verse. The most cash I’ve made for writing one greeting card verse was $300 from Blue Mountain Arts. The verse was three or four paragraphs in length, and it was designed for a friendship card. Blue Mountain Arts paid me cash for it, gave me a byline, and used my verse on a line of Mother’s Day greeting cards they marketed. They also were kind enough to send me a dozen or so copies of the card.
If they like your work, they run it through a market test which takes several months to complete. However, if it passes the test, they’ll offer you top cash for your submission, and the wait is worth it to me.
Hallmark, American Greetings and Gibson Greetings.Sandra Miller-Louden is well-known as a successful, long-time greeting card verse writer. She even offers tips, books, and courses for freelancers who want to learn the business. Visit her web site at http://greetingcardwriting.com/ for more info to help you get started.
