Introducing the Greeting Card Experts, part 2

Sandra Miller-Louden

On starting out:
“I knew no one in the business and I made every mistake in the book. But even so, I sold my first card to Current of Colorado Springs, the card catalogue I was just browsing through three months earlier. It was a Halloween caption and even though I only netted $15 for it, I was thrilled that someone paid me for my words. Later that same year, I sold two more verses to Oatmeal Studios in Vermont, for $50 each.”

On using the most proper voice:
“No question – the vast majority of editors look for that ‘me-to-you’ voice in a greeting card. Note that I use the word ‘voice’ rather than the more common ’style’ used to indicate other genres. That’s because greeting card writing is unique in that it is an interactive genre; the greeting card writer is that anonymous third voice between two other people, meaning the card sender and the card recipient. She is saying for others what they may be unwilling or unable to say for themselves.”

“Her words are there for all life’s basic happenings — a birth, a graduation, an illness, an engagement, wedding, retirement, funeral; not to mention those yearly occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries and seasonal occasions. Throw in those ‘just because’ friendship (thinking of you, miss you, love you, let’s get together, sorry I haven’t written, etc.), and then add all those “occasions” we didn’t even have 15-20 years ago (coping, death of a pet, glad to hear you’ve quit smoking, Boss’s Day, Secretary’s Day, Nurse’s Day)…well, you can see where the ‘voice’ is vital.”

On advising newbies on how to begin:
“Depending upon one’s creative output, it is definitely easier than any other genre I can think of. Many of my students and readers have sold their greeting card work in a remarkably short time. I can honestly say that when I developed the course and subsequently wrote my book, I was determined to save people those first four years of my writing, when basically I was learning the ropes and making every mistake I could think of.”

“Most beginners think ‘Hallmark’ or ‘American Greetings.’ If that’s where one starts submitting work, then yes, the odds become less favorable. I don’t direct my students there. They get their valuable experience dealing with editors, assignments, deadlines with mid-size companies; many have accumulated quite an impressive portfolio of sales in only a year or two.”

On discussing the monetary benefits:
“The range of pay is anywhere from $3/line of poetry, which is considered low, to $150 per verse for a humorous caption. Humor pays generally more. In my own career, I’ve been paid as low as $15 a verse to as high as $150/verse. When you break this down to a ‘per word’ dollar amount, it’s often unbelievable. I’ve made as high as $50/word.”

“As I think I mentioned before, a writer can really get spoiled in this genre, because not only is it ‘fun, immediate’ writing, it also pays quite well.”

On loving the greeting card world:
“I love the greeting card industry. It is exciting, it moves with trends and it provides me the opportunity to use a cliche and that is, it is truly a living, breathing industry. If there is something on the news, whether it be faxes and computers (in the early ’90s) or Rogaine and Viagra (in the late ’90s)…if you hear about it on the news, you’ll soon be seeing a reference to it in greeting cards.

Parting wise words:
“Study the racks, not as a consumer, but as a writer. Don’t just look at the writing, look at the artwork as well. See the greeting card as a whole entity… study how artwork and text combine to form this perfect whole we call ‘greeting card.’”

“Find as many mid-size and smaller companies as you can. Visit stores like Target, pet shops, florists, gift boutiques, sporting good stores, etc. Most stores have at least a spinner with cards. After the telephone, greeting cards are still the #1 form of communication.

“Also, read the books out there on card writing. Besides mine, Karen Ann Moore and Molly Wigand have books on the subject. They were former editors of card companies, so their focus is a bit different than mine, which comes from my ‘in the trenches experience’ as a stay-at-home Mom with no former contacts. If you’re so inclined, take a greeting card writing course.

“And of course, submit your work. You can’t sell what you don’t send in…I can’t stress that enough. I have taught many talented people, yet only a fraction follow through and actually send in their work to editors.”

“Pick up your pen or put your fingers on the keyboard and begin writing your way to the greeting card genre success with your verses!”

Introducing the Greeting Card Experts, part1

Still on the greeting card writing career, there’s no better way to learn about the industry than to read up on it from the experts themselves. Here are some wise words and inspiring stories I’ve gathered along the way:

Dan Reynolds

On starting out:
“First, I collected a lot of my best material. Then, I mailed card companies and asked for their submission requirements. I received back two responses: one from Oatmeal Studios and the other from Recycled Paper Greetings. Oatmeal was not interested. Too bad for them as RPG responded favorably and out of my first submission to them they had one of my cards finish number one in the country in their test market research. From there I was given a royalty contract and I’ve been with them ever since 1992.

Parting wise words:
“Know your market. Make sure you query with a company. If you’re doing funny stuff like I do, be better than the next guy. If you’re doing sentimental material, make sure your sap runneth over.”

“Write and draw everyday. I compare card people wannabes to those folks who say, ‘I want to learn how to play the guitar.’ Yeah, today, they want to learn the guitar but when they find out the hard work involved, they fall quickly to the wayside. The only people who will eventually become a greeting card person is the person who REALLY wants to do it and who takes the many rejections they will get as not defeats but a challenge. I get rejection all the time and I just think to myself, ‘They’re the ones that are losing out.’”

Mary Emma Allen

On discovering the industry:
Along with my writing, I was doing crafts and artwork. This included painting in oils and watercolors. How could I combine my writing and painting? Why not produce greeting cards and note paper for some of the outlets that took my quilts, toys, crafts. My mother operated a country general store and was always on the lookout for new items to sell. She encouraged me to produce cards for her customers.”

On discussing originality and inspiration:
“Keep a notepad with you so you can write down bits of poetry, meaningful inspirational phrases, humorous incidents as they come to you. Then you can draw upon these when writing verses for your own cards or creating verses to send to greeting card companies.”

Parting wise words:
“Study the various cards on the market. Determine what type of market you like to write for — inspirational, sentimental, humorous. Try writing the type of verse you like to read and receive.”

“Since I’ve not written for a greeting card company, only designed and produced my original cards, I can’t say for sure what leads to success there. However, as with any type of writing, check out the guidelines the greeting card companies put out. Learn what they’re looking for, study the cards they have on the market, and check out how they want you to submit your verses.

“There are also books on writing for the greeting card market. If you want to produce your own cards, begin practicing. Use your note pad to sketch ideas for pictures as well as greetings on the cards. Then notice original cards in various shops…how are they produced and packaged? How are they priced? Don’t copy them, but get ideas on the techniques and then try your original variations.”

Greeting Card Writers Connect People

Do you want to be a writer that brings people closer together? Well then, the greeting card industry can just produce such results for you. As a greeting card writer, you become part of innumerable birthdays, anniversaries, special occasions, and meaningful hellos. You become the voice that accurately delivers what some cannot articulately express, thereby forming and strengthening relationships in the process.

But how can you really be effective in this profession? To find the right words in your cards, you must keep a close eye on current societal themes and trends. This means thoroughly soaking yourself on society; it can be through reading up on everyday issues or just simply watching normal events unfold. Indeed, you must have a complete understanding of people’s emotions, as well as a quick grasp of the language that people are using nowadays.

Remember: the goal is to make every greeting card feel very personal to scores of card shoppers. Accomplish that and you got yourself an affecting greeting card (not to mention a rewarding writing career ahead of you).

How to be an Effective Publicist?

So you want to be a publicist? Here are the three basic traits or requirements needed for this particular PR and writing career:

The Ability to be Resourceful
An effective publicist always looks for ways to spotlight the client in a positive glow. It’s also about finding the right avenues to keep the public aware of the client. This can be achieved through organizing interviews, benefit events, and various write-ups, to name a few.

The Ability to Write Compellingly
Publicists write sound, if not intriguing, press releases for their clients. It can be about a new project of the client, a noteworthy announcement, or even a clarification of a spreading rumor. With that in mind, anyone wanting this type of job must have excellent writing skills. Keeping the reputation of the client in its freshest and most congenial state means having a publicist who is sharp and prudent on paper.

The Ability to Mingle with the Press
An effective publicist must realize that there is more to media than his published press releases. There should be a broad knowledge of how public news spreads, as well as how to work with and around it strategically. The best example for this — publicists must be able to network his way around journalists and press people in order to introduce stories with them. Also, in mingling with the press, publicists must act confident and authoritative with his news because a simple ounce of uncertainty can wreak havoc on a supposed good publicity.

The Publicist as Reputation Manager

Did you notice that back then every time JK Rowling was on the verge of releasing the next Harry Potter book, Mark Knowles comes up with little tidbits of trivia to further whet the appetite of rabid fans? Relatively, in the Hollywood limelight, whenever Jennifer Aniston gets hounded by the press as to her social life post-Brad Pitt, you could be sure that there will be Stephen Huvane speaking up in defense of his client.

These seemingly “voices” of the celebrities are what you call their publicists. Nowadays, every time you hear a searing gossip or issue about a celebrity, there is almost always a mention of these representatives in most forms of media. But what do these individuals actually contribute to their famous clients? If you look at it more closely, a publicist’s job is half advertising and half public relations.

It’s half advertising because publicists are called to create media attention for the works of their clients. If there’s a new book or movie involved, expect publicists to get the necessary press coverage.

It’s also half public relations because publicists are tasked to preserve the supposedly good reputations of their clients. They need to highlight the positive side of their clients, all the while downplaying the negative aspects.

Indeed, the publicist of today is called to do a variety of things to make this advertising cum public relations work, namely: write press releases, write articles, brainstorm for more news, strategically get journalists to feature their clients, coordinate events, schedule interviews, and manage public appearances.

As Timothy Sexton aptly elaborates in his site, “You may be called upon to track down reporters one day and fend them off the next. One way to look at being a publicist is to view it in terms of being a metaphorical bodyguard. You won’t be required to actually take a bullet for your boss-at least let’s hope not-but when the publicity is bad and your job becomes that of controlling damage you can expect to be thrown to the dogs with the expectation that you’ve got the skills to defuse the situation.”

A Book Reviewer’s Success Story

Curious as to the actual salary and additional perks that a prolific book reviewer acquires? Well, I’ve researched the web for that, digging up and positively hoping for at least a ballpark figure. What I got was a success story. Read on:

The Secret Life Of An Online Book Reviewer

Over the last seven years, Donald Mitchell, a 60-year-old strategy consultant in Boston, has made $20,000 writing book reviews on Amazon.com. He’s so good, and so prolific–with 2,923 reviews to date–that Amazon customers have consistently voted him among the top five reviewers on the site. (The top reviewer, a former librarian from Pennsylvania named Harriet Klausner, has reviewed 12,753 books. Skeptics doubt that she actually exists.)

Mitchell is part of an online subculture that has helped democratize the reviewing process and cemented Amazon’s (nasdaq: AMZN – news – people ) significance in the publishing world. Oprah Winfrey and the New York Times can elevate an obscure debut novelist to a best seller, but Amazon provides the shortest path between a good review and an actual sale: The two are just a click away.

The publishing world–as well as the top brass at Amazon–understands this connection. In 2004 Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos invited top reviewers to a company retreat. Best-selling authors like John Rechy, who wrote City of Night, have been caught pseudonymously giving themselves favorable Amazon reviews. Meanwhile, everyman types like Mitchell have become minor celebrities among book buyers and writers alike.

Mitchell started writing reviews in 1999, when he was about to publish his first book, a business manual called The 2,000 Percent Solution. He reads a book a day and writes a review “whenever it feels like it needs to come out”–usually about five a week. He gravitates toward business books. “But I also like memoirs,” he says. “I read a lot of mystery stories. Also, photography. And art–I’m an art collector. And thrillers, and pop culture. I also review self-help books. I do a lot of books about psychiatry. And children’s books.”

Mitchell tries to write reviews as if he’s talking to someone, and he knows how to please his audience. “In novels, they want to know how much is action versus how much is the thought process,” he says. “I have a mental template that I use.” Something about Mitchell’s prose inspires people to contact him. He receives a handful of e-mails a day, most often from people who want to learn to read faster or start their own businesses. “A lot of people will contact me about advising their children: how they can get into Harvard, what they should do for their careers.” He also hears from women who want to divorce their husbands. “I try to send them information and resources,” he says. “They never explain why they pick me out.” He tries to respond to everyone.

Reviewing has its perks. “People are always inviting me to go on trips with them,” he says. “If I have reviewed a travel book, they’ll invite me to go to that place with them.” He gets frequent dinner offers (which he accepts “occasionally”), and after mentioning in a review that he had never played on the Yale golf course, a reader invited him to play there. He accepted.

Writers regularly court Mitchell. He receives up to 40 books a day and hears directly from the author “80% of the time.” He says that Jamie Lee Curtis sends him notes when he reviews her children’s books, and Jack Canfield–of Chicken Soup for the Soul fame–contacts him before releasing a new book. After he reviewed Spencer Johnson’s book Who Moved My Cheese?, Mitchell says, Johnson called him to discuss his criticism and incorporated his suggestions in later editions.

Mitchell has parlayed his reviews into a profitable enterprise. For authors who write books that Mitchell wouldn’t typically review, he’ll ask them to make a $600 donation to Habitat for Humanity. The donation doesn’t guarantee a favorable review, although Mitchell concedes that he’ll try to make it longer. He originally charged $25 and has since bumped up the price. “I’m probably not charging enough,” he says. “A friend told me I should ask for $2,000.” Mitchell has donated his $20,000 in review earnings to Habitat.

Mitchell’s experience as a reviewer jump-started his career as a writer. When he started looking for a literary agent two years ago, he says he found 14 who were willing to represent him. He has 50 blurbs for his upcoming book, which he publicizes on a separate blog run by Amazon. “I found that people were quite helpful,” Mitchell says. “Many people have offered to review it.”

- Forbes.com

See how inspiring Mitchell’s career has become? True enough, with the right amount of interests, skills, and hard work, you can just follow his steps to superior (and much sought-after) book reviewer status.

The Right Path to Book Reviewing

Now, for those highly interested and highly qualified to get this position, one of the select places to start is in reviewing books for websites. Notice that in almost every book retailer site, there is a review site for those who have read the book and wishes to jot down his or her opinion for other prospective buyers. Obviously, there will be no pay involved here, as the main objective here is to practice on writing great reviews. The financial benefits, hopefully, come later.

Aside from the practice, the aspiring reviewer will also have the opportunity to learn other techniques of critiquing a book. How so? Those online sites normally give out links to professional reviews. In turn, these reviews can guide the newbie on the best methods to handle a book review, such as the different styles, structures, formats, and factors to consider.

Only when the newbie reviewer have gotten his feet (really) wet in these reviewing forms can said novice broaden his horizons through more volunteer works, or freelance jobs if one is fortunate (not to mention qualified) enough. There are actually many avenues to look into: local bulletins, church or organization newsletters, community circulars, and many others.

With enough perseverance, these review copies from these avenues will be just the thing to hook the major publications. Or just as good, stay freelance and get all the perks from loyal book followers.

Welcome to the World of Writing…

Welcome to the site that will tackle the writer’s every possible career avenue.

If you are already a writer (or interested to be one), it would be very gratifying for you to learn that the paths of writing can now be found in a myriad of exciting directions. Relative to our present lifestyle and technology, these talented wordnerds have actually invaded varying fields and industries already, as well as developed entirely new designations to suit their expertise.

Home TV shopping tone: But wait, there’s more! Not only are these writing-related jobs exciting, it can also pay really (really) well… Heh. Seriously, it does.

And so, considering all these, this site then endeavors to shed further light on today’s writing careers. From full-time to freelance, traditional to the new ones, the goofiest to the most solemn, the highest-paying to the low-ends, the most inspiring to the just plain weird (i can just go on and on, but I know you get the gist already); all of those writing career forms will (hopefully) be discussed here.