Some Practical Advice for Greeting Card Writers: Part I
© Copyright 2009 Theresa Harvard Johnson
The ministry of exhortation and encouragement is a powerful one. If the Lord has blessed you with this ministry, and you believe you’ve been called to publish them in the form of greetings then the advice I’ve provided below may help you in your journey.
Sometimes, we can talk about book publishing among Christian writers that we can completely overlook the ministry of exhortation, encouragement and comfort through the prophetic scribe. As with all the advice and counsel the Lords me to give on this topics, I always start off or end my articles with this message: You must become your own expert.
Knowledge really is power, and ignorance will cost you greatly. The scriptures tell us that we should count up the cost before striking out on anything.The Lord doesn’t just give us wonderful ideas he also gives us strategies to fulfill them.
So scribes of the King, the first step of your journey is to “empower” yourself. You can do this by learning everything there is to know about Greeting cards. Does this mean that you need to research one company after another? No, not necessarily. However, you do need to know what will be required of you to produce a quality, professional finished product. Homemade doesn’t have to be homely; and professional doesn’t have to break your bank account. Projects directed by God will have a supernatural birth if you follow Him in every single step.
So, here’s goes.
1. Become an expert. Now that you’ve finished developing and editing the text for your greeting cards and copyrighting your material, begin investigating greeting card format and structure. There are some really good articles on the web that will open your eyes to some areas of greeting card publishing that most people wouldn’t consider. Read! Read! Read! Begin collecting varying types greeting cards, familiarizing yourself with the categories and looking at the names the publishers or printing companies on the back of those cards. Take the time to visit these sites and, if possible, call or email them to find out exactly what you would need to do to earn money as a greeting card writer; submit your work to them for publishing; or to have them operate as your publisher. The world of “greeting cards” is an entity that is completely different from traditional publishing. You need to be aware of this. The Greeting Card Association of America is an EXCELLENT place to start your learning journey. Here you can learn about writing markets, trends, getting started in the business, and so much more. (http://www.greetingcard.org/indexnew.php) Also check out the websites of greeting card writers around the world.
2. Take the plunge. I am one who believes in having something in my hand that I can touch. It’s kinda like publishing your very first book. Having that first book off the press motivates you to go forward with the next one. Don’t be afraid to sit behind “whatever” word processing program you know and experiment with it. Drop by your local Office Depot or Best Buy and check out software packages on creating greeting cards. If you have a laser printer, the right card stock and some high resolution clipart or photos – there’s no telling what you can create. The lesson here is to do something. Call your local printer (not copy centers, but printing companies). Tell them what you want to do, drop in one afternoon and let them review the options available to you. Ask questions. Have them explain things you don’t understand. Take good notes. At this point, it’s not about the finances – but YOUR LEARNING. Visit several. You see, when you are armed with the right information you can return to your place of rest and count up the cost. There are so many different styles of greetings cards available now. People have merged the art of scrapbooking with card making. I’ve purchased some homemade greeting cards from believers that look like they came from a very expensive catalog. Now, my children taught me how to use YouTube as a source of information for doing anything. You can find HOW TO VIDEOS on everything from applying eye shadow and writing a news article to breaking into the greeting card business. There are even software tutorials on the site that I found invaluable when designing book covers and manipulating photos. The key is this: You have to know what to look for. If you decide to visit YouTube on this subject, use this search term: make greeting cards. You won’t be disappointed.
