Writing Articles

Did you know that each of us Brits sends on average around 55 greetings cards per year?

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According to the Greetings Card Association, the UK card industry is the most successful in the world, with some 800 companies publishing several billion greetings cards annually. That’s one heck of a postbag of Happy Birthdays and Merry Christmases!

So now, having sent good wishes, congratulations and celebrations to everyone you know, wouldn’t it be nice if a few, or dare I say many, happy returns winged their way to you – in the form of a cheque or several?

There can’t be many of us who haven’t looked at a greetings card and thought, ‘I could have penned a better verse than that, or written a funnier gag’. But what about the artwork – the drawings and photography – have you ever felt that you could offer a publisher similar material?

It’s a fact that the majority of a greetings card publisher’s expenditure goes on the artwork rather than on the text, so if you have a creative bent, supplying a card’s artwork could prove lucrative.

Tips to bear in mind:

1. It’s important to study the markets; a company’s website will show a selection of the sort of cards they publish and their preferred style.

2. Not all companies produce photographic cards.

3. Some of the big names don’t accept work from freelancers.

4. Check out the smaller companies as they’re often more open to submissions from freelancers.

5. The quality of your pictures must be excellent. Publishers will only consider pin-sharp photo images.

[B] Guidelines: [/B]
Not all publishers have the same requirements, so it’s not a bad idea to request photographers’ guidelines from each company. These will tell you what to submit and who to send it to, along with any specific information on what the company publishes, their preferred format and how much they pay.

Format can vary, with some accepting colour or black and white pictures in all formats, and others preferring transparencies only.

[B] Submitting: [/B]
It makes life easier if you can submit by email but you may be asked to send pictures burned to disk or as prints, transparencies or as photocopied samples.

Never send original artwork or the only copies you have of your photos, and if you’re using snail mail, include a SAE if you want your samples returned.

Stick a label on the back of each of your photos – allot a design number to each picture and add your name, address, phone number and email address.

[B] Ideas: [/B]
The sky’s the limit and browsing a company’s website will show you where your own photos will stand the best chance of acceptance. But here are ten subjects that are popular with most greetings card publishers.

1. Cats and dogs in various ‘moods’
2. Animals with humorous expressions
3. Cute puppies and kittens
4. Teddy bears, posed
5. Colour co-ordinated flower arrangements
6. Flower close-ups
7. Still-life set-ups
8. Garden scenes
9. Close-ups of cakes
10. Chairs with hats and cushions

The greetings card industry is huge and offers some good openings for photographers, as well as artists and writers. If you think you’ve got what it takes, why not give this sort of photography your best shot.

The following card publishers are open to ideas from freelancers and all have submission guidelines up on their websites.

[B] Abacus: [/B]
Are happy to accept speculative submissions from artists, designers and photographers, but would be particularly interested in viewing photographs of floral close ups, garden or panoramic landscapes and floral still life images. They say colour copies, transparencies, digital prints or images on CD-ROM (Mac formatted) are all acceptable.
www.abacuscards.co.uk
liz.ellis@abacuscards.co.uk

[B] K2 Greetings Limited: [/B]
If you’re an artist, designer or verse writer and you have an idea that you think will fit the K2 greetings card range, they’d like you to get in touch. They’re keen to hear from good verse writers and humour writers and are happy to look at photographic ideas.
www.k2greetings.com
katie@k2greetings.com

[B] Nigel Quiney Publications: [/B]
Have a year-round publishing programme and so are always on the look-out for ideas for artwork, photos, and copy from freelancers. They have a nice photographic range called 'Pets and Petals' which might provide opportunities.
www.nigelquiney.com
info@nigelquiney.com

[B] Noel Tatt: [/B]
Purchase and commission work from freelancers and are always happy to consider submissions from designers, photographers and verse and caption writers. Take a look under their ‘Picture This’ range for samples of the sort of photos they like.

Their photographic range includes landscapes – gardens, countryside, coastal and panoramic views; floral – traditional still-life and more contemporary graphical compositions (close-ups); and general nostalgic imagery. Details of how to send in samples are on their website.
www.noeltatt.co.uk
catherine@noeltatt.co.uk

[B] The Paper House Group: [/B]
Are looking for artwork and humour ideas and have several photo ranges in their collection. They also run an online monthly competition to suggest a caption for featured images.
www.paperhouse.co.uk
Email:submissions@paperhouse.co.uk

[B] Pineapple Park: [/B]
Their entire range is supplied by or commissioned from freelancers, so they’re keen to see submissions from photographers, illustrators, copy and gag-writers. If you think you have something suitable for them then they’d love to hear from you. Colour copies, digital prints or images saved onto a disc (PC formatted) are all acceptable but they prefer not to receive images by email.
www.pineapplepark.co.uk
sarah@pineapplepark.co.uk

[B] Riverside Cards: [/B]
Although most of their designs are produced in-house, they do buy work from freelancers. They’ll look at submissions from photographers, artists and writers but it’s a good idea to contact them first for advice on their current requirements.

They accept colour copies, transparencies, digital prints and images on CD Rom (low resolution PC or Mac formatted files). Low resolution jpeg and tiff files can be emailed direct to the design department.
www.riversidecards.com
design@riversidecards.com