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October 17, 2006
Confessions of a Greeting Card Writer
Even ‘sentiments’ have a bad day
If you hang out in Hallmark stores raise your hand. Oh wait, I’m the only one.
Now why would anyone spend more than the normal 10 minutes in Hallmark picking out their birthday cards? Well, if you happen to write greeting cards like I do, it’s not that unusual.
So you might be wondering: “How does one get a job writing cards? What exactly do you do? It can’t be that hard, you’re just saying Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary…”
Believe me, it’s not that easy.
My writing career, if you will, began a year ago. I was taking some time off from school and a friend sent me a job posting. I emailed the woman who’s now my boss and she gave me an application of sorts. I was to come up with 10 “sentiments” – whereby she would know if I knew just what the heck she was talking about.
Within a week, I had signed the contract releasing all rights to my greetings and I was hired. I started out writing 10-15 sentiments a week, assigned to work only on birthday cards. Birthday cards cover a lot of ground, such as Mother, Father, Friend, Aunt, Uncle, Family, etc. The goal when writing for these in categories is to keep them general, so the card can be sent to almost anyone.
Since that first assignment, I’ve gone on to write for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Christmas, Hanukkah, Thinking of You, and Valentine’s Day. Coming up with a catchy greeting can be tough some days. Yes, even sentiment writers have a bad day.
As for how it works: Every week I am given my assignment. Birthdays are usually a given, and then we either get to write something tied to whatever the upcoming holiday happens to be. For instance, Halloween and Thanksgiving are just around the corner.
Once I know what I am going to work on I spend time browsing other cards. I poke around Hallmark, or I check out online sites to see what other people are coming up with Sometimes I listen to music. Or I might watch television or a movie to help bring something to mind.
I’ve even developed ideas based on something a friend of mine has said. When it comes down to it, I can get ideas from almost anywhere. Along with coming up with what to write for the cards, I also get to suggest what the graphics might be, the setting, characters, basically what the card will look like. Granted I can’t picture the visuals every time, but it helps to describe the idea so the artists can see what I’m envisioning.
Sometimes writing sentiments can be emotional. For instance, being assigned to write Valentine’s cards when your love life has gone to down the crapper is not a bowl of cherries. (Hmm, maybe I could use that in a card. Or not.) When that happens, you deal with it and think about what you would want someone to say to you, and how that would make you feel.
Most people hate their jobs, but I like mine. I get to make people happy. I am a writer of happiness. Knowing that I am bringing even the smallest amount of joy to someone makes it worthwhile. And being able to see the words you wrote on a finished product is amazing.
So if you happen to see me in Hallmark engrossed by the greeting cards, don’t disturb me, I might be on to something good.
An Essay By LILI ZRIHEN
Lili Zrihen is also a student at ASU at the West campus. To comment on this article, write to westexpress@asu.edu.
Posted by photocartoonist at October 17, 2006 10:48 AM