Kate Harper's Blog, page 2

Would you lose all your art if your computer was stolen today?

This could have been an artist's letter.

Just like a parent would be alarmed if they found out their child was not wearing a seat belt, I often have been alarmed when I find out a designer does not have an online backup system of their art.

If your digital art is irreplaceable, then you really need to get an online storage system because it is in a different location from your computer. External hard drives that you plug into your computer are not sufficient, because they can be damaged in a fire or stolen.

I spent a whole weekend working on a piece of art and realized the next day I accidentally lost it! That is like getting a punch in the stomach. It feels like you need to have trauma counseling.

Luckily I realized my offline backup system would allow me to go back to a specific time period and retrieve the file ("versioning" ). I could pick the 2:00, 3:00 or 4:00 and day of the art in different states of development. I didn't realize that, I thought a backup only meant you could get the last copy.

There are many online backup systems to choose from. I tried Crashplan and Carbonite but ended up using Backblaze for $5 a month because it was the most user-friendly and had unlimited storage. And I like that it backs up automatically in the background so I never have to think about it.

I know many people never think they will lose their art, or that they have an external drive to store things on, but I also know artists whose computers have been stolen and hard drive crashed. It's happened to me. As one graphic designer told me "it's not if it will happen, it's when it will happen."

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Published on December 28, 2016 06:33

Should you license or self-publish your designs?

A lot of card designers ask me this question. Based on my experience of self-publishing for 15 years and licensing for about 5 years, I can say they are completely different ways of working in the greeting card industry. Here are the main differences I've found between the two. My opinion comes from running a full-time, self-supporting business in both industries.

Studio Space
The amount of space you need to run your own self-publishing business is dramatically larger than licensing. When you manufacture cards you need a large space for storage, packing, shipping and possible staffing. In licensing, at bare minimum, all you really need is a computer for sending digital images.

Decisions Over What Gets Published
When you self-publish, you have complete control over what gets published. If you want to create edgy, bohemian cards, you can do it. It is easy to design, print and sell a new design in as little as 2 weeks. If you try to license those same designs, you might not be able to get a publisher to take a chance them, especially if the topics are controversial. Also it might be 18 months before the card ends up on store shelves.

Costs
When you manufacture cards you take a financial risk. It’s possible you could spend several thousand dollars printing your own designs and not be able to sell them (that’s why you should start small with local stores), whereas in licensing there are very few costs other than buying a computer and a graphics program (which you probably already have). I do not count trade shows and advertising as an expense because I have not found them to be a very significant factor for success in either businesses.

Time Investment
Manufacturing cards is very time consuming. If you are successful, you will find most of your days involve the movement of card stock and packing boxes. In the evenings you will probably be doing paperwork, paying reps, tracking orders and other details. Also, employees, sales reps and stores depend on you, so you can’t just stop working and take a spontaneous vacation. In Licensing, you can work as much or little as you want, but the less you work, the less you will make. Also, when you submit cards for licensing, you don't know how many will be selected, so you may spend time creating several designs that are never published.

Income
I found self-publishing to be a more profitable and reliable income, mostly because I could respond to trends and steer the direction of my business. For example, the odds of my cards selling good one day in 2,000 stores, and then suddenly failing the next day was pretty slim. I could rely on those accounts, and I could add sales reps slowly as my business expanded. In licensing, an artists does not have control over what gets published or how long cards will stay on store shelves. Therefore, it is hard to predict income. The upside is that it is satisfying to create one piece of art and continue to get royalties from it several months or years later.

What is your experience licensing or self-publishing? Share your comments on the Greeting Card Designer Facebook Group.

Books on Art LicensingHere are some book related to art licensing. Some may be out of print, but used copies may be available.

~

Ebooks by Kate Harper

You can support this blog by ordering Kate's e-Booklets starting at only .99 cents! They can be read on your kindle, ipad, ipod, cellphone, or your computer. Lending options available. You can also view the left sidebar to see books by a variety of authors.

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Published on December 21, 2016 10:23

Artist & Writer Submission Guidelines for Card Companies

ARTIST and WRITERS GUIDELINES Compiled and Updated by Kate Harper

Want to submit your art or writing to a greeting card company? Check out the links below for company submission guidelines.

*Note: The following information may change. For updates, look on their main website for current guidelines. At the time of this post, all companies have guidelines on their website, but that link can often change. If you see a change, contact GreetingCard Designer Blog.

Get Your Greeting Cards Into Stores: How to Find and Work With Sales Reps (Updated 2017 paperback) If you like to make greeting cards, this book explains how to get your cards into stores and sell them nationwide. Learn about changing trends in the indie card market and niche opportunities available for artists. Book includes detailed guidelines on pricing cards for a profit, getting professional feedback on your designs, finding sales representatives, pitching your card line to them, approaching stores, and the industry standards you should follow. Information is also applicable to gift items, such as magnets, journals and calendars.

Start and Run a Greeting Card Business From a British author, whose country has a long history of greeting card design, she takes you step-by-step through the process of starting and running your business with lots of useful practical advice to help you, including: - Deciding what type of cards to produce - Finding your market - Dealing with printers - Copyright and licensing - Pricing and profit. Kate's note: Some specs are different (card sizes) since it is UK standards.

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Published on December 15, 2016 11:17

Dealing With Rejection: Tips for Card Designers

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Dealing With Rejection (Part 1 of 5)

You've decided to start a card business and you've been working on designs for six weeks. Your friends love them. Your mom loves them. Your coworkers love them. You think they'll be hot sellers.

In your car, on the way to the printer, you decide to stop by the local card store to show them to Sally, the owner.

With a smile, you pull out your cards and wait for Sally's reaction….but slowly, like a candle melting in Death Valley, you can see it in her face... she doesn't like them.

Your heart hits the ground as she tells you what all the problems are, but you don’t hear anything because your stomach hurts, even though she continues to give you great advice for the next 10 minutes.

Rejection hurts. You slowly wrap up the cards, put them back in your bag, and decide on the spot you want to go back to school and become a radiology technician.

WAIT....STOP! REWIND this story. What happened here?
This isn't a story about rejection. This is a story about an artist who doesn’t know what to do when their designs are rejected.
[image error] Book on strategies.[image error]

Remember, rejection is not a bad thing. It's a great opportunity to learn from an expert!

Most professionals in the card industry are happy to help artists who are willing to adjust and try new things. Ask Sally what your next step should be. Just like envelopes and paper are part of the card business, so is rejection.

Your goal in card design, is to get emotionally close to your customer. Rejection by a store can help you steer your art towards knowing your customer. Just make sure you never leave a meeting without a notebook full of advice. Find out WHY you were rejected. Otherwise, rejection will only be experienced as something negative.

In the story above, imagine what would've happened if the artist just drove to the printer first, and not the card store? Not only would she experience rejection, but she also would have lost money by printing a poor design! This artist was really smart to seek out professional advice, and not just limit it to family and friends.

I experienced similar feelings when I started my business. My first two card lines were rejected, but I went on to try a third, a forth and a fifth, a sixth, most of which were successful. Store buyers were even willing to meet with me after hours and help me. The more I tried, the better things got.

If you are ready to give up and go to radiology school, first stop and ask yourself these ten questions below, so you can learn how to deal with rejection in a more rational way.

10 Questions to ask when you're Rejected
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Part 1
Introduction

Part 2
Tip 1: Are you approaching the right market?
Tip 2: Are you trying to sell handmade cards to a drugstore chain, or in a rural area?
Tip 3: Did you get feedback on "why not"?

Part 3
Tip 4: Is this just one person's opinion?
Tip 5: Are you taking rejection personally?
Tip 6: Are you willing to make adjustments?

Part 4
Tip 7: Have you thought about luck and timing?
Tip 8: Are you making weekly goals?
Tip 9: Are you in the waiting phase?

Part 5
Tip 10: Who in your life really wants you to succeed?

~Greeting Card Business Books by Kate Harper: goo.gl/NKDvVp

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Published on December 01, 2016 19:48

Should you license or self publish your designs?

~

A lot of card designers ask me this question. Based on my experience of self-publishing for 15 years and licensing for about 5 years, I can say they are completely different ways of working in the greeting card industry. Here are the main differences I've found between the two. My opinion comes from running a full-time, self-supporting business in both industries.

Studio Space
The amount of space you need to run your own self-publishing business is dramatically larger than licensing. When you manufacture cards you need a large space for storage, packing, shipping and possible staffing. In licensing, at bare minimum, all you really need is a computer for sending digital images.

Decisions Over What Gets Published
When you self-publish, you have complete control over what gets published. If you want to create edgy, bohemian cards, you can do it. It is easy to design, print and sell a new design in as little as 2 weeks. If you try to license those same designs, you might not be able to get a publisher to take a chance them, especially if the topics are controversial. Also it might be 18 months before the card ends up on store shelves.

Costs
When you manufacture cards you take a financial risk. It’s possible you could spend several thousand dollars printing your own designs and not be able to sell them (that’s why you should start small with local stores), whereas in licensing there are very few costs other than buying a computer and a graphics program (which you probably already have). I do not count trade shows and advertising as an expense because I have not found them to be a very significant factor for success in either businesses.

Time Investment
Manufacturing cards is very time consuming. If you are successful, you will find most of your days involve the movement of card stock and packing boxes. In the evenings you will probably be doing paperwork, paying reps, tracking orders and other details. Also, employees, sales reps and stores depend on you, so you can’t just stop working and take a spontaneous vacation. In Licensing, you can work as much or little as you want, but the less you work, the less you will make. Also, when you submit cards for licensing, you don't know how many will be selected, so you may spend time creating several designs that are never published.

Income
I found self-publishing to be a more profitable and reliable income, mostly because I could respond to trends and steer the direction of my business. For example, the odds of my cards selling good one day in 2,000 stores, and then suddenly failing the next day was pretty slim. I could rely on those accounts, and I could add sales reps slowly as my business expanded. In licensing, an artists does not have control over what gets published or how long cards will stay on store shelves. Therefore, it is hard to predict income. The upside is that it is satisfying to create one piece of art and continue to get royalties from it several months or years later.

What is your experience licensing or self-publishing? Share your comments below or on my facebook page.

MORE BOOKS
For Art LicensingHere are some book related to art licensing. Some may be out of print, but used copies may be available.

~

Ebooks by Kate Harper

You can support this blog by ordering Kate's e-Booklets starting at only .99 cents! They can be read on your kindle, ipad, ipod, cellphone, or your computer. Lending options available. You can also view the list of all recommended greeting card books by a variety of authors.

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Published on December 01, 2016 10:23

My Article for Huffington Post on the Creative Journey

I wanted to share an article I wrote for the Huffington Post on the creative journey. Read entire article here.

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Published on March 15, 2016 10:29

If You Worry...

Heard this quote yesterday and made a piece of art out of it. A great piece of advice.

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Published on February 23, 2016 21:34

Getting a Job at a Greeting Card Company (updated 2017)

Where to Find Jobs in the Greeting Card and Gift Design Industry

Below are a list of specialty greeting card and gift companies who hire Art Director, Art Assistant, Associate Editor, Illustrator, Designer, Graphic Artist, Creative Specialist and other creative positions.

Check the employment links for continual updates.

Note: Have an update? See an error? email Greeting Card Designer Blog.

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American Greetings
http://corporate.americangreetings.com/careers/whoweare.html
or go to homepage http://corporate.americangreetings.com/ and select "careers."
Greeting cards and gifts

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Hallmark
https://careers.hallmark.com/?utm_source=careersite
or go to homepage http://www.hallmark.com/ and select "careers" under "opportunities."
Greeting cards and gifts

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Papyrus
http://www.papyrusonline.com/about-papyrus/employment
or go to homepage http://www.papyrusonline.com/ and select "about us" and "employment."
Greeting cards and gifts

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DaySpring
http://about.dayspring.com/corporate/employment/
or go to homepage http://www.dayspring.com/ and select "about DaySpring" and "employment."
Religious greeting cards and gifts

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Leanin' Tree
http://www.leanintree.com/jobs.html
or go to homepage http://www.leanintree.com/ and select "employment."
Greeting cards and gifts

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Minted
http://www.minted.com/jobs
or go to homepage http://www.minted.com/jobs
Online greeting cards and gifts

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Chronicle Books
http://www.chroniclebooks.com/jobs
or go to homepage http://www.chroniclebooks.com/
Greeting cards and gifts

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Kathy Davis Studios
http://kathydavis.com/careers/
or go to homepage http://kathydavis.com/
Greeting cards and gifts

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Andrews McMeel Universal
http://www.amuniversal.com/amu/AMU_Careers.htm
or go to homepage http://www.amuniversal.com/index/
Greeting cards and gifts

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Design Design
https://www.designdesign.us/webforms/index/index/id/11/
or go to homepage https://www.designdesign.us/
Greeting cards and gifts

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Avanti Press
http://www.avantipress.com/get-in-touch/careers
or go to homepage http://www.avantipress.com/
Greeting cards and gifts

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Paper Source
http://www.papersource.com/about/jobs.html
or go to homepage http://www.papersource.com/
Greeting cards and gifts

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lang
http://thelangcompanies.com/careers/
or go to homepage http://www.lang.com/
Greeting cards and gifts

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moo
https://www.moo.com/us/about/jobs.html
or go to homepage https://www.moo.com/us/
Online card, stationery and business cards

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have a company to add? See an error? Email Greeting Card Designer Blog

---------------------------------------------------------Books on Developing a Design Career ---------------------------------------------------------

Burn Your Portfolio: Stuff they don't teach you in design school, but shouldMichael Janda, owner of the Utah-based design firm Riser, uses humor to dispense nugget after nugget of hard-won advice collected over the last decade from the personal successes and failures he has faced running his own agency. In this surprisingly funny, but incredibly practical advice guide, Janda's advice on teamwork and collaboration, relationship building, managing clients, bidding work, production processes, and more will resonate with creative professionals of all stripes.

The Essential Guide to Business for Artists and Designers
A book for artists, makers, designers, and photographers looking to set up and establish an arts practice or design business within the visual arts and creative industries and who want to learn aspects of setting up and growing a profitable enterprise such as:Building successful negotiation tactics, Promoting social media presence, Legal, tax and intellectual property issues, Setting up a website and Looking at future trends.

Artist's Graphic Designer's Market
For people who want to expand a career in fine art, illustration, or design. The Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market a reference guide to help develop their careers and navigate the changing business landscape. It introduces a whole host of new features and guarantees the most up-to-date, individually verified market contacts possible.

ART/WORK: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career

In addition to drawing on their own experiences, Bhandari and Melber interviewed nearly one hundred curators, dealers, and other arts professionals, in cities across the country, about what they expect from and look for in artists. The authors also talked to a host of artists about their careers and the lessons they've learned navigating the art world. The book is full of their entertaining anecdotes and candid advice.

Art, Inc.: The Essential Guide for Building Your Career as an Artist Learn how to: Set actionable goals • Diversify your income • Manage your bookkeeping • Copyright your work • Promote with social media • Build a standout website • Exhibit with galleries • Sell and price your work • License your art • Acquire an agent

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Published on February 01, 2016 16:06

New "Divorce" Coloring Book

Here is a recent example of a page from my funny coloring book for women about divorce and breakups!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0692621644/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0692621644&linkCode=as2&tag=greecarddesi-20&linkId=P4CQOSDLHBWIMXJC

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Published on January 31, 2016 12:14

Coloring Club: Get Kate's Free Funny Coloring Pages Every Month.

I send out free coloring pages every month, many of them humorous. Here is a recent example of a page from my funny coloring book for women about divorce and breakups! Sign up Below.

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Published on January 31, 2016 12:14