Greeting Card Universe

Greeting Card Universe Revolutionizing the Paper Greeting Card Industry

Poised to transform the eight billion dollar paper greeting card industry long dominated by two major players, American Greetings and Hallmark, BigDates Solutions launches GreetingCardUniverse.com

In the first 30 days of operation GCUniverse has already attracted over 70 artists boasting over 1,000 cards. By summertime GCUniverse expects to offer over 5,000 unique cards, far surpassing the selection in card stores today. BigDates CEO Nasser Gaemi asserts, "GCUniverse will quickly become the largest online greeting card store offering a limitless selection of 'direct from the artist' cards."

GCUniverse makes it possible for essentially any freelance artist to sell paper greeting cards online and earn an unconventional 50 cents per card sold. With little effort and zero fees artists can create online storefronts featuring their cards within minutes.

"I used to sell my greeting cards on CafePress. My GCUniverse store was so much easier and quicker to set up. GCUniverse is a 10+" contests artist Christine Quimby.

Using print-on-demand technology GCUniverse can print virtually any art on a paper greeting card, by the thousands or one card at a time. Priced at $2.49 plus postage per card, artists can even afford to stock their own card inventories.

"Artists can put greeting cards out there without the printing expense overhead. GCUniverse is easy to use, my shop simple to set up, and the staff interested in feedback," says artist Heather Castles.

"I am so happy to be a part of Greeting Card Universe. I am really starting to believe that I can earn a living as an artist and selling greeting cards is just the beginning." - Kimberly Hillhouse Strole, Grain Valley, MO, USA

"The fact that I can put my art on a greeting card and avoid the time consuming and rejection filled submission process is a real coupe! GCU has given me great encouragement and business savvy." - Chris Perry, Fort Worth, TX, USA


Greeting Card Universe

Writing Greeting Cards

From American Chronicle

How To Get Paid Writing Simple Greeting Cards

"Most of us enjoy getting greeting cards from time to time. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, the birth of a baby, and other occasions mean even more to us when we are remembered by friends, relatives and colleagues. A well written card can make a genuinely personal statement for any occasion. That's why greeting cards continue to be a sincere and effective means of communication. In fact, the demand for greeting cards is such that it is now a multi-billion dollar industry and still growing.

Writing greeting cards on a free-lance basis is a creative way for writers to make excellent part-time money. In some cases, extremely talented and prolific writers can write greeting cards full time and make a comfortable living. Of course, the amount of success a free-lance writer can expect from writing greeting cards depends on talent, initiative, knowledge of the industry, and time devoted to creating new ideas and concepts.

While the greeting card industry is not stagnant, and new ideas and trends are frequently being developed, the three basic card categories remain the same -- traditional, studio (or contemporary) and alternative. And when publishing a line of greeting cards, in any category, a company must cater to the people who are most likely to buy and send cards. In most cases, that means women between the ages of 18 and 50. So the majority of companies are looking for cards that target issues these women care about; relationships, success, religion, money, health, and so on.

Here are several of the most sought after types of card ideas:

(1) Birthdays. Since there's never a shortage of birthdays, the market for original birthday cards, both humorous and serious, remains a steady market for writers. Birthday cards can make us laugh about getting older, or they can be sensitive, serving as a reminder of the positive side of life, past and future.

(2) Friendship. Good friends are hard to find, and keep. That's why friendship cards continue to be a profitable part of the greeting card industry. Most friendship cards deal with the general value of friendship, or the significance of a specific friendship. Again, both humorous and serious card ideas are acceptable to most greeting card companies. The main thing is that the ideas must be original and genuinely and clearly express some positive aspect of friendship.

(3) Get Well. Like birthday cards, the need for get well cards remains constant. Most people with not-so-serious illnesses appreciate humorous get well cards. But, prospective writers should be cautioned to stay away from over-used and worn out hospital humor concerning hospital gowns, hospital food and so on. Greeting card companies are looking for fresh ideas, not a re-working of old ones. There is also a need for non-humorous get well cards that express appropriate, and sensitive sentiments toward someone experiencing a serious illness. What greeting card companies are looking for here is a sensitive approach to a serious, and even grave situation. Sometimes the sentiment "get well soon" is not appropriate, even for get well cards.

(4) Sympathy. Unfortunately, sympathy cards are always needed. To fill that need, a writer must be able to address the loss of a loved one with good taste and sensitivity.

(5) Love And Romance. Writers of love and romance card ideas will do well to address all kinds of love and different aspects of romance; first love, long-term romantic relationships, marriage, sharing, trust, commitment, renewing an old romance, and so on. The market is good for both humorous and serious cards addressing the themes of love and romance.

(6) Support And Encouragement. This type of card has increased in popularity over the past decade and offers creative writers a good deal of opportunity. These cards can be given to friends, relatives, colleagues, lovers -- anyone who might need to know that they are not alone. The most common message with this type of card is "I'm here for you." These cards offer both encouragement and support, and can be treated in either a serious or humorous manner.

(7) Inspirational Cards. Most companies looking for inspirational cards request messages that address spiritual or human potential. These cards normally deal with some aspect of personal growth, are non-humorous, utilize sensitive language, and require an understanding of the spiritual and human condition.

(8) Alternative Cards. These cards are designed for non-traditional sending occasions. The most common card ideas in this line are those offering congratulations for a new job, job promotion, or raise in salary. More serious issues, such as divorce, terminal illness, and substance abuse, are also top-selling themes in the alternative card line.

The main thing a writer should remember is that greeting card companies are all looking for fresh ideas and messages, not time-worn cliché’s and sappy sentiment. Greeting card messages should be immediate and clear. Writers should avoid wordy or complex messages, and be direct and original. In short, most greeting card companies are looking for ideas they haven't seen or heard before."

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Anti Valentine

You can't beat a good bit of greeting card tolerance...

From The Middle East Times










"SRINAGAR, India -- A Muslim women's group in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir group burned greeting cards and beat young couples to stop people celebrating Valentine's Day, witnesses said Tuesday.

The separatist Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of the Nation) raided restaurants and showered blows on some couples and then burned cards during a rally in the summer capital's center, a witness said.

The group, along with an Islamic association called the Forum Against Social Evils, regularly wage morality campaigns against movies and other emblems of popular Western culture that they deem un-Islamic.

"We will not allow Western culture to take roots in Muslim Majority Kashmir," chanted several dozen marchers led by Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Aasiya Andrabi.

Kashmir's Muslim population is socially conservative, but in recent years couples have openly dated in parks, restaurants, and Internet cafes.

The forum, an umbrella group that includes Dukhtaran-e-Millat, warned in newspaper ads last week that it would attack anyone found marking Valentine's Day in Kashmir where Islamic separatists have been battling New Delhi's rule since 1989.

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Anti Valentine

"Death to Valentine's Day!"

From the China Post

"Hardline Hindu activists protested against celebrations of St Valentine's Day in the Indian capital on Wednesday calling them immoral and a corruption of the country's ancient civilization.

Marking the year's most romantic day has become increasingly popular in India, led by retailers who do healthy business selling rose-colored greeting cards and heart-shaped balloons, and restaurants offering discount candlelight meals for two.

But it has also sparked demonstrations.

About 150 members of the pro-Hindu political party Shiv Sena gathered in New Delhi, shouting "Down with Western culture!" and "Death to Valentine's Day!" as they waved saffron-colored flags.

"Valentine's Day promotes obscene cards and nudity and encourages our youngsters to be publicly affectionate in parks and other places -- this is against our ancient civilization," said Jai Bhagwan Goyal, head of Shiv Sena in the capital.

"This western creation is corrupting our young people and making them have immoral thoughts ... we are already seeing that there are more evil crimes like rape happening in India." In Mumbai, the scene of violent protests in the past, love seemed to conquer all and the day passed off peacefully.

Tens of Shiv Sena protesters burnt Valentine's cards in the western city of Jaipur and tried to enter the city's main park to harass courting couples, but were stopped by police.

In the Muslim-majority state of Kashmir, at least a dozen women covered from head to toe in black burqas, stormed into several restaurants in Srinagar, telling couples to go home and stay away from "unIslamic" Valentine's Day celebrations.

"Valentine's Day is against Islamic teachings, our ethos and culture," said Andrabi, chief of Dukhtaran-e-Milat (Daughters of the Muslim Faith). Satellite television, the Internet, films and travel have led traditionally conservative middle class Indians to adopt more liberal attitudes towards sex.

But public hugging and kissing, even in urban areas, still invite angry stares, lewd comments and even beatings."

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Free Greeting Cards

From SmileMailer.com

Making a Difference One Greeting Card At A Time...

"On your request, we will send, by regular postal mail, with a first-class stamp, free of charge, a real paper "Thinking of You" or "Get-Well" greeting card, hand-addressed and handwritten to anyone within the US who is in need of emotional support and a kind encouragement.

Do you know anyone who is:

* Hurt emotionally
* Down with depression
* Hurt physically (accident, illness...)
* Hospitalized (either child or adult)
* Shut-in / lonely
* Going through divorce
* Laid off from work or lost a job by any other means
* Lost a loved one
* Going through especially trying times

"Ever since I can remember, I have always loved receiving mail and writing greeting cards by hand. Growing up in Communist Hungary, I hardly ever received mail so when I moved to the US in 1993 and found out that you can get a lot of free stuff here via mail, I have sent off for just about everything and I still do! I know firsthand the joy of receiving mail! Mail, especially hand-addressed mail makes you feel special. It makes you feel like someone took the time to sit down and handwrite your name and address! To this day I still await mail every day with the same joy and anticipation that I a child has awaiting the opening of presents on Christmas Eve. It is my prayer and my hope that my humble service, SmileMailer.com, will help spread joy, hope and inspiration to many waiting people worldwide and will help your organization raise the needed funds!!"

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Hallmark Holiday

From Wiki

"A Hallmark Holiday is a disparaging term used to describe a holiday that exists primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a truly significant religious or secular event. The name comes from Hallmark cards, a company that presumably benefits from such manufactured events.

Examples of holidays that have been called as "Hallmark holidays" include Secretary's Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Sweetest Day. Valentine's Day is likewise often cited as a holiday that has been co-opted by commercial interests to the point where it has been reduced in status to a "Hallmark holiday", though it does have a longer historic legacy than most."

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Cool Cards Anti Valentine

Valentine Cards

You won't find Valentines Cards at Cool Cards.

You know that demonstration and acknowledgment of Intimacy, Love, Celebration and Friendship is a daily event. We've got the best range of cards that know this as well as you do.

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Anti Valentine

From Amazon

The Break Up Bible (Paperback) by Ruth Graham

"101 True Stories to Make You Glad You're Single!"
"The perfect antidote to all that Valentine's schmaltz."
"...being single will never be scary again!"

"From unfaithful partners, shallow boyfriends and the big-mouthed parrot that gave the game away, to the lethal vagina, the blind date threatening suicide and the transexual guardsman in his girlfriend's wig, all of human life is here. And the best bit is, after reading what other people have gone through in pursuit of love being single will never be scary again!"

"The stories are all told from the female perspective giving a huge insight into how women around the world see themselves, the men they form relationships with and bundles of advice on how to (or not) split from an unwanted partner. But this is not an anti-male book. Plenty of the tales revolve around the failings or misdemeanours of women. There are also a selection of stories from gay men and women, and checklists of how to spot when your relationship is failing, how to catch errant partners out and how to gain suitable revenge! This book is a great gift that friends can give to each other when one has broken up, or is getting divorced, or is simply feeling down."

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Buy book at Amazon (Cool Cards have no affiliation)
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Anti Valentine

From Amazon

"Love Kills: Anti-Valentines Products"

"Not feeling the love this Valentines' Day? So if your flowers and chocolates didn't get delivered in time, boycott the L word and check out our collection of anti-Valentines products. Save ££s on the most unromantic things."

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Anti Valentine

Anti Valentine Cards

"The idea of the site is to provide an alternative card-sending service for all the people who think Valentine’s Day is sickly-sweet, exclusively coupley, consumerist nonsense or otherwise a bit naff."


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Anti Valentine

From WOAI

Valentine’s Day is all about sweet sayings and sweet nothings between sweethearts. These days it seems like it’s all about sweet somethings. Balloons, teddy bears, romantic cards, and - if your goals are really lofty - maybe even a ring.

Some call Valentine's Day a manufactured holiday. If you're a man, you know you better step it up - or end up in the doghouse. If you're a woman, you're hoping for the best - but preparing for the worst.

Right now, there are nearly 96 million unmarried and single people living in the United States. Stands to reason that a good chunk of them are probably not big fans of Valentine's Day. So now there's something for the unattached to get them through February 14th: Anti-Valentines Cards.

Another features a vintage 1970s-era photo of a boy holding a homemade valentine on the front. The caption below it reads, “The next day, little Timmy had his heart broken. Valentine’s Day sucks.”

One simply says, “Valentines Day sucks.”

From WRCB

Okay we've all been in the card aisle, what I like to call the pressure cooker. Do you go with traditional? Romantic? Or funny? So many choices. But this Valentine's Day there is another option.

That's right, the anti Valentine's Day card.

The card says 'they had shared a moment'. And then on the inside, 'a lifetime commitment was completely out of the question. Happy anti-valentine's day for the woman who knows what she doesn't want'.

"I promise you won't be alone forever. I know how much you like cats. Happy Valentine's Day."

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Valentine Cards

From the BBC

Add romance, passion and mystery to your Valentine by sending an e-card in another language. Try these phrases in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Welsh, Gaelic, and Irish.

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Valentine Card History

Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards, candy or Donations to Charities, often anonymously. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day. The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines". Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

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Muslim Objection to Year of Pig Greeting Cards

From The China Post

"The Imam of the Taipei Grand Mosque complained to Taiwan's foreign minister for sending him a greeting card for the Chinese New Year showing four pigs, a newspaper said yesterday.

After receiving the New Year card, Imam Ma Hsiao-chi pointed out to the Foreign Ministry that the card was offensive to Muslims, the Liberty Times reported. Muslims do not eat pork and regard pigs as unclean animals.

But the ministry defended Foreign Minister Huang Chih-fang's sending out the greeting cards, which were printed because 2007 is the Year of Pig according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

"Sending New Year cards is part of our culture and has nothing to do with religion. Minister Huang sent the cards to people in Taiwan, not to Muslim countries, but we still want to thank Imam Ma for reminding us," the Liberty Times quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Chien-yeh as saying.

The Year of Pig begins on February 18 with the start of the Chinese New Year celebrations, the most important holiday for Chinese all over the world.

Last month, Taiwan's postal monopoly the Chunghwa Post Company Ltd. issued the Year of Pig stamp, but warned Taiwanese not to use the stamps when sending letters and parcels to Muslim countries or Muslim friends.

China has also banned images and mention of pigs in television advertisements aired over the lunar new year to avoid offending the country's Muslims.

China's ban also applies to cartoons and traditional paper-cut images of pigs, and to slogans such as "Golden Pig Brings You Fortune!" and "Wish You a Happy Pig Year!"

The Chinese lunar calendar follows the Chinese zodiac, or horoscope, which has a 12-year cycle. Each year is represented by an animal -- rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

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From China Daily

According to the Chinese edition of the Asia Wall Street Journal, CCTV issued a notice to all advertising agencies on Jan 23 that "China is a multi-ethnic country...in order to show respect to the Muslims, as instructed by the respective government unit, that CCTV will not air any ads containing images of the pig throughout 2007. This measures also applies to ads related to the Chinese New Year."

Images of the pig to be banned includes photographs, cartoons, paper cutting silhouettes, and even "Happy Year of the Pig" slogans.

Many corporations were surprised by the notice as most CNY ads have already been produced. Some just decided to re-do all CNY ads.

Nestle SA has initially prepared a smiling pig cartoon ad to celebrate "Happy Year of the Pig". Spokesperson said they would follow the requirements and change the content accordingly.

Coca Cola has prepared two sets of CNY cartoon ads with leading characters being a panda and a pig respectively. The company said they will still air the pig ad but will not air it in local TV stations where there is a large Muslim population.

Mindshare Shanghai told Deutsche Presse Agentur that the "No-Pigs" requirement was ordered by the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party, which is responsible for ideological propaganda. The agency said the order was made by committee member Li Changchun, quoting fear of conflicts between ethnic groups.

CCTV refused to say from which department was the order being made, saying the notice was an "internal document".

China has about 8.6m Muslims. Ma Yunfu, vice chair of the Islam Society of China said Muslims hate pigs and they would not even mention the word "pig" in their daily life. Ma didn't know about the notice CCTV received, but he believed what the government wanted to do was to "immunize" against any possible troubles.

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Greeting Card Email Malware Alert

From Security Park

"A major new malicious attack that has been affecting internet users since 2:00 GMT today. New variants of the Dorf family of malware (which had previously spread as breaking news of deaths caused by European storms) are now using disguises associated with love and greeting cards".

"A wide variety of subject lines are being used in the spam campaign, including "You're so Far Away", "I Dream of you", "Dream Date Coupon", "Together You and I", "A Bouquet of Love", "So in Love" and "Cuddle Up". Attached to the emails are files called 'flash postcard.exe' or 'greetingcard.exe'. When opened, the worm attempts to send itself to other email addresses found on the recipient's PC, while also attempting to download further malicious code from the internet, designed to take over the computer and use it to send spam on behalf of hacking gangs".

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Greetings from The White House

"The White House will send greeting cards signed by President Bush to commemorate special events, accomplishments or milestones free of charge to U.S. citizens. To request a greeting card from President Bush, just follow these guidelines from the White House Greetings Office:

ALL GREETING REQUESTS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN WRITING* TO:

The White House
Attn: Greetings Office
Washington, D.C. 20502-0039

(Requests made via email will not be processed.)*

Please review these guidelines carefully before mailing your request to the White House.

U.S. CITIZENS ONLY -- The White House will send greetings to United States citizens only, for special occasions as outlined below...".

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Origamic Architecture - Pop-up Greeting Cards

Masahiro Chatani.

For more than 20 years, the Tokyo architect Masahiro Chatani, employing origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper-folding - and adding cut-paper and pop-up paper engineering concepts - has been creating works of "origamic architecture."

He is considered the leading practitioner of the art. More than 100 works by Chatani, his colleagues Keiko Nakazawa and Takaaki Kihara, and other artists from around the world are featured for the first time in a major American exhibition.

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Cool Cards Design Competition

Design a Greeting Card Competition.

FREE ENTRY!
WIN 20 Cool Cards Greeting Cards of your choice!
Simply Design a Cool Greeting Card!
Up to 3 entries per entrant! No purchase neccessary!

Competition Rules :

Competition Prize -- 20 Cool Cards Greeting Cards of Your Choice!

Email entries to -- sales@coolcards.co.uk with "Competition Entry" as the Subject.

Competition Theme -- Unrestricted! Let your imagination run wild! Any event, any occasion, any sentiment, any angle!

Brief --

- Design a Greeting Card.

- Maximum size 7" x 5" (17.78cm x 12.7cm - ish).
- Either Landscape or Portrait format.

- All entries must be in JPG image format.
- Maximum size 300kb.

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1,000 Greeting Cards Jobs Axed

Greeting Card Group has been sold to a management buyout team led by Alan Fort in a deal that will save 1,500 jobs, administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers said today.

The new business will still be run by the current chief executive of Greeting Card Group, Milton Guffogg, while Mr Fort becomes the new chairman. The sale saves 1,500 jobs and just under 300 stores across the UK as well as the firm's head office in Peterborough.

When the company collapsed into administration two weeks ago, it had 470 branches employing more than 2,500 people. Two-thirds of the stores have been profitable.

The group is the second-largest card and gift retailer in the UK after Clinton Cards, and trades under the Cardfair and Card Warehouse brands.

The greeting card market is worth around £2bn and Greeting Card Group's core stores have been and are expected to continue to be successful, the administrators said.

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Greeting Cards betray attitudes toward elderly

Photo by David Shield

Currently in her second year of her Masters program in Applied Social Psychology, Shannon Ellis says birthday cards have a habit of betraying society’s attitudes towards growing old. Studying the content of 150 age-related birthday cards, Ellis discovered that 66.7 per cent of the cards “represented aging in a negative manner.” Co-written by the National University of Ireland’s Todd Morrison, the study appeared in last year’s issue of The International Journal of Aging and Human Development.

“The take-home message of our research wasn’t in any way to degrade or try and berate card manufacturers, or tell people not to buy birthday cards. The idea was to consider whether or not the recipient is going to view that card in the same light that you are,” she says.

Comparing her results to studies done in the U.S. in the early 1980s, Ellis was surprised that not much has changed in the world of age related birthday cards in the last 25 years. The amount of negative stereotyping hovered around the same number; and so did the areas the cards focused on – physical decline, forgetfulness, etc. Ellis’ surprise stems mainly from the fact the purportedly powerful baby boom generation is getting ready to retire. While she believes ‘boomers’ are still influential drivers of the economy, she says birthday cards may have stayed the same because younger people are traditionally the people buying them.

“Most of the time, these cards are being purchased by somebody who’s younger and given to somebody who’s older. So that person is seeing that card as being funny, but they may not be considering that the person they’re giving it to is someone who is very conscious of their aging and has issues with it.”

The study also found that cards dealing with older seniors (70-100 years) were predominantly written in the past tense, subtly projecting the notion that older seniors’ lives are basically over by this point.

“An example was, ‘Lives you’ve touched, friendships you’ve made, wisdom gained, happiness known are all reasons to celebrate.’ And they were often written in that sort of way, saying you need to live in your memories, because you have nothing left to contribute. This was rather an interesting finding that wasn’t found in any of the other research,” she says.

While Ellis admits her study, conducted in Red Deer, Alberta, was fairly small-scale, she believes a larger study in a major centre encompassing the new phenomenon of internet cards and focus groups with seniors could yield some interesting results.

And as she winds up her Masters program, Ellis says she plans on continuing her academic study of seniors and how they’re treated in society.

“Seniors are often invisible in our society, which is very sad. I don’t think it’s going to stay that way once the baby boomers get older. They are going to become very prevalent in society. They are going to be out there advocating for their rights and the rights of seniors, and as they become more noticeable and out there in society, you’re going to start seeing some changes.”

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Greeting Card Writer - Nicole Fraser

From Occupational Outlook Quarterly.

Trips to the mailbox are happier because of Nicole Fraser’s work. As a greeting card writer at American Greetings in Cleveland, Ohio, Nicole has been a part of millions of birthdays, special occasions, and everyday hellos. "I use my creativity to bring people closer together," she says. "That’s a great feeling."

Greeting card writers help people express thoughts and sentiments. "Greeting cards have to feel very personal, as if the words apply to you specifically," says Nicole. "But they also have to feel very personal to thousands of other card shoppers." To accomplish this feat, writers look for emotions many people share, such as the feeling of freedom after graduating from school.

Card writers like Nicole usually write to fill a specific request. Their editors tell them the types of cards the company needs, such as cards for a birthday or a Mother’s Day line. Editors give writers information about the card’s sender and receiver, including details about their ages, genders, and relationship to each other.

To find common themes to write about, Nicole follows the latest cultural trends. She reads modern poetry, looks through magazines and comic strips, and skims popular novels, including Oprah’s Book Club selections—all of which are in her company’s library. Other card writers in her office read sociology and psychology books and watch television shows. "We have to know the language people are using today," she says.

Greeting card writers choose their prose to fit the sender, whose style of speech is often different from their own. "One of the hardest things for me to learn was how to write for male card senders," Nicole says. "There are some words that men typically don’t use in conversation, like ‘treasure,’ ‘joy,’ or ‘precious.’" For teenagers, Nicole might use slang; for younger people, she uses short, simple words. All writers learn the speaking styles of different types of people in different situations.

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