Cindy
Chuksudoon
Bloomington,IL
e-mail:cindy4110@aol.com
2001
©Greeting Card Writing DOT com/Sandralouden.com
Tell us a little about yourself and when you first started
writing greeting cards.
Well, I've been married for 17 years to a
great guy who works a LOT. We have two kids ages 8 and 22, a black cat
named Sammy, a green tree frog named Pig (my daughter's idea) and
a bunch of tropical fish. In my *spare* time, I enjoy reading,
pampering my orchids and listening to classical music.
I began writing greeting cards in 1998. I was looking for a
creative way to supplement our income. By this time, I'd already sold
everything from real estate to vacuum cleaners and figured it was
time for a change. I knew I wanted something with plenty of
flexibility that would allow me to work from home -- and writing
greeting cards seemed like the perfect thing.
Why did you choose greeting card writing over other writing genres?
Do you write in other genres and if so, which ones?
Honestly? Since I had no prior
writing experience, greeting card writing seemed the least intimidating
to me. I was drawn to the fact that most of the verses I'd seen were
short, snappy and seemed like they could be written in relatively
small chunks of time -- which is pretty much what I had. I also enjoy
writing personal essays, and recently submitted some poetry for a gift
book anthology.
Tell us about how your writing day works. Do you find a
particular time of day more productive than others?
I'm definitely a morning person. There's just
something about those early morning hours when the house is still quiet
that seems to inspire me. I'm sure part of the magic is knowing you're
completely alone with your thoughts and that nobody needs a baloney
sandwich.
As a consumer, approximately how many greeting cards do you send
to friends & relatives each year?
In addition to the usual mix of everyday cards, I
also buy a lot of general friendship/ thinking-of-you cards, so I'd
venture to guess somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60 cards per year. And
that's not counting the ones I buy to keep for myself. :>
Do you regard greeting cards differently now that you write them
too? Do you notice things about them that you never considered before?
I think so, yes. I'm probably a
little more focused on tone and content
--it's a lot of fun to try and discover what makes a card
"tick" and how you can apply that to your own writing. I
also have a much greater appreciation for all the effort that goes into
the total design.
Are there any occasions or particular occasion slants you'd like
to see on the racks that aren't currently there?
No, I can't say there really are. For the most
part, I think the various
card-sending occasions are very well represented. Oh, sure, there may be
the occasional time or two where you have a hard time finding "The
Perfect Card" which says exactly what you want it to say, in
exactly the way you want to say it, but usually the occasion is there.
What do you find most interesting or fun about writing greeting
cards?
Does getting paid count? ;>
One of the things that first appealed to me was the
"portability" of it all. You really don't need very much
to get started. A few office supplies, some stamps and you're good
to go. There's also a certain sense of satisfaction that comes
from knowing you can work pretty much anywhere, anytime.
Is there anything else you'd like to add about greeting card
writing as
you've experienced it?
I'll never forget the day I stumbled upon the
first information I'd ever
seen about writing greeting cards. That was my "lightbulb
moment". It was almost as If I'd finally figured out what I wanted
to be when I grew up. I'm very grateful that the information I needed
was there when I needed it, and feel incredibly blessed to have found
something I love so much. Writing greeting cards can be both challenging
and rewarding, but mostly it's fun...and that's what it's all about.
