Yesterday, I read a post that got me thinking. Is it a good idea for a querying writer to have business cards?Check out this post on writer business card "dos" and "don'ts by editor Maria Schneider. She says that when she's reading queries from authors she often keeps their business cards even if she rejects them.
Why, you ask? Because she likes to network :), and business cards make a professional statement. Also, they're incredibly handy to have if you're at a writer's conference, a local bookstore, or anywhere else where you'll be networking with individuals in the publishing industry.
What do you guys think? Have you made or considered making business cards for yourselves?
Any "Dos" or "Don'ts" that you've encountered?
*See business card made of chocolate above for a definite "Do" ;).
10 comments:
I never really thought about it... I guess I felt like the query letter served that purpose. I have one product - the story I submitted... so unless they're interested in it, I don't know why they would contact me. But I'm new to the industry (and unpublished) so I certainly have a lot to learn!
I just had business cards made up for my photography aspirations, but I never thought about it for my writing.
Interesting.
I have some (okay, like 200), which I gave out at the LA SCBWI conference this past August (okay, like four). I wrote 'YA author' on mine because of someone's bad advice. I've had some parenting articles published, but that still makes me a YA writer. Oh well!
Interesting. I never thought about it, although I think my Mom may have mentioned it. But it makes sense. At conference I held onto agent's cards like gold. I'm thinking about it now..making them may be fun too! Good thing I like photoshop ;]
I've never considered it. Designing those would be a good way to procrastinate. :)
I used to print out business cards at home, but now that we're settled, I ordered two sets of cards through vistaprint.com. (They look much nicer than the other ones, and I only had to pay shipping.) One set has my complete contact information; the other is a promotional tool for an anthology. That set lists the story name, anthology title, my name, e-mail, website, and blog. I can leave those cards out on tables and at bookstores.
I had business cards made up this year. I got them for conferences and workshops. I didn't know people put them in with queries, but I wondered... Good info.
I like you blog. :) Abby Annis recommended it at my blog swap.
We don't have business cards yet, but I do think they'd be great to have at a conference! It would be an easy way to exchange info with people, you know? I think we'd probably get some printed up before we went to a conference.
Oh, and our sister Stacey will custom make them for people who are interested! Her prices are typically very reasonable. www.poochie-prints.com.
ill link to this article in my friday marketing post :)
Funny I should run across this post, but I saw your comment on Carrie's site about LOST MISSION.
It just so happens that I went across the street to Staples (kind of nice place to live close to) and ran off 100 cards just to promote my blog. I'm going back east for Chrismas and my daughter's wedding so I'll probably be meeting a lot of people. If anyone shows interest in wanting to check my blog, I'll just give them a card. It's a very simple card with my pseudonym, blog address, my name, and phone number-- most of these people either know me or know who I am. Nothing fancy--plain white card with black print--that way they can write stuff on it if they want. I'm going to get more cards with my logo and maybe a little more info for when I start trying to promote my novel that I hope to have ready by February. The cards are great to have if you go to a conference or trade show.
Don't forget to check my blog tomorrow for my interview with Athol Dickson.
http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/
Post a Comment