Question for published card makers
 

I have an honest question for card makers who have had their work published in magazines or idea books. I know this seems snarky but it's really not - unfortunately, those are the pitfalls of "speaking" without emotions or non-verbal cues.

I have often been asked if I submit cards and my answer is always no; I have not and I have no intention of doing so.

My reason for doing this is in principle more than anything. I'm a photographer; I make my money with my art. Magazines and idea books take the art of others and make money on it without offering compensation or payment of any kind. The majority of the content of these magazines is reader-supplied and yet no reader received compensation. The magazines are sold and the company and their staff share the profits. As a photographer, if I were to provide my service and images free of charge, I would not have an income.

So, my question is this: WHY do you submit? What is the motivation behind it? Is it just the novelty of seeing your work published and recognized or is there something more to it?

Thanks for your time and letting me see things through your eyes. :)

Interesting question....... I am not a photographer, nor have I submitted to any mags, etc. however, I do see your point. I will be interested to see what others say/think.

I believe its mostly bragging rights... the "I have been published"
is proclaimed in a loud voice across the internet... :D
and perhaps a bit of justification (if they have a large collection of toys)
see honey, I "need" these things for my Art...

on the other hand I'm fairly surprised the Mags are still up and running since the widespread use of the internet galleries, you can find more and sometimes better photos on people's personal and store blogs minus the ad's then in the pages of magazines anymore...

Just some random thoughts, nope i have never submitted to any magazine and also have no intentions to ever do so.

Some magazines do compensate the designers for their work and and some companies pay a publication bonus and/or provide free product to the designers for using their stamps in the published piece.

Just thought some of you might want to know. :)

My cards are sometimes published in a dutch magazine and I always get some compensation . This money I can spend on my hobby, so I like this deal. :)

It's true that some magazines do not compensate (beyond giving you a copy of the magazine) but many do pay. Not enough to make you rich but there is a payment. I have been published in Crafts n Things, Paper Crafts and Card Maker - all of them offer payment for publication.

As Gina said, some manufacturers also offer compensation or free product as "reward" if you get published and let them know about it. It's why many magazines supply two complimentary copies when you get published - one is for you to keep and the other is so you have a "tear sheet" (literally, you can tear out the page with your project on it and send as proof of publication - not necessary that much these days but still an option). For anyone getting something published, check out the web site of your stamp maker to see if they have a policy on this. If you don't see anything, send them an e-mail and ask if they are able to offer anything as reward for publication. The worst that can happen is that they say no!

Add the rosy glow of having your work selected and seeing it in print alongside the work of other people you admire and I suspect you have the reasons most people submit.

Hope the photography business is doing well!

I kind of think you answered your own question - photography is your 'business', card-making is your 'hobby'.

Card-making is my 'business', knitting is my 'hobby'. I have never submitted any of my knit pieces to magazines, never have any intention to. That being said, I've made enough off of submitting paper crafts (through being paid by the magazine and the manufacturer) to pay for orthodontia for my son (as an example)...

It's really just a matter of pursuing what you want to do, I think! :)

It's so super fun to be published.

And I feel that the compensation is pretty fair.

The last magazine I was in I had a number of cards I ended up getting:
The magazine free
A total of nine free stamp sets
And $75.

Not bad for a handful of cards. Actually there are several companies that I LOVE and used to spend a good deal of money with that I have not had to actually pay to purchase stamps from in almost a year. Sure I find other ways to spend that money, but how fun to have that huge suppliment to my craft budget. I think the total value of cash and goodies I got from this one magazine was around $245. I had I think 10 cards in. I don't get anywhere close to $24 when I sell a card.

I do get where you are coming from about the content being reader driven, but as long as there are hordes of readers who are happy to do it... And I LOVE that there are. I love papercrafting magazines. I don't know if they would be any better if each magazine had a design team that made ALL the samples for the magazine. Maybe they would. But would they then cost more? And for sure I'd not make it to any of those jobs so my small suppliment would be gone. And that would be sad for me.

(It's true - dogs' feet DO smell like Fritos. What's up with that?)

I didn't realize that there were publications that compensated - I've seen many calls for submissions and never a mention of compensation. Good to know... perhaps I will submit! I like free stuff. :)

Thanks for the input, ladies - much appreciated and I learned something today.

There is often not a lot of pay from most magazines, though a copy of a magazine is $7-16 dollars nowadays depending on the publication. For making a card, that's not bad. I find most cardmakers want to share with others who enjoy the hobby. It's about having fun, not making money.

But, you can also get compensation from stamping companies who's stuff you get published. Many independant companies offer cash, free products and such for getting projects using their merchandise published.

Also having various publications on your resume helps if you want to teach classes, work on a design team and other things that might make you $ in the stamping world. I did submit stuff back when I was a teacher. I don't anymore. I try really hard to keep this a hobby and not a job. I know you can love your work, but even work you love is still work.

Holley
a new project everyday! http://holleybarnhartsblog.blogspot.com/

Don't anyone boo me...or black list me but in all honesty...when I worked for a stamp company...I submitted as a form of advertising for the company. I haven't submitted since...takes too much time and my supplies to make a card to give it away and pay for postage to send it. Cat's out of the bag!