Tips for printing and selling calendars?

March 25, 2012 4:56 PM

How can I help my friend print and market a wall calendar of her art?

I've recently become friends with the mother of one of my son's classmates who is a talented children's illustrator. She has several published books to her credit and is always doodling and drawing. She posts a new drawing to Facebook just about every week. They are delightful pictures of multicultural children - whimsical and fun with terrific hand-drawn typography - with affirmations that are positive but not sicky-sweet.

I saw her the other day at school and kind of blurted out, "I love your art! You should make a calendar!" and she said, "You should help me!" And I would love to help but have no idea how this works, so I turn to the hive.

Are calendar publishers like book publishers - do they take unsolicited submissions? I assume she has a literary agent; should she just pitch the idea to him/her? Is it more realistic to focus locally - with a small print run and targeted pitches to gift shops and small retailers - or is that cost- and effort-prohibitive? Any other cautionary tales or lessons learned you can share?

Thanks, all!

posted by Sweetie Darling to work & money (3 answers total)

Maybe try a service like Zazzle, and don't necessarily limit yourself to calendars (think mugs, t-shirts, etc.) Then you can sell them online, at school events (?) etc.
posted by parrot_person at 6:39 PM on March 25, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah, to me, the problem with calendars is that they use 12 of your images in one go, and they're only sell-able for a month or two. Once January comes you're stuck with a bunch of overstock. What about packs of nice blank-inside greeting cards?
posted by blueberry at 12:40 AM on March 26, 2012

There are companies that work as agents for artists, getting their work on mugs, calendars, etc. The only one I know of by name is Courtney Davis - I can't vouch for the company in particular but it might give you an idea of what to look for.
posted by radioamy at 8:34 AM on March 26, 2012