I listened in a couple years ago at a conference when an editor at Details told us some of what he was looking for in freelance pitches. Make sure to be interesting, use spellcheck, blah blah. He also made an aside that he happened to be biased against pitches that had business cards attached to them that were decorated with pens, typewriters, or the job title of 'freelance writer.'

While from a design point of view, I understand that the typewriter is less than thrilling and cliche, the other writers and I were confused about why he was against 'freelance writer.' What were we supposed to put? 'Not full time writer'? This is a discussion for which I have never seen a good resolution (but please weigh in if you have an opininon), although I think a good bet might be to get more specific, such as indicating that you are a 'features writer' or 'entertainment writer.'

In the end, regardless of the business card, hopeully with an editor it boils down to your pitch. However, an editor is probably going to take you more seriously if your business card is not decorated with cartoons of Ziggy or Precious Moments images.

Some writers and entrepreneurs try to make their own cards, but my pal Jen over at UnBeige recommends against it. "My advice, really, is to try to find a professional to do it for you," she says. "Ask a designer friend, keep it simple. If I were doing a personal freelancer card now, I would probably not include my physical mailing address. I'd do email, phone, cell and web address. If someone needs my physical address for a specific reason, I can send it to them, otherwise I think it's an unnecessary to make that info public, especially if you work from home.

"Most large-ish cities have street level printshops that handle restaurant menus, flyers, letterhead, etc. I really think it's worthwhile to go to one of those places rather than hitting, say, Kinko's, which will do a bad job AND raise your blood pressure level, all in one fell swoop.

"People should not get cute and put little stock pictures on their cards, or mottos or whatever. SIMPLE. Name, skills, important contact info. Don't use a goofy font. Stick with Helvetica or Arial or something along those lines."