What is this? What does "della Cartolina" mean? Why postcards? Is della Cartolina appropriate for children? How do you produce the postcards? How do subscriptions work? How can I cancel my subscription? Where do you get the postage rates? When will my postcard arrive? Will you display all of cards on this website? Where do you get the story ideas for della Cartolina? Who are you? Are you open to feedback or criticism? What is your privacy policy? ... ... ... ... What is this? You can think of della Cartolina like a magazine you can subscribe to, except that it's printed on a postcard and contains one original photograph/drawing and story. I create each "issue" from scratch every two weeks, and subscribers have the pleasure of getting each issue delivered to them in the mail. What does "della Cartolina" mean? It's Italian for "of the postcard". I'm not Italian myself, but I love the lyrical sound of it, and the web address was available for the taking. Why postcards? Three reasons: first, postcards are very conducive to short, multimedia storytelling because of their size constraints. This suits me well since I already work long hours in my "day job". Second, while living in Japan in the late 1990s I took on the habit of drawing nengajo (New Year's postcards) each year, and I've always enjoyed that December ritual. Finally, I was inspired by the postcard micro-magazine, Abe's Penny. Is della Cartolina appropriate for children? della Cartolina is meant for adult audiences. While certain cards will certainly be appropriate for children, and while della Cartolina will never contain obscene materials, some of the topics discussed and language used may be inappropriate for minors. How do you produce the postcards? First, I use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to design the front and back of each card. I upload the finished work to this online printer that I've been using for several years, PSPrint.com). Finally, after they ship me the finished cards, I do the fun work of addressing and stamping each piece, before dropping them in the mail on the 1st or 15th. Usually I have a buffer of two or three cards done, to ensure I can keep the mailing schedule. How do subscriptions work? From the subscribe page, when you press the PayPal Buy Now button, you're buying a four card subscription for just $5.99. All payments are handled through PayPal, which assures you the safety of payment and assures me that I don't need to get involved in processing the payments. How can I cancel my subscription? Subscriptions are non-refundable, but to stop future payments/mailings, you need to (1) log into your PayPal account, (2) click on the History link under "My Account", (3) choose Subscriptions from the "Show" drop-down menu, (4) search until you find your della Cartolina subscription, (5) click on Details, and then (6) click Cancel Subscription. If you have questions on this, the PayPal help pages provide detailed instructions. Where do you get the postage rates? I just took the postcard stamp rates from USPS.gov, multiplied by the number of cards in the particular subscription, and rounded up a bit to cover label printing. When will my postcard arrive? Unfortunately, this aspect is completely in the US Post Office's control. I drop them in the mailbox on the 1st and 15th of each month (or the next business day, if those dates are weekends/holidays). I would think they should arrive in 3~5 business days for US addresses. If you haven't received a card after ten days, email me and I'll send a replacement. Will you display all of cards on this website? No. My plan is to display 3 or 4 of my most recent cards on the front page (with full text), to give visitors an idea of what a subscription provides. Additionally, my index page will list the date, title, type, and clip image from every card, but not the full card. For me, a big part of the allure of writing/reading della Cartolina is the postcard medium--this is not meant to be a weblog. Where do you get the story ideas for della Cartolina? I've been drawing since childhood, with several published cartoons under my belt. Over the past decade, I've been fortunate to travel much of the world, diligently photographing along the way. And I'm a voracious reader. Put those factors together and I have lots of material to share, lots of stories to tell. Who are you? My name is Zachary Emig. I live in Brooklyn and work a non-artistic, white collar job in Manhattan. Are you open to feedback or criticism? Of course, and I do try to respond to all the email I receive. Click on the "Contact" logo above to see my email address. What is your privacy policy? Simple: I won't share any subscriber info with anyone, period. I would encourage subscribers to also review PayPal's privacy policy as well.

della Cartolina (c) 2009 Zachary Emig. All rights reserved.
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