Why relatives might make the best editors

Her red pen had made something painfully clear. To become a better writer, I first had to become a better person.

Writing Mother’s Day cards: After Mom reviews your latest manuscript or blog post, don’t forget to write something nice just for her on Sunday for Mother’s Day. If you can’t think of what to say, Hallmark might be able to help. In a post for Businessweek, the greeting card leader shared secrets to how its creative teams pen the perfect Mother’ Day card, also explaining what makes a Mother’s Day card sell and why the company slowly moved away from the pink spectrum this year. So, what’s the first rule? Here’s what one of Hallmarks writers shared:

The first rule of Mother’s Day is don’t make fun of your mom. “On Father’s Day, you can say, ‘Dad, all you want is a sandwich!’ or ‘Dad, you nap a lot,’ ” says Tina Neidlein, a Hallmark greeting card writer. “But if you make fun of your mother, she’s going to cry. And you can’t even make fun of that.”