Letter of Request: Typed or hand written?

[robpatfan10]

I recently sent out a whole bunch of LORs to various celebrities. They were all typed and in business letter format. I did it that way because I thought it looked more professional. Should I be hand writing them instead? I know it is more personal. Have you had more success with one or the other?

[Sammya]

I'd say it's a question of personal preference, but from what I've read/seen, most people prefer to handwrite their letters for the reason it shows much more effort and it feels a lot more personal than when it's typed. To speak for myself, I ALWAYS handwrite my letters. If I typed them, I would feel like I'm not doing everything in my powers to show I'm a fan. But on the other hand, if I had a really terrbile handwriting, I'd type my letters. But to answer your question - yes, handwriting your letter will most likely mean more higher success rate.

[RYAN J.]

I handwrite them all as well. typed ones look too much like form letters. I also send out these small Q&A (Question & Answer) cards to celebs and one of the questions I ask is

"When receiving fanmail, do you prefer handwritten or typed letters? Why?"

I've gotten 26 of these back so far and 90% of them say "HANDWRITTEN" and there reason behind that is "Shows personality".

Now the next question is, did you provide photos and SASE's with each request??

RYAN J.

[capmonte]

When I started, I typed all my letters, but I switched to handwriting them for the last 20 or so requests (mainly because so many people here pooh-poohed typing). I honestly don't know if handwritten = higher success rate or not. Anything I write, whether typed or handwritten, is always very personal and genuine on my part; I preferred typing because I could always go back and add things while I was writing/editing, which you can't do when you're handwriting, and because my handwriting isn't great.

I guess if a celeb isn't going to respond simply because of a typed letter (which can convey just as much sincerity as a handwritten letter, IMO), then I guess it's not to be. I hate to think that some of the people I admire, who I had sent typed letters to, wouldn't respond because of that, but what can you do?

Having said that, I did receive at least 4 notes from celebs (from the typed letter batches) thanking me for what I wrote, so I guess you can go either way.

[Tabby]

I haven't ever typed out a letter. I actually haven't thought about doing that. I generally don't have very good handwriting but when I slow down and take my time it comes out really well. Writing it is more personal. It looks too formal to type it.

[johnnylightning]

Why would you want it to look professional ? The letters should be handwritten !

[kimmylee]

Since I keep my letters short (ie please sign photo/please send an autograph & return in sae, I love they way you portray xx character in xx show, I love xx show, thanks for reading my request) I always handwrite.

[.Nicole.]

I started out with typing my letters and I have to say that I had a great success rate. However I switched to handwriting them as it felt more personal and I myself also had the feeling I'd felt more pleased having handwritten the letter. Nowadays I always type my letter (also for spelling check) and than handwrite them to sent them out. It is double the work, true, but that way I will always have a copy of my letter and I know most of my spelling mistakes are out :razz:

[packrat]

Maybe a mod ought to sticky this to the top or something. This same subject keeps coming up over and over and over again. Instead of someone constantly starting the same thread, they can simply read through the existing thread and then add their two cents.

Once again, I always write my letters by hand. Never sent one typed letter out. I don't have any scientific proof that it works better, but I think it gives me a better chance of getting a success. Thinking I have a better chance makes me more comfortable writing the letter and is one less thing to obsess over.

[swiftndbieber]

personally i always send hand written letters, i set them out with both my address and the celebritys address at the top but i write in bright colours. i dont think it really makes a difference whether you type or handwrite but i chose to hand write my letters because it seems more personal and i dont know why but with it being in bright colours aswell it gives me the impression that the celebrity is more likely to actually read it than a printed one because i know that if it was me and i had a hand written letter and a printed letter infront of me i would read the handwriten because it seems like more effort has been put into it. i dont think any celebrity would ever not read one purley because it was typed though, if they would i personaly wouldnt want their autograph anyway if something as simple as that is going to matter.