I don't go out of my way to watch more of their work before I send off, I write about what I saw and genuinely liked. It sounds more authentic that way, and anyway, you only have time to mention a couple of their works in your letter, as you don't want to make it too long. Choose a couple of films you enjoyed, and talk about them in a bit of detail. It shows that you've actually watched and appreciated some of their work, and it helps keep it short and organized as well.

As for photo development.. that is all up to you. Would you prefer 8x10s? Or do you not mind sending out 4x6s and being able to send out more requests at once? That's all up to your personal preference...

I'm not sure exactly what you mean in that last part. Do you mean write up something in word and then use that as a sample/outline for the letters you write? Sure, nothing wrong with that. I sometimes do that. I photocopy letters I send out, this way if I never get it back and want to write to them again in the future, I have a basis from which to work with. Sometimes I write some great things in my letters and want to remember them for future use, so photocopying works for me.


.........good luck to you!

bump Anyone?

I want to come up with a better way to handle the hobby, something more efficient and suited to my purpose. I realize that you couldn't know exactly what my goals are, but maybe you could share with me how you go about things. Maybe something you could say could inspire me to find my best way possible.

How much research should I do before I send off a request? In other words, if the person is an actor or actress should I write if I've just seen one or two of their films or make it a point to watch more of their work before writing?

I only have a certain amount of money I can afford to spend on autograph requests, especially the cost of photo development. Is it worth it to get a 8x10 of each picture I want to send out even if it means that I can send out less per week/ month?

Do you think it's worth the added effort to figure out the exact wording on a word processing program and then hand-write the letter? I'm thinking maybe so if I don't have that much unique to the celeb to write beyond what I put in all letters.

Your thoughts would be apprieicated.