Hand written or typed?

[Jay Beezy]

Actually, neither handwritten nor typed is the way to go. Best method is the ransom letter format: cutting out big colorful letters and words from magazines and pasting them together. :razz:

[capmonte]

I honestly have never seen a big difference in responses in handwritten or typed letters. I exclusively hand write now because it's labelled as such a faux pas around here, but I used to get many responses from typed letters, including notes thanking for me writing about such and such.

I would never address a celebrity by their first name. It's always Mr./Ms./Dame/Sir for me. In my opinion, it's a matter of respect. We're not pals, we're certainly not on a first name basis. If that works for some people, great, but I could never imagine writing to, say, Frank Langella and starting with "Dear Frank"...

[Jay Beezy]

I honestly have never seen a big difference in responses in handwritten or typed letters. I exclusively hand write now because it's labelled as such a faux pas around here, but I used to get many responses from typed letters, including notes thanking for me writing about such and such.

I would never address a celebrity by their first name. It's always Mr./Ms./Dame/Sir for me. In my opinion, it's a matter of respect. We're not pals, we're certainly not on a first name basis. If that works for some people, great, but I could never imagine writing to, say, Frank Langella and starting with "Dear Frank"...

Don't let some of these a-holes sway your way of thinking. If you've had success doing typed, why fix what ain't broke?

I do respectfully disagree somewhat about the first name/last name basis. Perhaps maybe with some people last name is appropriate like old school Hollywood legends or members of the Order of the British Empire, but even though you aren't friends with them, sometimes it helps to address them in a friendly manner, whereas a Mr./Ms./Mrs. addressing might give off the vibe that you're someone trying to sell something, which I would agree would come off if the letter were typed, but since you write them by hand because you were suckered (no offense), then it might not be an issue. But there's also an issue with females, as some people don't know if female celebs are married or not so they don't know whether to use Ms. or Mrs. when addressing them.

[Munchausen]

First off, I would agree that the "ransom note" format is the best way to go and I've gotten several responses by approaching it that way Anyway, I think it's great you hand-write now. I think it's great that you got a lot of responses through typing, but I think you can probably attest now that it gives a nice, rewarding feeling to write it out by hand. I hope you don't feel as if you've been "suckered"! Haha. I think it's awesome how you want to convey as much respect as you do, but I personally do address them by their first name... I definitely agree that we're not friends, and on a first-name basis, but it just seems more personal to me. It's all up to personal preference, though!

[Jay Beezy]

However, if they have that specialty title like Sir and Dame, it's probably best to address them in the more respectful manner. Each celebrity is different in that way, same with their preference toward handwritten or typed letters or not caring what format it's in.

Just one last remark, I don't trust my own handwriting. So if I put more focus on making sure my handwriting is clear and concise, I'll put less focus into writing words that are from the heart. I want to feel like this message came from the heart, and I won't feel that if I'm concerned more with how my handwriting looks.

If people have had success doing it whatever way they saw fit, then we really shouldn't judge the format they use. He's had success using typing, you've had success doing handwriting. People have their preferences, just like celebs. I just find it silly for you and Johnny to judge some of us for preferring typing because we don't necessarily have the most legible of handwriting. Most fanmail advice sites/blogs/etc. say you should do typing if your handwriting is questionable, just so long as the content of the letter is personal for the celeb you're writing to.

[Munchausen]

However, if they have that specialty title like Sir and Dame, it's probably best to address them in the more respectful manner.

Agreed.

Most fanmail advice sites/blogs/etc. say you should do typing if your handwriting is questionable, just so long as the content of the letter is personal for the celeb you're writing to.

Well, if you truly have such a hard time making your handwriting legible, then I understand why you type your letters. So I guess that's the answer to the OP's question: if you are uncomfortable with your handwriting, you should type up your letters as a celeb is not going to read a garbled mess (though there is debate as to whether or not they read them to begin with)... but if you have no problem making your handwriting legible, then long hand is the way to go.

[Jay Beezy]

Another thing to note is that there are people who like to think their handwriting is legible, but their handwriting reads like gibberish or looks sloppy to some others. It's happened to me plenty of times, not with fan letters, just general things.