Help writing my letter? Totally new to this!?

[darklady12]

So I am *finally* about to send out my first autograph request, but I have a question on writing my letter:
How early/ soon in the letter should I request the autograph in order to get a response ? 1st paragraph, last paragraph... ? What do you guys do ?

Just fyi, I'm writing to Betty White and the letter is getting a bit long, so I don't want my request to get 'lost' in my letter.

Also, if I want the celebrity to answer some questions, do I put them in the letter as I go along, or do I write them on a separate sheet of paper ?
Thanks xx

[Tabby]

Hello!
I think it is a matter of preference but I always put my request at the very end of the letter, and I say something like, "I have enclosed two pictures and a self addressed, stamped envelope. I'd appreciate it if you could sign them to Tabitha and return them to me." And I thank them for reading my letter.
As far as questions go, sometimes I will make a Q&A card for the person to fill out. A lot of people will fill them out, but it always depends on the person.

[darklady12]

Thank you! Umm, when addressing a SASE, do I put my address as both the sender and the receiver?

[Tabby]

I usually do. It's a matter of preference. You could put the agency address in that spot if you wanted to.

[HappinessStan]

I'm with Tabby and always put my request towards the end of the letter, but there was another thread on here a few days ago where the consensus seemed to be to put it at the start.

It probably doesn't matter. I think it's more important to concentrate on putting together a letter which would make the person receiving it feel better than they did before they opened it. (It's also pretty obvious if a photo falls out of the envelope with the letter where the conversation is leading).

I've taken to putting post-it notes on the photo asking for a signature, and who I'd like it to be dedicated to. I don't do it all the time, but if you're writing to someone who gets hundreds or thousands of requests then they are not going to even see your letter, let alone read it themselves, no matter how much work you put into it. That way I figure that it shows the secretary that (a) you've put the work into the letter, and (b) considered their time as well by not making them plough through two sides of indecipherable handwriting to get to the point.

I don't put my home address on the back of the SAE as well, I've occasionally put my work address on, but as long as it isn't too big to go through your letterbox then if it comes back you'll get it.

I think that it is very easy to try to apply too much analysis to this hobby and get totally tied up with trying to "do it properly". There is no science to it, it's chaotic, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.