Liz's Autographs

In your envelope addressed to the celebrity, you should include:

- your fan letter, no longer than one page.

- your mailing address, whether it's written on your letter or somewhere on the envelope or on your Self Addressed Envelope (SAE). 

The following is optional:

- an International Reply Coupon (IRC), if it's available in your country...

- a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE) - stamps from the country you're sending to (the celebrity's country).

- a photo of the celebrity, but most celebrities already have photos to send to fans.

I personally handwrite my letters instead of typing – it shows that you have put more effort into it. I also find it more polite but it’s all up to you.

Address the celebrity politely, for example Dear Mr. Sparrow or Dear Mr. Jack Sparrow. Your letter shouldn’t be too formal, otherwise the whole feel of the letter would be “cold”. Of course, you shouldn’t be too “friend-like” either, but just write like you would talk to an older person or someone you don’t know personally - polite.

Try to write a personal, real, fan letter. Tell them why you admire them, what made you admire them, etc. Most importantly, write about yourself. They want to hear about their fans, not themselves. You can write about:

- your age

- your birthday

- your family

- your pets

- your friends

- your occupation

- your hobbies

- you can even tell them about funny or embarrassing moments in your life.

Write a letter from your heart. They’ll appreciate it more.

The celebrity would most likely send you an autographed photo even if you didn’t ask for one, but always try to ask for one - I find it more polite to ask if you want something back rather than just expecting something in return. You can write for example:

“If it's possible, can you please send me an autographed photo? I will be very grateful! Thank you very much Mr. Sparrow.”

or

“Can you please send me an autographed photo and, if it's possible, personalize it to me? I will appreciate it very much! Thank you Mr. Sparrow.”

Be careful not to beg, just ask politely, as in the examples above.

A SASE is a Self Address Stamped Envelope, which means that you put an envelope inside the one you’re sending, with your mailing address written on it and with postage added. The celebrity will use this envelope to mail you an autographed photo back. It is considered polite to pay for postage as you want something from the celebrity. Sending an envelope to a celebrity (from another country than yours) with stamps from your own country would be no good - that's why you should add stamps from the celebrity's country (where their mailing address is based).

A SAE is a Self Addressed Envelope – it is an envelope with your mailing address on it, no postage added.

A SSAE is a Stamped Self Addressed Envelope, the same as a SASE.

Remember, you should always make it very easy for the celebrity to reply back to you and sending an envelope with your address already written on it can safe a lot of time and confusion. Also, it is more likely that they will reply if you include a SASE.

Finally, before sending your letter, always check the following:

- did you write the address correctly?

- is the address still up-to-date (otherwise you might end up getting a Return To Sender - RTS)? You can check out Fanmail.biz - it is a free website with over 50 000 celebrity addresses in the database, which is regularly updated.

You're now ready to post your letter! The average waiting time is 3 - 6 months, but some might be faster and others can take up to a year. If you haven't received anything back after 3+ months (depending on who you sent to), I suggest resending your letter.