. Be sure to keep your letter to a minimum of 1 page. These stars are very busy, and do not want to spend an entire day reading a 10 page letter from you.
Tell them how much it would mean to you to receive an authentic autographed picture made out to you. You want to include the word authentic in your letter because many stars use pre-stamped signatures, or their secretary's signs the photo for them. Using "authentic autographed picture" will not guarantee you an authentic autographed picture, but will significantly increase your chances of getting one. Be sure to tell them that you have included a self addressed stamped envelope to save them some trouble.
Add your return address to the letter, just in case the letter gets separated from the original contents that you have supplied. Be sure to keep your letter short and to the point. You do not want to sound like an over-obsessed fan. If you make yourself sound like one, the letter will be placed into a special pile, and will not be answered. Do not mention that you are a 'collector' in your letter. They do not want to send you an autographed picture if they think it will just show up on an auction website and end up making you money for something they could have done on their own.
3. So now what?
Now that you have your letter all ready to go, you need to take the 9x12 manilla envelope and address it to yourself. Be sure to write on this envelope "Do Not Bend" and "Photo". This will help the picture that the star sends to you from getting damaged in the mail. Take the .55 stamp and place it on this manilla envelope. With a photo inside the manilla envelope, the postage will be .55. If you tri-fold the manilla envelope, it will fit perfectly into the #10 envelope. Add your letter to the envelope, and you are almost done.
Seal the #10 envelope and address it to your star. Be sure to include your return address, and don't be disappointed if the letter comes back to you as undeliverable, as this will happen a few times. Be sure to include the .34 postage.
4. Non US addresses.
If you live outside the United States, just follow the same postage of mailing a standard letter. You may need to take the manilla envelope with a photo in it and have it weighed for the proper postage to include on your return manilla envelope.
If you are inside the US and you are sending a letter to Canada or overseas, you may have to include additional postage. A simple trip to your local Post Office will clarify the correct postage needed.
5. Patience
Do not expect a picture returned to you overnight. Some celebrities pictures will come back within a short time, while others may take up to a few months.
6. What if I don't want to write to a star,
but rather a sports personality or a
touring musician?
If you want to write to someone who may not be included in the celebrity's address book, like a touring musician for instance, then you just need to find out their tour dates and send the letter in care of the arena they will be playing at, addressed to the musician. For example, I know that Aerosmith will be playing at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Sarasota Springs, New York. I just look up the address for the Center and send Aerosmith a letter. Here is the example:
Aerosmith
C/O Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-0826
If you want to write to a sports personality, the best thing to do is write to that person, in care of his team. For example, if I wanted to write to Jason Garrett of the New York Giants, I would address the envelope like this:
Jason Garrett
C/O New York Football Giants
Giants Stadium
East Rutherford, NJ 07073
Obtaining a stadium or an arena address is much easier than finding a celebrities address. These addresses can be found at most home websites for the team of your choice.
Now that you have found yourself an affordable hobby, I wish you the best of luck with it. Yes this really is an affordable hobby, since each letter you send out will cost under $3.00.
