June 1995
When fan mail arrives, the studio does pass on the letters to the actor, and though some actors ignore their mail, most do try to answer. But when the volume of mail is high, few actors can open and respond to it all alone. “When I started on DOOL as Jake Hogansen, I opened all my own mail and tried to answer every letter,” says Scott Reeves (now Y&R’s Ryan). “But it took eight to ten hours every Saturday. It was impossible.” He and his wife, Melissa Reeves (DOOL’s Jen) have hired assistants to help. “Melissa and I each get about 1000 letters a month. We read as many as we can, but we do need help.”
Responding to fan mail isn’t cheap. Scott says the cost of answering each letter is about $2.50, which includes personnel, postage, printing the bios, and processing photos. Multiply that by 1000 fan letters a month and you see some startling figures! And the studios don’t reimburse any of it. Matt Ashford (DOOL’s Jack, and GH’s Dr. Tom) tells me he opens and reads all his fan mail. But due to the volume, he can only answer a few. “I try to respond to specific requests the best way I can,” he says. What makes a letter special? “I enjoy it when they include a picture of themselves, it makes it personal.” Most fan letters are expressions of appreciation or admiration, along with a photo request. Some letters are from people who just need to talk. (Though I admit, more people confided in Kayla than in Katherine!) Melissa takes a special interest in young people who write for advice. “Those letters are fun and easy,” she says.
Other letters offer advice or criticism. I remember when I started on DOOL, I received a warning: “Watch out for Patch!” I was shocked when I got my first angry letter. Matt, who had plenty of nasty notes at the start, advised me: “If venting on paper gets it out of their system, that’s fine.”
Although an angry letter will grab our attention, it’s not the best way to get your letter read. If you really want your letter noticed, make it short and clean. A typed business letter nearly always gets opened; a letter written in pencil rarely does. And any letter much over two pages is doomed! “But I enjoy a good two or three page letter, if it’s not repetitive,” says Scott. “If you take the time to write a letter, please make it legible!” What makes a letter stand out? Again all actors are different. Melissa says she always opens letters in bright envelopes. I always read picture postcards first. Be sure to include your picture! Since you know what we look like, it’s fun for us to see you too!
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