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Robert Heinlein's Pre-Internet Fan Mail FAQ

Posted by Soulskill on from the tanstaafl dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Kevin Kelly has an interesting post about a letter he found amongst correspondence from his days editing the Whole Earth Catalog. The letter is Robert Heinlein's own nerdy solution to a problem common to famous authors: to deal with fan mail. In the days before the internet, Heinlein's solution was to create a list of frequently asked questions, answer them, and remove the questions. Then he, or rather his wife Ginny, checked off the appropriate answer(s) and mailed it back. Some of the entries in Heinlein's answer sheet are quite illuminating and amusing. Our personal favorite: 'You say that you have enjoyed my stories for years. Why did you wait until you disliked one story before writing to me?'"

10 of 181 comments (clear)

  1. Interesting by Aerynvala · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Some of the answers were amusing. Good to know that fannish entitlement and the false sense of intimacy are not merely a product of the internet.

    --
    http://transformativeworks.org/
    1. Re:Interesting by CortoMaltese · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Some of the answers were amusing.

      The list makes me think that the *unchecked* "Please do not write to me again" and "Your letter was most welcome! ..." answers also work as special reward and punishment, respectively.

    2. Re:Interesting by RichiH · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, a sense of false entitlement was one of the things he hated the most (judging by what he wrote, but I read pretty much all fiction and a good chunk of his non-fiction).

  2. It isn't "better" now, though... by sleeponthemic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Before, they had to write the thing, buy a stamp and send it.

    Now I can send britney my lesbian star trek fan fiction at the click of a mouse. It's got to be wayyyy worse to go through your mail now. (Assuming you have the intention of attempting to appease your fans by answering). Way easier to delete of course.. :)

    --
    I record my sleeptalking
    1. Re:It isn't "better" now, though... by meta-monkey · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Every time I feel like writing fan-mail, I think, "Wait, would I really want to be bothered by this? And is it creepy?" and then I don't send it. I'd love to tell Alastair Reynolds how much I enjoy his work, but then I stop myself because the last thing I want to do is waste his time reading "gosh I sur luv ur books lawl" when he could be spending that time writing more books...

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    2. Re:It isn't "better" now, though... by Spatial · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well it's true to an extent. I've got fan-mail in the past quite a few times, but I never really knew what to say to it. It makes me feel awkward; just saying "Thanks" isn't really enough, it's too little effort. But I can't think of anything meaningful to say either, because really, what do you say to praise? I draw a blank.

      Hatemail, on the other hand, I can deal with. Sometimes they have a point and it makes you think. Sometimes they're funny. And sometimes it makes you shake your head and want to leap on theirs. All in all though, I find it much easier to respond to.

  3. Re:Why?! by Dionysus · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wow, offtopic when he mentions Lazarus Long in a Heinlein article. People just don't read these days.

    Maybe if you don't know anything about Heinlein, you shouldn't modding

    --
    Je ne parle pas francais.
  4. Well, check out the last answer on the list : by g253 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    " Your letter was most welcome! - loaded with friendliness and with no requests or demands. You suggested that no answer was expected but I must tell you how _much_ it pleased me. I wish you calm seas, following winds, and a happy voyage through life. "

  5. Re:Why?! by oodaloop · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I guess the mods didn't grok the joke. Or this one, in all liklihood.

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  6. Re:Why?! by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Lazarus Long reminds me of The Simpsons... there is a quote by him relevant to practically any imaginable topic, The Simpsons by dint of its sheer volume and Lazarus Long because of the universality of his quotes.

    "The difference between science and the fuzzy subjects is that science requires reasoning, while those other subjects merely require scholarship."

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.