Thank You Notes

Thank you notes. Do you send them? Should you? Or is that an anachronistic throw-back? I think that's actually a self-canceling set of words. Anachronistic throw-back. There should be a tear in the time-space continuum any moment now.

Steady on, Wave-inatrix, steady on.

A few years ago, I had a good friend design stationery for me. Or is that stationary? No, it's definitely with an "e". Let's see, and how we can remember that is - that - um, the stuff you use to write letters on is spelled with an "e" and the bike you pedal on without going anywhere is with an "a". What's a handy little rhyme for that? Oh forget it.

So I had this stationery made and it's quite snazzy for those of you whom may have ever received a personal note from me. And I always, always send thank you notes in my professional life. It has quite an impact which is odd to me - people really freak out when they get a nice thank you note. Why? Because it's a classy thing to do and it sets you apart from all the other schmucks who didn't think to do it.

But Wavers, it takes three seconds and will absolutely make you stand out as a class act. If you don't have stationery, I recommend you get some made. Here are a couple of resources to check out:

Tiny Prints
Alden Grace
Custom Stationery

When should you send a thank you note? When you've gotten a read for a script - even if the answer was 'no'. When you've had a phone conversation - even if the answer was 'no'. When you've had an email exchange - even if...you got it. Sending a quick note to an agent, manager or production company that either read your script or in any way interacted with you is a good way to stay on the radar and maybe even lodge yourself into their consciousness as the nice, polite, pleasant writer who took a moment to go that extra mile. Even if the answer is YES we'll read your script and YES we liked it - you can send a thank you note saying you're looking forward to working together.

In an era when for many, a text message is a suitable thank you, take a minute to be anachronistic, damn it. Invest in some good stationery and a nice pen. Look up the mailing address on the Hollywood Creative Directory, put a stamp on that sucker and send it in.

If you enjoyed this post, follow me on Twitter or subscribe via RSS.