Here's a look at the most recent snail-mail book I've been able to look over:
Good Mail Day: A Primer for Making Eye-Popping Postal Art by Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler.
What set this book apart for me was that it's not just about physically making the mail (though it does have useful ideas and templates), but has tons of useful ideas for other aspects of postal art, like organization, etiquette, and tips for getting chummy with local postal workers. They even include directions for creating your own Call For Entries if serious correspondence art is your cup of tea, as well as some links to pen palling websites which I plan to try soon.
The trick to staying on top of all your correspondence is staying organized. If you expect to receive mail, you need to send some out first. Personally, I'm just about to my saturation point with 9 pen pals largely because I can't shut up and what I think will be a simple letter turns in to a 3-5 page saga. Hinchcliff and Wheeler suggest postcards as a more efficient means, but I'm still on the fence about that. Frankly, I like to talk :), but I also feel bad that I'm starting to reject offers for new pen pals. Perhaps I'll add more to only exchange postcards with, but that sounds like you just wouldn't get to know each other quite as well. Since I am feeling just a little bit inundated, I started implementing a log (like this free and printable
tracking sheet) per their suggestion. It helps me make sure I haven't overlooked any of my pen pals, and being just a bit more organized is helping me feel much better already.
The word "etiquette" always sounds stuffy and complicated, but Hinchcliff and Wheeler break it down into these five simple rules:
1. Every piece of mail art that comes into your mailbox should receive some sort of acknowledgement in return. This is one of the unspoken "golden rules" of mail art Networking: if someone has sent something to you-- at the very least send a "thank you!" in reply.
2. Mail artists do not charge money for their mail art. Mail art is a gift that you give selflessly because you want to. Money only complicates the whole thing.
3. No returns. Each piece that arrives in your mailbox is yours to keep. it stands to reason that every piece you send to someone else will become part of that person's mail art archive. Mail art is about giving away, not accumulating and hoarding.
4. You Give as good as you Get. If someone sends you an out-of-this-world piece of mail art, you are honor bound to send back something equally fabulous.
5. Be sure to document. If you are running a mail art project of your own, be sure to send documentation to all participants in a timely manner.
Rules 2 and 3 seem pretty obvious to me, but it's nice to have it in a concise list. Mail art is not hard. It's actually pretty simple, and it should just be fun!
Generally I keep my postal creativity 2-dimensional and stick to the typical
envelope dimensions and suggested
addressing layout so I can easily drop things off in my regular mailbox for pickup. However, some mail artists like to get a little more creative (duh.) and reach outside the usual layout. If this applies to you, Good Mail Day suggests getting to know your postal workers, and sharing your projects with them. As you build this relationship, they will likely be more receptive to some of the stranger pieces you send and receive, provided of course that you're not doing anything super crazy like mailing bombs or just run of the mill
restricted materials.
I haven't checked out these suggested pen palling websites in detail just yet, but here's what I gleaned from a quick glance.
The
Letter Writers Alliance appears to offer specialty pen palling products like stationery/rubber stamps/etc, a means to find pen pals, as well as access to a bunch of secret free (after a $5.00 lifetime membership fee) stuff, which I assume means printables. You also get a sweet little badge for some extra smarm. My favorite item I saw on this website is a $35.00
carrier pigeon mailing kit. Stuff the plastic bird with a message and drop off in a blue postal pick up box, postage included and no box necessary! Honestly, $35 is way over my pen palling budget, but this would absolutely be a good bucket list item!
The second recommended website that caught my eye,
Post Crossing, is a post card exchange project. Basically once you sign up you are given an address to send a post card to, and once you do your address will be given out so someone can send a postcard to you. This way no one is taking advantage of the system. You must give in order to receive. I think I will definitely give this one a shot!
Overall I quite enjoyed Good Mail Day, and found its advice both helpful and inspiring!
