For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing

Have you ever wanted to write a thank-you note and suffered writer's block? Considered penning a passionate letter to your beloved, but had no idea where to begin? Needed to send a sympathy message, but couldn't find the right words? Fear not. Professional letter writer Samara O'Shea is here to spark your creativity and answer all your letter-writing questions in this charming guide.

For the Love of Letters is an anecdotal primer on letter writing, with tips on how to write all types of notes: love letters, break-up letters, apology letters, thank-you letters, erotic letters (oh yes!), and more. It's filled with moving, funny, and embarrassing stories about letters Samara has written and received, including an apology from a guy who addressed her by the wrong name, a good-riddance e-mail to a capricious boyfriend, and multiple apology letters after getting fired from an internship at O: The Oprah Magazine. With a fresh, contemporary approach, Samara weighs in on appropriate methods for every situation—for example, when to handwrite, type, or e-mail (yes, e-mail) your letter. There is also a fascinating collection of engaging personal letters written by historical and literary icons such as Marie Antoinette, Beethoven, Edgar Allan Poe, Susan B. Anthony, and Emily Post.

For the Love of Letters will show anyone who has ever shuddered at the idea of sitting down and putting pen to paper — or fingertips to keyboard — how to craft persuasive, interesting, and memorable letters.

FOR THE LOVE OF LETTERS is a much–needed contemporary guide to letter–writing, with tips on how to write all different types of notes: love letters, thank–you letters, apology letters, sympathy letters, goodbye letters, cover letters, break–up letters...even erotic letters. In highly engaging prose, the author addresses her twenty– and thirty–something peers by taking them––via charming anecdotes and real–life examples––through the entire process: why to write a letter, how to start, what to say, when an e–mail is OK and when it's not, and provides eminently useful pointers such as why it's crucial to be specific. All the letters are REAL –– some by the author, some to the author, and some by luminaries like James Joyce, Susan B. Anthony, Edgar Allen Poe, and Abraham Lincoln. Moving stories demonstrate the power of letter–writing and show how it can enhance our relationships. For anyone who has ever trembled at the idea of sitting down and putting pen to paper –– or finger tips to keyboard –– FOR THE LOVE OF LETTERS will leave you well–equipped for the task.

Table of Contents

Introduction I: Yes, There's Still a Need for Letters

Introduction II: Letter Writing and the Internet

Chapter 1: Letters as Gifts

Love Letters

Erotic Letters

Chapter 2: Letter Therapy

~ Goodbye Letters

~ Flaming Tongue Letters

Chapter 3: Return to Sender: Letters that are Hard to

Write and Harder to Receive

~ Break–up Letters

~ Unauthorized Love Letters

Chapter 4: Letters of Gratitude

~ Thank You Letters

Chapter 5: Hard to Say, Even in a Letter

~ Apology letters

~ Sympathy letters

Chapter 6: Letters of Change

~ Letters Requesting Acts of Amnesty

~ Letters to the Editor

Chapter 7: If We Must, We Must

~ Business Letters

~ Recommendation Letters

Chapter 8: Signing Off: The Perfect Ending

Samara O'Shea is the founder and editor of LetterLover.net, a letter-writing service. Her writing has appeared in Woman's Day Specials, Country Living, All You, HappenMag.com, and Pittsburgh Magazine. A Manhattan transplant, she lives outside Philadelphia.