Does Size Matter? How Many Pages Are Your Letters?

[Just I]

I am happy to get any and all letters or postcards in the mail! But as I start to write more I am wondering what people who write letters more often than I do consider to be an average size letter? what is a long letter? not the physical size of the paper but the number of pages or words. I am sure it will vary over time but do you find you have a usual length? Just curious as I re-learn this skill.

[migo984]

It really depends on who I'm writing to and the content of the letter I'm replying to. However, I'm very lucky and all my pen pals are very interesting folk so it's easy to think about lots to include in my reply. And I've got a tendency to witter & ramble on a bit, for which I apologise profusely to my long-suffering letter receivers.

 

Ha! See what I mean, I can't even give a straightforward answer to your question Lol.

 

So, on average, my letters are about 4 - 5 sides of A4, and I have medium size writing, with narrow line spacing (I use unruled paper with a narrow-ruled guide sheet). Hope that helps.....

[sargetalon]

My letters are about 3 pages on average. 2 pages are my shortest and 4 pages is me being wordy.

[Colourfingers]

Typically my letters are between 4 and six sides of A4 but I have been known to send letters of 16 pages sometimes and I recently sent a 31 page letter to a Penpal.

[mirosc]

private letters: 2 pages all the time. No matter if handwritten or smallish computer print.

business letters: 1 page all the time.

[Just I]

I love that people are writing long letters in this world full of texts and abbreviations. It gives me hope!

[MINItron]

When I send a personal letter I tend to use large, semi-ornate writing. An average letter will cover 5-6, 8.5x11 in sheets on one side only. With a more normal lettering size it would likely be a page or two. It is not unusual for me to write a letter two or three times before making my final draft on good paper. I use my proofs to finalize content, and to decide on the final hand that I want to use.

[Sasha Royale]

I fold a 8.5 inch square into a 6.1 x 4.3 envelope. The writing paper is a 6 x 8.5 sheet.

I trim these from office paper remnants. (It's free.) A typical personal letter is 4 to 5 pages.

 

I write to each person twice monthly.

 

Another source of paper can be remnants from a print shop friend.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Sasha Royale

[Just I]

When I send a personal letter I tend to use large, semi-ornate writing. An average letter will cover 5-6, 8.5x11 in sheets on one side only. With a more normal lettering size it would likely be a page or two. It is not unusual for me to write a letter two or three times before making my final draft on good paper. I use my proofs to finalize content, and to decide on the final hand that I want to use.

 

I am imagining your letters to works of art suitable for framing! Your recipients are lucky people, mine are lucky if the letter is semi-legible - but I am working on that.

[Runnin_Ute]

I was working on one last night (it's a response) and it currently sits @ 2-3 pages. I rarely if ever go beyond 4. Like migo984 it sometimes depends on who and what is required to respond. But 2-4 pages is pretty typical for me.

 

I normally use either US Letter (8.5 x 11) or A4 (8.25 x11.75) sheets, but will occasionally down to A5.

Edited February 14, 2014 by Runnin_Ute

[Lisya72]

I generally just write until I've responded to my pen pal's message and added any new or interesting developments in my own life. It might only be a page and a half, usually it ends up being 3-4 pages, depending on whether we're talking A4 or A5 sheets.

[mrcharlie]

"Once, in flight school, I was laconic." -- Wash, from tv series Firefly.

 

I rarely keep my letters down to a single page (A4/letter) or two (smaller stationery set/half sheet sizes). I will guess the average, but I think it is likely my guess is wrong. I'm not going open a lot of pdf scans of outgoing letters to do the stats though.

 

I like to switch between stationery a lot so it is difficult to compare all the different sized sheets. I would guess my average is three to four "pages", with 95% of the letters between two and six "pages". Where the pages are variable sized, and defined as one side of a sheet.

 

I have one correspondent who almost always writes a single side of a letter-sized legal pad, but if I were to manually copy her letter it would be longer than that; she writes tiny compared to me.

 

Most of the letters I receive are shorter than mine; there is one writer who is an exception to this.

 

I did manage a one pager recently (and it was even a stationery sheet in the 6x9 / A5 / half-sheet type size range). Hence the opening quote.

Edited February 13, 2014 by mrcharlie

[PaperDarts]

My typical letter ranges from 2-4 double-sided A4 pages, and I have small handwriting. I try to stay under the extra postage limit so will use lighter papers if it's a longer letter. When I was a kid I would sometimes write 20-page letters to friends and relatives - goodness knows what I went on about back then!! I'd love to see a sample now.

 

I have several friends to whom I write each month, the rest are more sporadic, but I write about a dozen letters most months - a fairly modest output compared to some on the FPN!

[mortiana27]

I bought my first FP mid-January, and quickly realized that I had no paper in the house that was sufficient for FP ink. In anticipation of InCoWriMo, and being on a tight budget, I bought a pad of drawing paper from walmart. It's 9 x 12 inches so much bigger than any paper I normally write letters with and I've been writing front and back for each letter thus far (trying to keep my rambling to a minimum) but we'll see how long letters get when I switch to a smaller paper

[Just I]

"Once, in flight school, I was laconic." -- Wash, from tv series Firefly.

 

 

One of my favourite quotes - I sometimes tack it on the corner of an envelope.

[Just I]

My typical letter ranges from 2-4 double-sided A4 pages, and I have small handwriting. I try to stay under the extra postage limit so will use lighter papers if it's a longer letter. When I was a kid I would sometimes write 20-page letters to friends and relatives - goodness knows what I went on about back then!! I'd love to see a sample now.

 

I have several friends to whom I write each month, the rest are more sporadic, but I write about a dozen letters most months - a fairly modest output compared to some on the FPN!

 

I remember the pages and pages of angst-ridden teenage letters that I wrote to pen pals gleamed from class assignments and fan magazines. I sometimes wish I could take a look at the letters I sent, most times I am thankful that the past is in the past.

 

Wow! That is a lot of letters! I thought I was doing good averaging about one a week since the new year. I guess I have some catching up to do.

[Just I]

I bought my first FP mid-January, and quickly realized that I had no paper in the house that was sufficient for FP ink. In anticipation of InCoWriMo, and being on a tight budget, I bought a pad of drawing paper from walmart. It's 9 x 12 inches so much bigger than any paper I normally write letters with and I've been writing front and back for each letter thus far (trying to keep my rambling to a minimum) but we'll see how long letters get when I switch to a smaller paper

 

I recently tried a drawing pad meant for markers, it was on sale and I figured that what is designed for one type of ink might work for another. I was pretty impressed with it, not bad at all for what I paid.

[mrcharlie]

I bought my first FP mid-January, and quickly realized that I had no paper in the house that was sufficient for FP ink. In anticipation of InCoWriMo, and being on a tight budget, I bought a pad of drawing paper from walmart. It's 9 x 12 inches

 

If everyone will excuse the tangent, I bought a lot of 6x9 type pads found in various types of stores in 2012, and almost none of them worked well with FPs. Mead brand is horrible. Ampad works with some common inks without feathering, but not a high percentage. I found the "100 sheets writing tablet" in Dollar Tree stores which is 5.75 x 8.75 inch sized. In the fine print the cover says "imported by Greenbriar International" and "made in India", works without feathering (or very little) or bleeding with the vast majority of inks I've tried on a sample page. It is no Tomoe River by far, but it is the poor man's substitute in my opinion.

 

You can fold it in half and fit it into cheap "social envelopes" found at walmart, staples, etc (not sure if Dollar Tree had them), and folded into thirds fits into the ubiquitous and cheap (in the US) #6 3/4 envelopes.

 

Disclaimer: I bought it slightly over a year ago; what they have right now might not be the same stuff or work as well. But it is $1, so worth a try imho. Another FPNer was very happy with the 6x9 or close sized pads from Dollar General if I remember correctly; the one I found there was okay but not as good with the inks I tried as the Dollar Tree pad. YMMV. These things get re-sourced all the time, etc.

 

Similar to what you are using, the "up & up medium weight drawing pad" (Target house brand) in 6x9 size has 80 sheets, is heavier/nicer than dollar store writing pad paper, and lots of inks work well and look nice on it. I don't remember the price exactly; it was between $2 and $3. It is only unlined, as you'd expect from a drawing pad. Also it is a little textured, not super smooth; for some a plus, for others a minus, I like it. Shading inks often look very nice on it. Whenever I write a certain FPNer using it, she always remarks about liking it. 6x9 size works in "social" and #6 3/4 size envelopes.

 

For cheap letter sized paper I recommend Staples brand 20# "Multipurpose Paper", which you can get right now and next week for $7.50 a ream of 500 sheet in the US with a $3.50 rebate (not instant; you have to fill out a web form and wait a month or two for the check). They have some sort of sale on it pretty often. I have written on this paper with a fair number of fountain pen inks without spread or feathering although like most lightweight office paper, a fair number of FP inks will bleed. It also works in both inkjet and laser printers, of course.

 

Back on topic, I just replied to a one page LetterMo letter with 6 sheets (one sided) of the Dollar Tree paper. It felt way long compared to the "intro letter" I'd just received. But when you are spending over a dollar to send a letter overseas, you want to write more than a page or two, right? FWIW 6 Dollar Tree writing pad sheets and 1 Ampad 4.75 x 6.5 social envelope was 0.49 oz; I could have used 6 or 7 more sheets without extra postage.

 

Most of the LetterMo/InCoWriMo inspired letters I've received from others are a single letter sized page or two smaller sized pages.

[mrcharlie]

Disclaimer: I bought it slightly over a year ago; what they have right now might not be the same stuff or work as well. [snip] YMMV. These things get re-sourced all the time, etc.

 

I was at the shopping center with Dollar Tree today, so I went in and checked. No Greenbriar Intl made in India tablets; now they (the ones where I live anyway) have "Tree House Pad & Paper, Inc" tablets, made in USA. One step up from newsprint; everything spreads and feathers. Oh well.

[Blade Runner]

My letters are typically a few pages (one sided). Besides the writing I enjoy embellishing envelopes for pen pals. I've always enjoyed receiving mail from distant lands, and I enjoy travel, so I like to make the envelopes and postcards look like they've come from exotic locales. IHere's one inspired by the famed Tin Can Mail.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/jelb/TCM/tcm2.jpg

Edited February 16, 2014 by Blade Runner