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i'm telling you, people want to read your book. :) well, except for tom cruise, but he's crazy. and not in a good way. he needs muzzled. because he's crazy and stupid.

so, yeah, except for tom cruise, book reading people will love you. :)

Don't stop writing no matter what. Blogs will not overtake the reading world. People don't like e-books: if they did the hardware for them would not have failed o dismally.

Face it, people like to curl up with a good book and you just can't do that with a computer. Reading is as much a tactil experience as it is visual.

And when you finish it and it's in print, TOTALLY send Tom Cruise a copy! =snort=

Oh, honey -- if you are compelled to write -- do it. You clearly have an innate gift to convey your thoughts through written word. I understand all of the self doubt, and the times that you want to throw yourself in front of a train because you're sure you have nothing of value to say to the world, but the reality is that when you're in the "zone," the rewards can be amazing. Writing is both vicarious and cathartic, which means it appeals to anyone who loves to write and/or read, and I for one would read your book. And, I DO NOT agree that blogs are going to take over -- they will only take over for people who can't tolerate sitting down and reading a book anyway. My roommate, mother, brother, father, lots of my friends and I are voracious readers, and that is never going to change, no matter what the medium. Blogs are but snippets, as you pointed out, begging to be fleshed out into longer pinings. There is something about just holding a book in your hands, sitting outside, smoking a cigarette, drinking a cup of coffee and reading that will never have the ability to be duplicated by reading a blog. As you pointed out in your "Rent" story, they are two different mediums, and not everyone is drawn toward both -- but rest assured, there of those of us who would never give up the tactile, black and white feeling of holding a book while reading out on the deck in the sunshine. Keep on keepin' on, there, missy.

OK, I was just now staring at a blinking cursor having TOTAL AND UTTER overload because I have so much to fricken say in response to this (and so much more to ask/hear) that it's jamming my circuits. This is a way more meaningful and important reason for the two of us to get together for drinks right now, even moreso than the offer you extended to buy me a birthday drink! Let's do it. Our souls need to have a long conversation with each other I believe. I am going to make all my shit stick down on my calendar, and then start offering you some dates/times. Look for an email. 'kay?

People are already listening. And it doesn't matter whether or not your book is a bestseller. It will be R-E-A-D. And it will be here for years to come. Don't be discouraged by fear!

As I *very* recently wrote to that friend I told you about: I have a great love of the physical book: its weight in your hands, the smell of the ink and paper, the susurrus of the turning pages....
There are many of us here. Love to read in all its forms, but the best way is a book.

The best evidence of your worries being unfounded is the following observation:

There's never a blip when I read your blog.

Almost everything bloggy I find on the web is blemished by a certain degree of amateurishness, a poorly turned phrase or mispelled (sp? lol) word that pulls me out of it. I read your stuff and I have to remind myself that I'm not on an actual newswire or a B&N excerpt.

The 'do it for yourself' chestnut derives from the self-preservation tactic that is required of all writers if they are to produce a single paragraph--the need to focus on the creating, rather than letting the 'getting published' part prove so daunting that you stop before you start.

But the questioning your abilities thing? Fuck that.

PS: Jane, Word. The smell of an old book store? Sniff...ahh...

PPS:I was discussing the future of the book with my class this week (a sliver of a larger conversation about the pitiful decline of Luddite art in the Digital Age). I was heartened to see that even the dopey 18 year olds, the ones who will actually decide this, all felt that books would always be around/couldn't imagine a world without them/couldn't reconcile an Ibook taking a hardback's place, etc. I felt so good after this that I didn't complain about gangsta rap the rest of the period.

Nothing will ever take away books from me. I love reading things online but I love reading them "in person" (does that make sense) even better.

And although its hard and you only get to have your writing day one day a week, please stick with it. You have such a gift. I can relate to soooo much you say and you make me laugh and smile and pause and think and ponder and all that good stuff. Do it for you, but do it for us too.

Robin, you have to do it. You simply have to. This will be an itch that will not be scratched for you in any other way.

Not writing the book and not having it published has the same result in that no one will read it but the difference between the two is that you will learn and grow and be stimulated by the experience of writing. You won't get that if you don't try to write.

And maybe the first one doesn't get published. Write another. Maybe it's the second book you have in you that makes it.

I talked this week about taking a leap of faith. Take yours.

When you get around to shopping that book:

http://everyonewhosanyone.com/

I effing LURVE your blog.

I would buy your book AND pay UK-US postage.

Get it effin written or else!!!!!!

Well, I, for one, would read it. And clearly, I'm not alone.

Robin, you are fabulous. We all have moments of self-doubt. I, like you, have only ever wanted to write. It is the way I make sense of the crazy frickin' world I live in. And although there is always some scary element to putting your voice out there, it doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. Go forth to the coffee house and remember, you are the bomb!

I love blogs for the immediacey. The real-life sense of never knowing what will happen next. But a book that you curl up in bed with, that takes you through that perfect arc of a story and sets you down at the end and lets your imagination do the rest? That will never be replaced. My God, I love books. I'm adoring them these days. If you publish, I will buy.