First off, thank you. That's always nice to hear. For what's worth, I think you're awesome, too.

That's a hard question to answer, because I'm not sure how I am supposed to feel appreciated. In every way that matters, I am. I know my wife appreciates me--and I her--and I have wonderful friends with whom I have a complex history of back-and-forth favors. I like to think my friends know I appreciate them, that I've shown how much I cherish all the things they do, and not just what they do for me. I do my best, but as to whether or not I'm truly effective, that's a question you'll have to ask them.

I think, as I writer, it is very easy to feel under-appreciated, simply because you work long and hard on something that, for the most part, you will never see someone else enjoy. I've been very lucky, in that I have a vocal group of peers and strangers who tell me online and in person at conventions that they like what I do. Not every writer has people like that, and even with them, it can be easy to lose sight of how much of what you do touches other people. I know some writers measure their appreciation in book sales, or blog hits, or reTweets, but I think that way lies madness. Which is not to say I haven't fallen down that rabbit hole myself.

But when it comes to the faceless crowds that may or may not be appreciating your work, I think you have to run with the assumption that they do. You have to assume that people recognize how hard you've worked, and maybe they can't pay for it because cash is tight, or maybe they don't like reTweeting, but they do appreciate you. Because you can't know for sure, and the only other option is to assume they don't. Which is a horrible, angry way to live.

I know that my wife, my family and my friends, the people whom I love and who love me back, appreciate me, and I appreciate them. I appreciate the people who enjoy my work, and since I cannot know them, I imagine that they feel the same.