I have a love/hate relationship with e-mail.

I love receiving e-mails from readers who enjoyed my books. Nothing makes my day like an e-mail from a happy reader.

I love e-mail, too, because I can fire off a note to a friend who lives on the other side of the country (or the world, for that matter) and hear back within seconds. Love the instantaneous aspect of it.

On the other hand, I hate e-mail because so often I don’t fire off e-mails, I labor over them, trying to make sure my tone comes across exactly right. Tone is so tricky. Too abrupt and I’ll sound demanding and bossy. Too cutesy and I’ll come off as unprofessional. Composing a perfectly pitched e-mail is an art. Unfortunately, I seem to be lacking in that art form.

There have been days when I’ve spent more time writing a three-line e-mail than I did writing three pages of my book. Surely, there’s something wrong with that picture!

While I love the instant connection it brings, I think e-mail is often a black hole, an endless pit, that sucks up my time and attention. I probably should dash off all my replies and not worry so much about how I come across, but I can’t seem to do that. Today, e-mails are everything from friendly notes to business letters. Maybe that’s why they’re so difficult for me to write.

So, how do you feel about e-mail? Friend or foe?