but my best friend, janet maslin, who's film critic at the new york times, is somebody who weighs in with me practically every time i write -- in fact, practically every morning. c-span: now what do they say to you that is the most helpful? and when do you know that you really hit it and when do you know that you've missed it? >> guest: because when i've really hit it, they say, "boy, did you hit it on that column." i mean, my husband will say to me, "boy, good column today." you know, and he's sparing enough with that. he's a harsh enough judge that i know that i really hit it when he says that. and i don't know as often when i've missed it, except that sometimes there'll be a somewhat deafening silence about the larger point of the column. sometimes someone will say to me, "gee, you know, that was a good analogy that you used." and then i think, "but what about the whole thing?" but oftentimes, if i've missed it, i know i've missed it. and then in a couple of days, the readers tell you. i mean, if you've written something that's particularly effective, even given the fact that you