Dear Mr. Brown,

I thought I’d drop you a quick little note — just a helpful little clarification that I thought you might like to receive, from one writer to another. Here it is:

Precarious: pre⋅car⋅i⋅ous [pri-kair-ee-uhs] — prɪˈkɛəriəs

–adjective
1. dependent on circumstances beyond one’s control; uncertain; unstable; insecure: a precarious livelihood.
2. dependent on the will or pleasure of another; liable to be withdrawn or lost at the will of another: He held a precarious tenure under an arbitrary administration.
3. exposed to or involving danger; dangerous; perilous; risky: the precarious life of an underseas diver.
4. having insufficient, little, or no foundation: a precarious assumption.

Related forms:
pre⋅car⋅i⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
pre⋅car⋅i⋅ous⋅ness, noun
Synonyms:
1. unsure, unsteady. (See uncertain.) 2. doubtful, dubious, unreliable, undependable. 3. hazardous. 4. groundless, baseless, unfounded.
Antonyms:
1. secure. 2. reliable. 3. safe. 4. well-founded.

Just thought you should know. You’ll find this definition and more at Dictionary.com, in case you’re wondering. It’s really handy if you don’t have any standard reference tools nearby from publishers such as Merriam-Webster, Oxford, or Roget.

Oh, one other thing… I haven’t bought or read your new book The Lost Symbol yet, but before I do, I wanted to ask one question. Are you still working with the same editor, or did you get a new one for this project?

Go ahead and laugh. I’m the snarky one and you’re the one going from book deal to movie deal. Congratulations, I guess.

Sincerely, etcetera.