GREAT GIFT IDEAS
for the hard-to-buy-for
WRITER
Honestly, we aren’t hard to buy for… are we? Us writers are simple creatures, yes? Prone to flights of fancy and far-off looks, dreaming of the day when we have a 500 square-foot office with three types of desk and floor-to-ceiling shelves full of great reads and a library ladder… maybe a second floor just for the books, reached only by a secret staircase… or elevator… Okay, maybe we dream of some wild and very expensive things… Sort of. They are nice to think about. But I guarantee if you give an author something simple and very inexpensive that validates them and supports their work, they will never forget it.
Of course, there’s always the option of buying your author friend a book. If you know who they like to read, or maybe know their favorite book, this kind of gift is always a grand slam. My husband gifted me a first edition of my favorite novel, Boy’s Life, by Robert McCammon, and I loved it so much that I read it aloud to him during the pandemic, so he would know what I was so enamored of. It worked! He loved it!!
If you’re looking frantically for something to impress, trust me here. It’s really about the simpler things in life. Sure, there’s always the odd, “I wish I had a new desktop,” or, “My dearest dream is an author’s retreat.” But really, really, we like all things having anything to do with writing, so here are a few ideas for that next special occasion, in no particular order of importance:
•Sticky Tabs and Flags
-We especially love the translucent ones we can write on and see through at the same time. There are billions available, in all sizes and shapes, at great prices on Amazon. Extra points for pretty colors!
•Personal Organizers/Planners
-This is a great gift for any writer who likes to remain organized and keep their life together. It’s also appreciated by those of us who will set the whole thing up and then forget it exists for weeks at a time. (I have an obsession with planners, and I am the latter of the aforementioned, not the former).
*Also note: there are specific planners targeted to writing projects and novels specifically, and they are usually rather spendy, as notebooks go. Make no mistake: these are GOLD to any writer who is cheap with themselves and won’t buy them. (Hint for the Hubby here!)
•Post-It Notes
-One can never have too many of these handy-dandies, and they come in so many shapes and sizes. They’re available in every color and many companies make hard-to-find and coveted designer prints!
•Ink Cartridge Refills
-Since there’s just about nothing worse than needing to print and being out of ink, knowing your author’s printer model and ink requirements is key. No writer will frown at this useful (and yet amazingly thoughtful) gift!
I would be ecstatic to get ink in my stocking at Christmas. True story.
•Blank Notebooks and Journals
-It probably hasn’t escaped your attention that the writer in your life is a little, teeny, tiny bit obsessed with anything that looks, smells or works like a book. The best part about this preoccupation means we collect all sorts of notebooks, and though it may take a decade for us to break down and use them (because they are all precious and to be used with thoughtfulness and rationed regardless of the number we possess), we will always remember it was YOU who gifted this treasure.
(Bonus here is that most any store will at least carry a few designer “composition books,” and they can cost as little as $1 each!)
•Writing Apparatus’ of All Sorts
-This might seem like an obvious one but hear me out: Us writers actually look forward to trying out a new pen, pencil, marker, dry erase, colored pencil, or highlighter as much as we thrill to the smell of a freshly opened package of our favorite pencils or to the sharp, sweet lines of a favored brand of pen. This elation doubles when we receive a favored writing apparatus in a new color (or, gasp! multicolored pack).
*Knowing our preferred lead refill or nib size in millimeters just might earn you a marriage proposal or at least a stalker for life, so be careful here!*
•A Clever Coffee or Drink Cup
-Because we are often stranded in stationary positions for long periods of time, like our desk, or our portable sofa desk, etc. it’s always appreciated when we get a container with which to transport liquid sustenance safely to those places. Printed with something we enjoy, like a favorite photo or saying, it becomes indispensable, and it’s a big part of our day, because sometimes it’s our favorite beverage that gets us through!
•Any Cool Little Knickknack You Might Find
-Always a winner, the neat pen container you made from a soup can or pastel glass jar will become a way to keep track of push pins or scissors, and the cool vintage bank or blown glass winged pig may be useful or just decorative. Either way, we do like little things that say, “Hey, I see you hole up in your office for days on end, and I just want you to know I am thinking of you while you’re gone making up people and worlds and whatever else you’re doing in there!”
Other Gifts to Consider:
•Custom/Designer Mouse Pads
•Custom Printed Mouse
•Custom Printed Canvas
(I recommend using something really personal to the writer if you can, like a photo of their book cover, even if it’s just a mock-up of something they’ve shared from a work in progress.)
•Business Cards Proclaiming the Writer to be a Writer- how professional!
•A New Desk (or even just some new, fancy drawer pulls for the one they have)
•A Comfortable Cadillac of an Office Chair
•A Desktop Computer (or a bigger screen or new keyboard)
•Subscriptions for Writing Programs like MS Word or Scrivener
•Software Programs like Dragon, for dictating manuscripts
•Bluetooth Headphones or Headsets
Looking for Something a Bit More Spendy?
•Airfare and Hotel Accommodations for a Writer’s Conference or Gathering
•An All-Inclusive Ticket to a Writer’s Retreat
•A Brand-New Car to Drive to Authorly Locations
•A House in an Inspiring Location!
PLEASE DON’T FORGET, SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PRESENTS YOU CAN GIVE THE WITER IN YOUR LIFE AREN’T EVEN FOR SALE ANYWHERE!
You can gift your favorite writer with your support by doing these things:
-Talk to your writer about their work-
-Share their posts on social media every time they post-
-Like and Follow their accounts. Comment and interact with them online-
-Subscribe to the writer’s blog and comment on blog posts-
-Post about your favorite author friend on your social media accounts-
-Call them a writer or author and they’ll melt-
All jokes aside, I promise, if you show up with that stapler or three-hole punch your writer friend has been putting off buying themself, you’ll be thanked a million times over and thought of whenever it gets used.
DEE SCOTT ERICKSON, author 