12 Meaningful Holiday Gifts for Writers

I love buying gifts for writers. It’s like shopping for myself–with no guilt! How about you? Any writers on your Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza list?

I’m a little on the late side for Hanukkah, but lucky for me it’s an eight day holiday! Okay, here are a few great books—for pleasure or success as a writer—and some other unique finds I’ve purchased over the years as gifts for friends and colleagues and for myself as well!

That’s right, don’t forget a little something for the writer in you. Everyone loves a gift and your inner muse may just light up at your thoughtfulness.

And I promise, no mugs in this list! You’ll even find heartfelt ways to give that cost no money.

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#1 Jane Friedman’s The Business of Being a Writer tops my list of gifts for writers this year because most writers need support to make a living at their craft. This book offers even the least-business oriented writer a practical path to success, while helping them enjoy and embrace the business end each step of the way.

#2 Book Jewelry: I once gave a pair of beautiful book earrings to Martha Rhodes when she signed up for my Bring Your Book to Life(R) Program at Tara Sage‘s The Dream Party. Martha went on to become an award-winning author of 3,00o Pulses Later which was featured in two New York Times articles online, among much other national publicity. All to say, these earrings are lucky! Nowadays, there are so many styles to choose from. Book related earrings, necklaces, hair sticks, and pins all make playful gifts for writers. My criteria for best book jewelry today were: books that actually open with blank pages to write in, stylishness, price and variety. You can find all these bejeweled gifts for writers at my favorite: Book Earrings. For more options, check out Etsy.

#3 Time: If your gift recipient is a parent of young children, time may be their greatest challenge. How can you help? Can you offer to babysit their kids? Cook dinner for their family one night while they go to the local bookstore cafe to write? Even a non-parent may have trouble making time. Think about a creative time-saving offer and make up a lovely card or certificate that describes your gift of time, support or resources.

#4 Start Right Where You Are by Samantha Bennett is perfect for the writer who’s stuck in perfectionism, procrastinating or just can’t seem to complete a project. Sam’s the perfect combination of wise guide and wise guy. Her humor will have your gift recipient smiling and laughing the whole way to completing his or her writing projects!

#5 The Literary Tee: Etsy is full of fun t-shirts for writers and readers, from the grammar tee (pictured) to the playful quote from a literary classic to future bestselling author and more.

#6 A Book to Help Writers Navigate Social Media: It’s hard to escape social media. If you’re a writer, you need to connect with readers and social media is one of the best ways to do so. Yet many writers feel intimidated, overwhelmed or just plain resentful of the time it takes. How to navigate social media and leverage it’s value without getting sucked in? Here are my favorite books for that job; they all make great gifts for writers: Social Media Just for Writers (revised in 2016) by Frances Caballo, the Stevie Award-winning Get 10,000 Twitter Followers Quickly, Easily, Ethically by Cathy Turney (an Amazon Deal of the Week this week!) and Mastering the New Media Landscape by Rusty Shelton and Barbara Cave Henricks.

#7 Quick Start to Kick Start Your Book: This self-study book-writing workshop comes in a spiral bound workbook format or download, both with an audio component and an optional series of emails to get clear on your book concept. At $97 for the download and $116 for the physical version, it’s my bestselling program. Aspiring authors for prescriptive books love the powerful exercises that provide clarity about the nonfiction book concept: vision, goals, readers/market, content, features, tone, structure and the practical habits and suggestions for getting the book written. For the holidays, I am offering 20% off. Just use “QS20” as the shopping cart code and find out more or order here!

#8 Journals: I love journals and my faves come from the exquisite Paper Blanks and the more affordable Peter Pauper Press. Some things to think about: something easily portable or big enough to write an entire book and get playful and even doodle while writing. You can also find leather journals at Teo Studio on Etsy.

#9 Book Architecture: If your writer friend is writing a more complex and non-prescriptive book, such as memoir, novel or narrative nonfiction, I recommend any of Stuart Horwitz’s excellent books on writing and revision. Book Architecture: How to Plot and Outline Without Using a Formula is an excellent place to start.

#10: Editing or other feedback. If you’re a writer or editor yourself, how about making up a nice card that offers a couple of hours of editing, editing of 20 pages or a brainstorming session? You don’t have to spend money to give. In fact, intangible gifts are environmentally friendly: they leave no carbon footprint! Of course, if your skills are not the perfect match, you can always hire an editor or book writing coach for your loved one.

#11: Your Favorite Book: The personal touch of a book you love can be especially meaningful. Recently Dr. Gayle Myers gifted me with You Are the Answer by her spiritual teacher, Michael J. Tamura. When he signed the book, the author wrote a lovely personal note on the first page. I’m so enjoying reading this book, both for its content and for knowing the role it played in Gayle’s life.

Have any gifts for writers ideas? Please share your gifts for writers as a comment below and feel free to include a link to buy. Is it a product you make or sell? I still have a few writers on my gift list!