8 Amazing Gifts for Writers

By Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

I love my writer friends. They understand the agonies of proposals, edits, and book launches. They pray for me in the middle of the night when they know I’m fast approaching a hard deadline or suffering from writer’s block. They also share my hatred for comma splices and my love for a well-turned phrase. 

When things get tough, my writer friends send presents. When I complete my manuscript or launch a book, they send me presents. Sometimes, just because they love me, they send me presents.

And not just any present. WRITER presents. Clever, funny, practical presents.

I hope you have at least one special writer friend. One who really gets you. If so, why not write them a note (see what I did there?) or a text. Better yet, send them a note AND a present.

Here Are My Favorite Presents for Writers (with links):

Chick-Fil-A Milkshake

My go-to celebration writer present is a Chick-Fil-A gift card with enough cash on it to buy a milkshake. This gift is suitable for happy days and sad ones. You can slide it into a card, stick a stamp on it, and whoosh it out the door. I keep a few on hand so I don’t even have to leave the house to do something thoughtful. Nothing says “I love you” like a CFA milkshake. 

Vintage Typewriter Pencil Holder

One Christmas, my soon-to-be-famous writer friend Jean Wilund gave me the cutest miniature vintage typewriter. Made of cast metal with teeny tiny white keys and a well for pens and pens, it sits atop my writing desk and makes me smile.

The Best Pens EVER

Hands down, Papermate InkJoy gel pens are the best pens for critiquing (they come in purple, green, and teal, not just red) or for signing those thousands of author copies. They write smoothly, dry quickly, and fit nicely in your hand. The 0.7 fine point is perfect for making notes in the margin of your Bible. My soon-to-be-published friend Jeannie Waters sent me a set recently—just because. 

Bookmarks Are for Quitters T-shirt

No one needs another t-shirt—unless it’s this one. As a tribute to the many all-night reading sessions when you just couldn’t put that incredible book down, this writerly t-shirt is perfect to wear at conferences, Word Weavers meetings, or on rainy days when you just want to curl up and read a good book.

Grammar Pencils

Last month, my hubby and I were tooling around Black Mountain and discovered a bookstore that sold writerly things. When I spotted a set of ten pencils with phrases stamped on them like There, Their, There; Who, Which, and You, Your, and You’re. I knew I had to buy them for my illustriously brilliant agent, Bob Hostetler. A grammar nerd like I am, He won my heart with his defense of the Oxford comma. I knew this would be a good way to share a little author/agent love.

Limited Edition Color Post-It Notes

Is there anyone who doesn’t love sticky notes? Writers use them to capture ideas, remind ourselves of deadlines and can’t-forgets, and help us visualize chapters, characters, and simultaneous plot lines. I once write an entire devotion in 6-point print on a sticky note because it was the only paper available. If you want to send a writer friend over the sticky note rainbow, send her this set that contains 15 pads with 45 sheets per pad. Six hundred and seventy-five glorious sticky notes!

I Before E Mug

No list of writer gifts is complete without at least one coffee mug. After all, writers turn coffee into books, right? This one celebrates the maddening nuances of our English: I before E except after C except when you heinously seize your feisty foreign neighbor’s conceited beige heifer from the ceiling.

Ferrero Rocher Premium Gourmet Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Candy

Need to curry favor with (or grovel before) an editor, agent, podcaster, or writer? Try this gift. If twenty-four gold-foil-wrapped hazelnut chocolates don’t smooth the waters around you, there’s no hope. I once sent this gift to an editor to apologize for quoting Bible verses from memory instead of cutting and pasting, thus creating a lot of extra work for her and (apparently) a new Bible translation called Hatchelonians. Mea culpa!

I hope this fun post has inspired you to celebrate and thank the writers in your life. Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment below and share your favorite writer gift to give or receive.

TWEETABLE

8 Amazing Gifts for Writers from author @LoriHatcher2 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Lori Hatcher is an author, blogger, writing instructor, women’s ministry speaker, and career dental hygienist. She writes for Our Daily Bread, Guideposts, Revive Our Hearts, and Crosswalk.com. Check out her latest devotional, REFRESH YOUR HOPE, 60 DEVOTIONS FOR TRUSTING GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART from Our Daily Bread Publishing. Connect with her at WWW.LORIHATCHER.COM or on FACEBOOK, TWITTER (@lorihatcher2) or PINTEREST(Hungry for God).

Featured Image: Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash