5 Unique & Practical Gifts for Writers

Looking for the right gift for the writer in your life? An item that shows them you value and respect their writing as much as they do? Well, we have five uncommon but insanely practical gifts to suggest this season. We know any writer on your gift-giving list would be thrilled to receive one of these gems.

1. Give Something for those Eureka Moments!
Inspiration is a funny beast, it blindsides us when we least expect it. That’s why we need supplies for those emergency ideas. For the shower scribbler on your gift list, get them Aqua Notes. That’s right, someone makes water proof notepads. The water writer in your life need never lose another world-shaking thought to the rinse cycle.

For the in-bed writers of your friendship circle, consider a Fisher Space Pen. Ink flows smoothly from this interstellar champion even in zero gravity, so being reclined and scribbling out every breathtaking detail of an inspiring poem, is not going to phase this pen.

Do you have someone in your life that can’t stop talking during a movie? Silence their whispers with a Pilot’s Pen. It’s a pen that illuminates a tiny circle at the tip. Even in a darkened room, your night writer can see where to jot down those unforgettable gems of wisdom they normally share with the entire theater.

2. Give Swag!
Writers need to market their books, blogs and services and it’s costly, both in time and in money. No one wants to fork out the cash for something that gets chucked in the trash two second later, so we look for ways to make cute custom printed swag. The better the swag, the longer it lingers. If your favorite writer is heading off to a conference in 2016, consider getting them a box of custom printed goodies, like pens or pencils. Every time they sit down next to someone fishing for a writing instrument, they can come to the rescue. It’s a great icebreaker when everyone’s a stranger. Plus there’s a good chance the new pal will take that pencil home, leading to a curiosity click or two when they discover the web address stamped on the side. Other good items to consider are: bookmarks (a bit generic but a classic), luggage tags, or magnets (include a motivational saying to make them extra popular). Or giant clips for holding all those conference handouts. Pricey, but so worth it! What person doesn’t need an extra clip, even if it’s just to hold a half-eaten bag of chips closed?

Tip: Remember to keep it simple! Include the author’s website in black on white. Or pick a single color that closely matches the writer’s home page color and either black or white lettering for ideal contrast.

3. Give Professional help!
From book covers to taxes, all writers are small business owners. Chances are they can’t do everything with equal skill. Consider gifting your writer friend a session with a qualified professional. Since this is a highly personal gift, you should know the writer well enough to see their Achilles’ heal. Do they need a new author head shot because their current one makes them look like a serial killer? Buy them a session with a photographer. Do need a website redesign because they write crime novels but have a website with so much pink and sparkles it’s like reading My Little Pony vomit. Pay for a website consultation. Since taste is highly subjective, and your writing friend might love their pink website with orange lettering, use good judgment and make sure your gift isn’t too invasive.

Tip: Before you plunk down any hard-earned money, ask for references and/or examples of the professional’s work.

4. Give Word Combination Locks!
Most writers I know have a fantastic memory for words, but often struggle to recall numbers. Master Word Locks are the perfect solution. From bikes to gym lockers, we need a fast and easy way to secure our stuff, and remembering a standard combination is not always for us. Keep in mind these locks are easier for others to break into because the word is on display when you enter in, but as long as they cover the lock, it should be fine.

I love Word Locks, I use them all over my property to secure the fences and tool shed. No more running back to the house for key. With creative spelling you can set them to some fun words, like a character name from your next novel.

5. Give Data Protection!
Writers are their data, and we are the worst at keeping it safe. Many of us don’t save our data to a secondary location (like Drop-Box) and we are one flood, fire, robbery or hard drive failure away from losing years worth of our work. Plus we take stick drives loaded up with all our most important data to conferences, libraries and coffee shops. It’s just asking for trouble. Consider gifting an encrypted thumb drive, or one that is password protected.  It’s not a perfect solution to data protection, but it’s a great start. Pick one, or buy all five of these goodies and surprise the writers you love with gifts they’ll treasure.

Author: Robin Rivera

Robin trained as a professional historian and worked as a museum curator, educator, and historical consultant. She writes mystery fiction, with diverse characters and a touch of snark. She's currently working on two new manuscripts that started off as NaNoWriMo projects. You can follow her on Facebook(https://www.facebook.com/robin.rivera.90813). However, Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/RRWrites/) is where her inner magpie is happiest of all. View all posts by Robin Rivera