Are you shopping for an important person in your life who’s also a writer? Do you want a more creative and interesting gift idea than another Amazon gift card? Here are seven ideas for gifts the writer in your life will almost certainly love. These range from cheap to big splurges, and I’ve included both physical gifts and ones that are more experience-based. As a writer myself for twenty years, and someone who has known many, many other writers as well, I can tell you that these are all gifts that just about any of us wordsmiths would appreciate.

Spoiler alert: One idea is editing services for the writer in your life who's ready to get their manuscript polished. Tapestry Writing Services offers a range of manuscript support! But read on if you want some additional ideas.

1.    Craft Books

If you’re looking to get away from generic gift cards, but still know the writer in your life would appreciate a book, one of the best kinds is a craft book. It can be tricky to know which one your writer friend or loved one has already read or owns, but here are a few they might love, courtesy of fellow writer Anastasia Gustafson.

For prose/fiction writers:

·        The Three AM Epiphany: Uncommon Writing Exercises by Brian Kiteley

·        Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose

·        Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg

·        Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative by Jane Alison

·        The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing by Alice LaPlante

For poetry writers:

·        Poetry: A Writer’s Guide and Anthology by Amorak Huey and W. Todd Kaneko

·        The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms edited by Mark Strand and Evan Boland

·        The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach by Robin Behn 

·        A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver 

·        Ordinary Genius by Kim Addonizio

2.    Smart Typewriter

With Google Docs and other open-source word processing programs becoming readily available, it’s no longer necessary for writers to invest in expensive software to write if they don’t want to. But as you probably know, writing on a computer can come with complications, most notably, distractions! While it can be good to have the internet handy in case the writer needs to look something up, it can also derail a productive writing session.

Enter smart typewriters, snazzy-looking throwbacks that allow the writer to write in peace without the need for paper OR a computer nearby. These machines are a splurge for sure, but your writer friend will be able to do their work distraction-free with the peace of mind that it will be saved to the cloud for their editing needs later.

My favorite is the Free Write. After many years of use, ours is still going strong!

3.    Notebooks and Pens

If your writer loved one is looking to go even more analog, you can’t go wrong with an old-fashioned set of notebooks and pens. Even in an age of smartphones, many writers like having something physical handy to write down ideas and notes in a pinch.

Notebooks:

·        For a medium-sized notebook: Apica notebooks by Atlas Stationers

·        For a more travel-friendly notebook: Decomposition pocket-sized notebooks

Pens:

·        For a solid, basic all-around pen: Uniball Jetstream

·        For something more funky: Rifle Paper Company

·        For writers who need lots of backups: Papermate multipacks

4.    Website Memberships

There are a ton of tools out there for writers who want to be published in their fields, and one of the nicest gifts you can give a writer shows your support for their journey.

For novelists, the path to publication often goes through literary agents, and hands down the best website for a writer at the querying stage is QueryTracker. QueryTracker is a giant database of pretty much every literary agent in the business, with comprehensive information about what categories each agent represents, their submission requirements, and whether or not they are currently open to queries. Writers can easily keep track of who they intend to query, who they’ve sent queries to, and how long they’ve been waiting. The website even has its own query manager that many agents use, making it even easier for writers to keep track of submissions.

Some of the QueryTracker tools are available for free, but the premium experience is invaluable for a writer in the query trenches, and only $25 a year.

For poetry and short story writers, another great tool is Duotrope, a database of markets for shorter form works (they cover longer form too, but they’re one of the best for shorts!). They include literary magazines, websites, contests, anthologies, and more. Their premium subscription is $50 for the year.

5.    Conference Passes

Writing conferences are a great way for a writer to learn more about the craft of writing and the complexities of publishing, connect with fellow authors, and possibly get their work in front of an agent or acquiring editor (NOTE: outside of specific circumstances such as conferences, a legit agent or publishing house representative will NEVER charge you to consider your work). These conferences can be extremely expensive to attend, and even more so if the writer would like to experience add-ons such as pitch sessions. If the writer in your life would like to attend a conference, consider helping contribute to those costs, either with a pass or one of the available add-ons.

This will require some coordination with your writer friend, of course, but trust me when I say, they will be thrilled to receive the support. A local conference is obviously easier to access than a large national one, and Poets & Writers has an extensive list of upcoming conferences taking place all over for various types of writers, or you can Google writing conferences in your area.

6.    Editing Services

This is another gift that will require communication with the writer in your life, as the perfect editor for a writer will depend on many factors, including the stage of their manuscript, the genre or category they write in, and the style of editing and communication they’re looking for. But it doesn’t hurt to ask if they have a particular editor in mind that they’d like to work with!

A full manuscript edit can get quite expensive, and many may have wait lists as well, but if your writer knows the editor they want, and you’re able to contribute to those costs, you will absolutely make their year. As a bonus, by supporting a freelance editor, you'll be supporting a small business!

And remember here at Tapestry Writing Services, we offer manuscript support and editing for every stage of the writing process. If you or a writer in your life needs assistance, we offer free consultations!

7.    Time Alone

Here’s one that’s even more offbeat than a website membership or conference passes. Ask yourself, what can you do to give your writer loved one time to do what they love to do: write. This could mean offering to babysit or clean, a gift card to their favorite coffee shop so they can get out of the house for a bit, or even a weekend stay in a picturesque, quiet place. If you can help contribute to the writer’s ability to simply write, you’ll be on their Nice List for a long time.

Every writer is different, but almost all writers will appreciate at least a few items on this list! What other ideas do you have for great writer gifts? Let us know in the comments. And if you’re a writer, send this to a friend if you’d like to drop some hints!