By Debb Hackett @debb_hackett

Let’s be honest because friends tell each other the truth. Writers are weird. They people watch but many avoid engaging. They drink too much (coffee, mostly), and mutter to themselves or their characters. Writers tend to get way geeked out by particular storylines if they’re fiction authors. In general, they get overexcited by notebooks, pens, or any item at all that included a typewriter image or snarky remark about grammar. All that to say, they can be hard to buy for. Unless you have insider knowledge. And that’s where I come in. So, dear writer friends, print this sucker off or share electronically with friends and family. You’re welcome.

Small

If your budget is nonexistent, fear not, I’ve got you. For published authors, reviews are like air. So, pull up their latest book (or more if you want to go large) and review. Write one review then copy and paste it EVERYWHERE books are sold or discussed online. Amazon, B&N, BooksAMillion, Christianbook.com, Goodreads, Bookbub, Kobo… the list goes on. Then print out a copy of the review and write where you’ve posted it. Roll up the paper and tie a red ribbon around it. You can even escalate by asking other friends or family members to do the same.

Medium

For the small budget, the greatest thing is probably to buy copies of your writer’s book (and then reviewing). You could even buy several and give them as gifts to others. See. I’m solving multiple gift solutions now. Writers also love stationary, maybe with fun literary quotes or grammar jokes. And pens. Oh my. Fun colors, fully erasable, highlighters, pencils with silly names (I have ones that say, ‘Once Upon a Time.’ Honorable mentions also go to gift cards for coffee shops, tea shops, local cafes, and any bookseller.

Large

If you’d like to spend a bigger amount, let me help! Each year my husband grabs me a huge writing planner. I could probably use it as a weapon. There are also quite expensive notebooks that are fabulous. Or, if you want to be more creative, consider looking at eBay for a first or early edition of your writer’s favorite author from the past. Etsy can turn book covers into all sorts of things (I’ve had necklaces made).

Nuclear

But if you really have ‘go big or go home’ as a gift philosophy, I can support that. I have several friends whose husbands gift them a two-night stay in a nice hotel so they can unwind and write in peace. Other options include a contribution to attending a writer’s conference or funding an online course. There are lots of choices around. Ones I’m eyeing up include the BBC’s MasterClass, the My Book Therapy ones and the Christian Writers Institute is another great place to look.

Merry Christmas to you, your friends, and family, love Debb.

PS – can someone show this to my husband?

Writer, broadcaster and speaker Debb Hackett has been a radio journalist for more than twenty years. Married to a Royal Air Force test pilot, Debb has written a Bible study for military wives.

A regular contributor to the Advanced Writers and Speakers Devotional Arise Daily, she’s also been privileged to writer chapters for Write Well Sell Well. For now, based near London, England she’s having lots of fun working on a contemporary romance series and was an ACFW Genesis award semi-finalist in 2020.

When she’s not writing, Debb can be found leading worship, playing bass or skiing. If you can swing by her house while she’s making scones, that would also be a win.