This is a post about the ULTIMATE holiday gifts for writers.

If you could have anything for a holiday gifts this year, writer, what would it be?

I will be expanding this post over the course of December and I’ll take your suggestions into account.

I’m going to kick things off with a few choice tech items. And then we will proceed with more categories as people chime in.

Here we go!

Techno Gifts for Writers 2011

Kindle Fire

I’m not sure if I can justify an iPad when the Kindle Fire is so much more affordable and practical. What do you think of the Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi? Anyone have one?

iPhone4S

I’m getting one of these bad boys as a holiday gift. Cannot wait for all of my apps to work again. I’m thinking I will get it in white. Do you have one? What do you think of it?

iPad

This is funny because normally I would just auto-default to the Apple product, but Kindle has me saying, “Not so fast!” I am undecided as to whether I would even want an iPad since I want a Kindle Fire and I have plenty of Mac computers, including a desktop and two laptops (not counting our older, half-defunct models). Plus I already have a bunch of Amazon ebooks on the Kindle I got for my birthday last year, which I was thinking of handing down to my daughter. Here is the Amazon page comparing the two. What do you think? I think I’m going to go Kindle Fire on this one…sorry, Apple.

iMac

I do not need a new computer right now, because we have plenty. But if I were to recommend one to a fellow writer, I think I’d recommend the MacBook Air. I have a MacBook Pro and the thing is darn heavy. It’s awesome. Just too heavy. So the whole lightweight concept should solve the problem. If you order I suggest an anti-glare screen, the larger size, and the three-year warranty.

iRobot Vacuum

I have this fantasy and it goes like this: I turn on the robot vacuum and leave the room and when I come back in ten minutes the whole room is swept. It’s all very George Jetson, but I could get into it. Just try me. Irobot Roomba 562 Pet Series Vacuum Cleaning Robot

Canon G12

I would like to be able to submit professional-quality photos with my work and have better photos on hand to use for blogging. I like Canon products and this camera has the features I want. It’s also is well-rated by users. Anyone tried it?

Brainstorming Tools for Writers 2011

So, before I launch into this list, let me set the record straight. There is one thing I won’t pay a lot for and that’s paper. Why? Well, for one thing my daughter the budding comic book artist has created a three-inch high stack of comic drafts since September—and those are just those that were good enough to keep. Between the two of us, and despite the hyper-digital age we are living in, the two of us consume quite a bit of paper.

My husband does his part burning through a three-subject notebook each month in order to sort out his thoughts and prepare for his school day. So with all the paper consumption going on around here, you can likely imagine why we like to have special tools for doodling around. Here are some of our favorite products:

Prismacolor Art Markers

These are my personal favorites for doodling. Before you say they are too expensive—they are sold at art supply stores, which often offer 40-50% off coupons on one item that is not on sale, especially at this time of year. These markers are rarely on sale, so they usually qualify for coupon discounts. Or you can buy them at Amazon and get them in the handy case, which is what I have.

Sharpies

My husband is a big Sharpie fan. I like to use black Sharpies to sign books because the ink doesn’t smudge or run. We have two kinds of Sharpies that we use most: fine tip and ultra-fine tip. You can even get them with two tips in one, like the Prismacolors. We usually get our Sharpies at Target or Fred Meyer or any other local store that carries them. I think their motto should be, “You can never own too many Sharpies.” A pack starts at about seven bucks and goes up to about fourteen bucks for fine point and about the same prices for an eight pack of ultra-fine points. But you can get 24 ultra-fines for only fifteen bucks here. I also like the calligraphy markers.

Pilot G2s

I buy these pens by the big multi-color pack at Costco and then buy handfulls of cartridge refill two-packs whenever I see them on sale in an office supply store. Even so, they all eventually disappear. I blame my nine-year-old, and also my husband because I use them until they break and then I toss the pieces.

Newsflash for editors: you can buy the red G2s by the dozen in red ink on Amazon. Okay, that is just the kind of thing that causes me to start geeking out. But what really makes me geek out is that you can do the exact same thing in PURPLE.

Costco does not show the big multi-pack in their online store, but they have good prices on refills. I prefer the fine G2 pens to the ultra-fine G2s because the ultra-fine is too scratchy-feeling for me. I don’t like my pen to scratch, I like it to roll, although this probably costs me in ink in the long run.

One Really Awesome Montblanc Pen

Have you ever had one? I had one once and I would like to have one again. First of all, I wonder if I would like signing books with it. Would the ink smudge? Would it roll better than my G2s? I would love to find out because these are not mere pens, people. These are “writing instruments.” Fancy. And it comes in WHITE so it could match my iPhone. Although it would cost four and a half times as much. But hey, this is the Ultimate Holiday Gift List for Writers so we are allowed to dream big.

JetMax Desktop Carousel

Okay, after all of this talk about pens, your mind might be spinning. But spin this desktop organizer instead. It used to be made by Making Memories but now it seems like it’s distributed by JetMax, so I’m not sure who created the product in the first place. The important part is, I love mine. I love sorting my pens in it once a year and having them stay organized for about, oh, three weeks. What does it matter? The sorter spins around, holds pens, highlighters, scissors, paperclips, erasers—you name it. So even an imperfectly organized person such as myself can feel kinda organized. This is another one of those products that is good to get at your local art supply store, like Michaels, with one of those 50% off coupons you can find in the Sunday paper or on their website. (And now that I’ve seen the photo of the embellishment center, I want that too. I hope they still make it!)

EverNote

Blogger Colleen Wainwright swears by EverNote software for organizing blog posts and other writing-related projects. I swear one of these days I’m going to try it. In fact, I just downloaded it onto my fast computer so I can give it a whirl (meanwhile I am always working on my slow computer because I still need to transfer everything over to my newer, faster computer which is not even new any longer).

But here’s the thing, I think my brain works just like EverNote for Mac, so does this mean I don’t need it? I’ll report back after I’ve gotten the hang of it. I have some projects in mind that I think it would be perfect for in the New Year.

One-of-a-kind Gifts For Writers 2011

A Trip To The Sylvia Beach Hotel

I was put up at The Sylvia Beach Hotel once when I gave a presentation for the Coast Branch of Willamette Writers.  I wrote about my delight in the place many moons ago back in my old blog. That was a fun trip to a rare and unique writer-centric destination. I hope, if you will be in the Newport, Oregon area, that you will put The Sylvia Beach Hotel on your radar, stop by, and stay a night or two.

A Writer’s Tribute Coffee Table

Hey, every writer should have a coffee table like this one. Rescued from the gutter and totally restored beyond its former glory with writerly inspiration. Check it out. This table is in the Portland area, Oregonians! (At least I think it is, unless it’s in Portland, Maine.) Perhaps it’s not everyone’s taste, but I liked the idea of it, and thought I could help it find a home.

Uneek “Author” and “Literary Character” Dolls

My husband found these adorable literary dolls online. Check out Debbie Ritter’s Collection of hand-crafted dolls, which come in many themes, including authors and literary characters. Here’s what Debbie has to say about her dolls: I personally create and design each tiny miniature from start to finish, including painting each tiny detail of their faces . I love the process of capturing the expression of what I think they are thinking, or what I think shows their personality!

View all Uneek Doll Designs here.

Stocking Stuffers For Writers

Gift Certificate for a Full Body Massage

In an informal poll of my Dream Team students, a full body massage was the most oft-mentioned treat. In fact, while writing this, I am fantasizing about getting a massage from one of my favorite masseuses at the Bonneville Hot Springs Resort & Spa. THIS is the kind of place the writer on your list would love a gift certificate to so he or she can soak her weary typing fingers, relax her busy brain, and melt into a puddle of relaxed goo. And now if you will excuse me, I have to go make a massage reservation…

Apple Wireless Keyboard

One of my Dream Team students uses this keyboard to type into…her iPhone. You heard me right. Why tote your whole laptop around or even your expensive iPad, when you could just carry this keyboard with your phone and still get tons of writing done while sitting in the carpool line or dashing out for a quick coffee?

Movies About Writers & The Writing Life on DVD

Is my husband listening? If I were to get a handful of my favorite movies about writers in my stocking this year, I would want: Midnight In Paris, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Julie & Julia, Freedom Writers (we have it), Under the Tuscan Sun, Riding in Cars with Boys, Isn’t She Great? (one of my faves!), Shakespeare in Love, Bullets Over Broadway, Henry & June, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Sophie’s Choice, Rich and Famous, and The Way We Were. What would you pick?

A Weekend Writer’s Conference

If your Santa can swing a trip to New York City with the gift, I recommend the Writer’s Digest Writer’s Conference. Or Santa can select one in your neck of the woods even if it’s at a future date like, Willamette Writers, the Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference, The Chuckanut Writer’s Conference or Mad Anthony.

Something Your Writer Covets

Is it a new ring? A new pair of boots? A ski trip? A new camera lens? A new laptop (see above)? A mani-pedi? In my humble opinion, whatever your writer wants is exactly what she should get. After all, she works hard all year long, putting in long hours at the keyboard, staving off eye-strain and Carpal Tunnel. So if you really love her, the holidays are your chance to show just how much with the ultimate writer gift that fits your budget.

A Chance To Work With Me

You want to make your writer happy, right? Well, I can tell you from experience that a productive writer is a happy writer. Maybe all your writer really wants is the chance to take a class or join a Dream Team with me. Maybe she has read my old books, Writer Mama and Get Known, ordered my new book, and is ready to put all the things she has read to work. I have known of writers who have put my classes on their wish lists for years before finally letting themselves take one. If this describes your writer, you can make her very happy by telling her on Christmas morning to take her pick of classes or Dream Teams because you fully support her desire to develop her writing abilities. You might think this doesn’t sound very romantic, but trust me, sometimes it’s exactly what a mom is dying to hear.

What’s your ultimate writer gift this year, writers? Chime in!

This is my contribution to well-gifted writers this holiday season. Feel free to pass this list around.

Happy holidays, writers!

~ Photo by alancleaver_2000

New Publication Date: December 26, 2011

Because the publication date for The Writer’s Workout has been changed to December 26th, I am moving the Global Launch Party date to Tuesday, January 10th.

The party will no longer be on December 6th. Please change your calendars if you already marked them.

Here’s what I have planned:

In the front of the house, I will offer audio readings from the book, links to summaries of the messages in the book, and links to my December blog tour appearances.

In the back of the house, you will have the opportunity to use your book receipt as a flash class admission ticket. You’ve heard of a flash mob? Well this is similar, except it’s a class and you can join in at any point throughout the day of the 10th.

On the flash class page, I will do three quick coaching modules on three career-building topics:

• How to Assess The Power of Your Writing Portfolio
• How to Build Your Best Bio for 2012
• How to Discover Your Unique Platform Dynamic

Similar to what I do in my classes and coaching with my private students, my goal for the book launch party is help every reader of The Writer’s Workout put their best work forward in 2012. Pep talks, writing career workouts, and plenty of inspiration all condensed into one powerful day of celebration to help us kick 2012 off right — I hope you can make it!

In order to participate in the flash class on January 10th, please purchase your copy of The Writer’s Workout and submit your receipt via email by midnight, Monday, January 9th, . The flash class will be available to readers for 24 hours only from 12:01 am to midnight on January 10th.

Send your purchase receipt from any retailer in one of the following ways. This offer is good for print and digital versions of the book, so long as they are purchased at a retail price:

• Forward the email receipt to christina at chrisitna katz dot com
• Or scan your receipt and email it to christina at chrisitna katz dot com
• Or photocopy and mail your receipt to: Christina Katz, PO Box 1354, Wilsonville, OR, 97070

The value of the flash class is $75 but it’s yours FREE when you purchase The Writer’s Workout by January 9th, send in your receipt, and show up any time on Tuesday, January 10th to participate.

You do not have to read The Writer’s Workout prior to attending the flash class (but if you do, I hope you will share what you think at your favorite review site).

I hope you can join us for a day of celebration, inspiration and career growth!

Here are ten reasons I love platform development and building that I want to share with you. These are also the reasons why I never tire of platform development/building and will never stop doing it.

I dedicate this post to all of my students who work in such a holistic, integrated, joyful manner towards profitable self-expression, continually learning and discovering things about themselves and their readers along the way.

Love platform-building because:

1. There is nobody else like you, who is passionate about what you are passionate about, and who expresses what you express in the world the way you express it.

2. You never stop joyfully growing your platform, even after you get published,  even after you hit the New York Times Bestseller List, even after you are famous, and even after you are a household name. It’s just a part of any genuinely creative person’s life.

3. You are a creative person, who gets to do creative work and share creative work with the world. What’s wrong with that?

4. Even when you are over-tired, over-wrought, and creatively exhausted, you will have the satisfaction that you did your best creative work and shared it with the world. And this is an extremely empowering feeling, which often leads to future creative work.

5. There are no rules! No one person has the secret platform-building formula. I spend most of my energy encouraging my students to find their unique note and sing it more loudly, expressively, and confidently. I encourage creatives to tap into what makes them uniquely powerful not become a clone of me.

6. You are not done yet. You are never done. You are a work-in-progress living in a world-in-progress. You get to realize your full potential on a daily basis. Not too many day jobs expect this of you.

7. Just as anything can be elevated to an art form, platform-building can also be elevated to an art form. And why wouldn’t you do it in your own particular kind of signature style? I call this social artistry. You should try it.

8. If platform development/building is uncomfortable or you hate it, you might be following bum advice. Even in the early stages, platform development should be expressive, creative, and empowering. If it doesn’t feel this way for you, take a step back and consider starting over with fresh priorities.

9. Platform busywork is not a replacement for your core creative work. Your writing, art, singing, acting, or whatever is your primary form of expression must be your first priority. At the end of a typical creative work day, platform development and building should probably not take up more than 20% of your energy. Or devote one day out of five to platform maintenance.

10. You still have other important things to do besides creating and platform-building, like selling, specializing, learning, and growing. Platform should accentuate your professional strengths and the beauty your work brings to the world. But you should not become a slave to your platform. You should not let platform squelch your creativity or self-expression. You should keep platform in perspective.

Putting platform before creative self-expression is always going to create tension because platform is an extension of creative self-expression, not a substitute for it.

If platform isn’t an extension of your creative joy, then there has been a major mis-communication.

Your platform is an extension of your creativity. And your creativity, I hope, is connected directly to your joy.

So, back to work, people. First on your creative work…and then on your platform.

~ Photo by Peter Nijenhuis

This week we’re talking about being flexible.

Do writers need to be flexible?

Well, sure we do.

But what happens if you are too flexible?

What happens if you are just plain flimsy?

My feeling is that writers need to be flexible and still have a backbone.

And of course, writers need to be flexible, while still remaining enterprising (last issue’s word).

If you were a subscriber, you would know what else I said about writers becoming flexible because the e-zine would be sitting in your inbox.

E-zine readers are invited to share their thoughts on the topic by responding in their blogs and then commenting with a link to their post, so we can all follow the discussion.

Anyone can share here, but I’m mostly interested in responses from subscribers to what wrote in the e-zine. (It’s like a secret club. Only subscribers are in on it.)

To get in the loop, subscribe in the upper-right-hand corner of the blog to my weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer. You will be jumping in with the next issue.

In the meantime, check out the responses from TPW readers, who have posted a link below that will take you directly to their blog response on the current issue’s topic.

If you missed out this time, I hope to see your response to the next prompt!

And please note: The Prosperous Writer is now on a monthly schedule until fall. I’ll post an update then.

So, I was chatting with Hallie Ephron on Facebook today, when it occurred to me that I should really round up some of the thoughts I was sharing with her, which have dawned on me slowly over the past two years. So here we go, four big thoughts for you on the recent evolution of publishing:

Big Thought Number One: We have passed the tipping point. All Authors Are Also Publishers Now.

First there was J. A. Konrath carrying on like a character from a Shakesperean play (love you Joe, but you know you do sometimes).

Then there was Amanda Hocking, a pretty smart cookie and self-published author, who wants to parlay her self-publishing success into a traditional book deal. I wrote about her here.

And now there is Barry Eisler, walking away from a 500K deal and simultaneously telling the whole world why.

Is this alarming or confusing or both?

Not at all. It makes perfect sense. It’s been building up for a couple of years now.

Konrath has created what Seth Godin would call a tribe of self-publishing traditionally published and self-published authors, which will continue to grow.

I joined on a very small scale a year ago when I published my first e-book, Author Mama. It was scary as hell to publish myself but it was fun and exhilarating, as well. I was able to work with bloggers and fans to put out first a beta version of the e-book and then a final alpha version, proofed by initial readers.

The reason I bring up my own self-publishing experience, although empowering, is not because it taught me to say, “Screw the publishing industry! I’m out of here!” It didn’t.

I like and respect my publisher and the people who work for the company and have had a relationship with many of them for going on five years now.

Big Thought Number Two: Going With Traditional Or Self-Publishing Is A Choice & Authors Can Choose Either, Or & Both

This week we’re talking about being enterprising.

Do writers need to be enterprising?

Do writers need to eat?

Do we need to pay bills?

Do we need to keep a roof over our heads?

Then, my feeling is that there is no shame in being an enterprising writer.

In fact, I’d go so far to say that if you should be proud if you are an enterprising writer. (So long as you are ethical about it, which was last week’s word.)

If you were a subscriber, you would know what else I said about writers becoming enterprising because the e-zine would be sitting in your inbox.

E-zine readers are invited to share their thoughts on the topic by responding in their blogs and then commenting with a link to their post, so we can all follow the discussion.

Anyone can share here, although I’m most interested in responses from subscribers to what wrote in the e-zine. (Yes, it’s like a secret club.)

To get in the loop, subscribe in the upper-right-hand corner of the blog to my weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer. You will be jumping in with the next issue.

In the meantime, check out the responses from TPW readers, who have posted a link below that will take you directly to their blog response to the topic.

If you missed out this week, I hope to see your response to the next prompt!

There are a couple of great movies out there right now that can really spur an interesting discussion of what is and isn’t “ethical.”

The first is The Social Network. Remember that the film is fictionalized when you watch it, of course. But I think the creative and legal implications of the film as it stands on it’s own are very interesting.

The second film to bring up the topic of professional ethics is Exit Through The Gift Shop. My husband saw and suggested it. I thought it looked creepy but nothing could have been further from the truth. It’s enlightening and also brings up many interesting questions about creative ethics for these times. This story is based on facts, but clearly has a specific slant, as you shall see if you watch it.

I am going to have to watch both of these movies a few more times before I decide what I truly think because they bring up so many 21st century concerns.

When I talk about “ethical” in The Prosperous Writer this week, I am essentially talking about being honest with yourself and others. There are many instances of folks not being honest with themselves and others (or even remotely self-aware) in the films.

I think both films can lead to many long discussions about art, rights, and the creative process. If you were a subscriber, you would know what else I said about writer and “ethical,” because the e-zine would be sitting in your inbox.

E-zine readers are invited to share their thoughts on the topic by responding in their blogs and then commenting with a link to their post, so we can all follow the discussion.

Anyone can share here, although I’m most interested in responses from subscribers to what wrote in the e-zine. (Yes, it’s like a secret club.)

To get in the loop, subscribe in the upper-right-hand corner of the blog to my weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer. You will be jumping in with the next issue.

In the meantime, check out the responses from TPW readers, who have posted a link below that will take you directly to their blog response to the topic.

If you missed out this week, I hope to see your response to the next prompt!

* If you are interested in a more truthful look at the founder of Facebook, I suggest reading the Time magazine in which Mark Zuckerberg was named Person of the Year for 2010. LINK

When I talk about “professionalism” in The Prosperous Writer this week, I am referring to something integrated and habitual, not something you can fake.

I’m talking about maintaining an earnest spirit of character in all that you do.

And if you were a subscriber, you would know what else I said, because the e-zine would be sitting in your inbox.

E-zine readers have a chance to share their thoughts on the topic by responding to what I shared in their blogs and then linking to their posts, here.

Anyone can share here, although I’m most interested in responses from subscribers to what wrote in the e-zine. (Yes, it’s like a secret club.)

To get in the loop, subscribe in the upper-right-hand corner of the blog to my weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer. You will be jumping in with the next issue.

In the meantime, check out the responses from TPW readers, who post a link below that will take you directly to their response to the topic.

If you missed out this week, I hope to see your response to the next prompt!

Forget micro-famous. Let’s talk about micro-focus instead.

And I did talk about it in my e-zine, The Prosperous Writer, this week.

If you were a subscriber, you would know all about it.

And now, readers have a chance to share their thoughts on the topic, here, in my blog.

Anyone can share, though I’m most interested in the responses from subscribers to what wrote in the e-zine.

To get in the loop, subscribe in the upper-right-hand corner of the blog to my weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer. You will be jumping in with the next issue.

In the meantime, check out the responses from TPW readers, who post a link below that will take you directly to their response to the topic.

If you missed out this week, I hope to see your response to the next prompt!

Whiners never prosper. I am going to ask for this to be emblazoned upon my tombstone.

But trouble-shooters thrive. Because they address issues without taking things personally.

I had more to say about what a trouble-shooting attitude means to me in my e-zine, The Prosperous Writer, this week.

And now, readers have a chance to share their thoughts on the topic.

Anyone can share, though I’m most interested in the responses from subscribers to what wrote in the e-zine.

To get in the loop, subscribe in the upper-right-hand corner of the blog to my weekly e-zine, The Prosperous Writer. You will be jumping in with the next issue.

In the meantime, check out the responses from TPW readers, who post a link below that will take you directly to their response to the topic.

If you missed out this week, I hope to see your response to the next prompt!