Great Escape Publishing

Posted November 24th, 2010 by Christina Merchant & filed under Travel Writing.

CLASSIC GIFTS FOR THE WRITER

**A great fountain pen or space pen – Space pens can write upside-down and even under water.

**Moleskin notebook – Great for jotting down ideas when you’re traveling and don’t have time to get your computer out.

** Writer’s Market – A must-have for travel writers looking for places to get published. You can either buy a print edition or an online subscription.

**The Elements of Style 4th ed., Strunk and White.

HOT ITEMS FOR 2010

** iPad – Here’s what copywriter John Forde has to say about the iPad: “An over the top great gift, in my opinion, is an iPad. But then I’m a tech nut. I love mine. It’s gotten me reading books regularly again (iBooks). And I use it to read articles, do research while eating breakfast, and plenty more.”

**iPad case – These cases not only protect your iPad, but also let you set up the iPad like a mini-screen for watching TV shows or for typing with your portable keyboard (see below):

**Bluetooth portable keyboard – A great add-on gift for the iPad owner. Allows you to transform your iPad into a laptop and write quickly.

**Keel’s Simple Diary – This “diary” makes it easy to write every day. With different multiple choice and fill-in-the blanks for each day, you’ll never have an excuse to skip a day. Grab one for just $10 from Amazon here.

**Thin, light laptop – A small portable laptop is great for writers on the go. If you’ve taken a large heavy laptop on your trips with you, you probably know how painful (literally!) it can be. For Mac users try the MacBook Air.

For PC Users, the Acer Notebook is a great small, portable laptop.

** Microsoft Office 2011 – Along tech lines, if your recipient is an Apple user, Microsoft just came out with Office 2011. It’s much more stable and well-structured than the last release. For anybody who writes seriously, the software matters. You spend all day working in it, after all.

**Amazon Kindle – This e-reader has recently been updated. It’s easier than ever to read and holds 3GB of storage.

BOOKS FOR THE WRITER, TRAVELER, OR PHOTOGRAPHER

**What The Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell – This book of short conversational pieces uncovers quirky and unusual tidbits from American society today.

** Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, Chip and Dan Heath.

** Travel magazine subscriptions (Budget Travel, Condé Nast Traveler, and National Geographic Traveler are always fun to read and drool over. You can subscribe to each of these on their respective websites.)

**Lonely Planet’s The Travel Book.

** Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2011 – This book includes a 2011 travel planner with next year’s hottest travel spots mapped out by month, travel trends, ideas, and inspiration for your next travel story:

** Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips, National Geographic.

** Transit Maps of the World – This coffee table book has transit maps from over 200 cities around the world.

**Get more great book ideas at www.goodreads.com – There are great recommendations for both fiction and non-fiction.

TRAVEL ITEMS

**Bluetooth headset – As states crack down on cell phone laws while driving, consider getting a bluetooth headset so you can talk hands-free in the car while you’re on-the-go. Here’s a best-seller on Amazon.com:

** Mobile Hotspot – Similar to a 3G modem, a mobile hotspot connects to cell phone signals. But rather than requiring a direct computer connection, it creates a small, five-user WiFi network, so the connection can be shared. It’s like having your own hotspot wherever you go. One option is the Verizon MiFi 2200 Mobile Hotspot.

**iPodTouch – Jen Stevens has the iPodTouch on her wish-list this year. She says it would be great for traveling, so she can listen to podcasts when en-route from one place to another. You can also listen to music, browse the Internet, and check your e-mail.

[Editor’s Note: Learn more about opportunities to profit from your travels (and even from your own home) in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.]