15 Gifts Book Bloggers Can Give Themselves

Most of the world is celebrate Christmas today. It doesn’t matter what holiday you celebrate, though. (I celebrated Chanukah.) Consider giving yourself some writerly or bloggerly gifts that you can put to use this year to help your realize your goal of blogging your book and getting published. Here are my 10 suggestions for gifts you can give yourself to help you on your path to becoming a better writer, a better or professional blogger or an author:

1. a writing or blogging retreat–could be a weekend spent right in your home if that’s all you can afford to produce a week’s worth or a month’s worth of blog posts or the plan for your blogged book
2. a deadline to finish your blogged book–I get a ton of my work done under the crunch of a deadline
3. a commitment to meet your deadline–your commitment will make the difference between finishing or not finishing
4. join a writer’s or blogger’s group, club or MeetUp–get support from other writers or bloggers and learn from and with them
5. registration to a writer’s or blogger’s conference–this might be the best investment in yourself you ever make
6. registration to a blogging workshop (online or off)–continued education can help you meet your goals and short workshops can be more affordable than a conference
7. a book on how to get published, blog or write better–books are an inexpensive way to learn what you need to know and to treat yourself
8. time blocked out on your calendar daily to blog–this may be the most important gift you can give yourself this year–try just 30 minutes a day to produce a blog post
9. an accountability partner or coach–reporting in to someone daily can make all the difference in meeting your goals
10. a blog review–get someone who knows more than you to tell you how to improve your blog
11. upgrade your blog to a a self-hosted blog –if you have a hosted one, this is a big step up and will improve everything you are doing
12. upgrade your blog theme or design–this will give you a new brand and image and make your blog more professional
13. sign up for a stock photo service–great images can make a huge difference in your blog’s appearance (but if you can’t afford this commit to using good free creative commons images)
14. guest blog posts–having great bloggers appear on your boosts your blog’s credibility and traffic and gives you a break
15. concrete goals for the new year (with action steps to accomplish them)–the best way to accomplish your goals is to set them, have a timeline for meeting them, and know what you need to do to achieve them

These gifts help you realize your potential and become a successful blogger and an author. That’s the greatest gift you could ever give yourself. Don’t let another year go by without blogging your book and getting published.