If I was to write a letter to Santa these days, my list would include the following:
A gift certificate ($500 at least) to The Strand bookstore in Manhattan, accompanied by a three-day all expense paid trip to the Big Apple. (I operate on the principle that you can never have too many books.)
And then there is my dream vacation—one week in Carmel, CA with absolutely nothing to do but work on “my stuff”: no corporate jobs, no magazine assignments, just my fiction and book projects. (Did I mention that the room has to have a coffeemaker with 16-ounce mugs and lots of flavored creamer? And don’t forget the fireplace!)
On a slightly more practical note, I’d like a year’s worth of an assistant—someone who would do my bookkeeping (a dreaded chore) and filing, along with some research and phone calls. (If the assistant happens to be a great-looking guy, I won’t complain!)
I asked some other writers to share their wish list with me and here are their responses:
Tina B. Tessina, PhD, (aka "Dr. Romance") psychotherapist and author of Money, Sex and Kids: Stop Fighting about the Three Things That Can Ruin Your Marriage has one single request on her list: “Please, Santa, bring me lots and lots of book sales.”
Meg Weaver of the WOODEN HORSE writing web site (It’s great—check it out!) doesn’t ask for much either: just six more hours in every day—“a total of 30 would really be nice,” she says.
“If I have to be a little more practical – but still allowed to dream – I would wish for a research assistant.
And in the spirit of generosity, she has one more gift request: “Even though it comes close to ‘world peace,’ I’d like to sneak in world-wide literacy, a cause near and dear to my heart.
Elizabeth Pomada (of Michael Larsen/Elizabeth Pomada Literary Agents) says, “One really great present would be a gift sponsorship to the San Francisco Writers Conference and another present would be a new voice-activated computer so I can just talk story.”
Hope Clark of Funds for Writers (another great site!) has some equipment wishes—“An ASIS eee mini-computer for conferences, a Kindle or Sony e-reader. I'm not picky. (Adored my Rocket eReader from 8 years ago, before they went out of business. Sold it on eBay this year to someone in Israel. He uses it daily.)"—as well as a request for “a stash of Zebra F-301 pens, my favorite writing tool.”
But Hope didn’t stop there! She also asks for “a gift certificate at a printer for more business cards and personalized stationery, a professional editing review of my novel, yet another bookcase (A girl can never have enough - LOL), and a free web master for a year! Hey, I can wish, can't I?”
And the last item on her wish list is one that I am sure many of us would include: “A spa day to get the kinks out of my hands and back after 12 straight hours at the keyboard.”
If you’ve got a “Santa List” you want to share, just click on COMMENTS to post your heart’s desire!
Happy Holidays!
Nancy
