Great writer gifts day 2: Show your pride!

Welcome to the second day of my week-long series highlighting holiday gifts for writers. You all went out and bought mugs for your writing pals yesterday, right?

Good. Moving on.

One of the most popular blog posts I’ve ever written is the one titled You ARE a real author, dammit.

The gist of the message is that you’re a “real” author whether you’re published or not, whether you’re writing your first manuscript or your fifty-first.

I stand by the sentiment 110%, but sometimes…well, you need something to make you feel a little more legit. Something that identifies you as an author whether you’re attending a conference or just going to the grocery store.

Enter Romance Yardsale. No really, enter it. That’s a link to the store.

Romance Yardsale was created by authors MG Buehrlen and Bria Quinlan, two YA (young adult) writers chasing the dream. You can find an endless array of shirts, notebooks, mugs, mouspads, tote bags, magnets, thongs—yes, thongs—emblazoned with your choice of sayings.

Their most popular designs are these two, which can be added to any of the aforementioned items and probably a few things I’m forgetting:

My favorite, however, is this t-shirt I bought myself as a reward for some writing accomplishment I’ve long since forgotten:
Every time I wear it, someone makes a comment. Well OK, first they stare at my boobs, then they make a comment. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the company of a hundred other authors or just hanging out at the gym—the shirt makes me feel like a real author. Like there’s an inside joke, and I’m lucky enough to be in on it.

Writers who aren’t as comfortable turning their boobs into a billboard can opt for something a bit more subtle. “I love the notebooks,” Bria told me when I emailed to make sure the site was still active. “I love that you can choose what type of paper is inside: lined, graph, blank or checkboxes.”

And here are a few more options for those notebooks or water bottles or…well, whatever you want:

I should mention that I’m not getting any sort of kickback from Romance Yardsale—I just really like their stuff, and I like supporting fellow authors.

Do you have a shirt or a pen or a notebook or anything else that makes you feel more like a REAL author? Is it something subtle, or something that causes people to stare at your chest and ask questions? Please share.

And please add some Romance Yardsale goodies to your holiday gift list. I’m eyeing the boy-short myself.