I’m home for the month of January, hiding in my office in the woods of Vermont while I finish edits on the new book, but I was reminded this past weekend when I cleaned out my suitcase and re-stocked my traveling supplies that my self-imposed hermitude will end soon. When I will head back out on the road, traveling to and fro across the country for speaking gigs and book signings, I will be armed with my writer first aid kit.

After seven years of speaking, I’ve whittled my bag down to the following essentials:

Thank you notes.
Everyone gets thank you notes. The people who hire me, the people and organizations who sponsor the event, the hotel concierge who helped me find that computer adapter I needed and the event tech person who saved the day when that slide went missing. Mine come from Moo.com, and while they are a bit more expensive, they are also thick and luxurious and easy to create on their site.

Pain meds.
Because headaches happen.

Sticky notes.
I’m forever recommending books, articles, videos and other resources at my events and I always need something to write them down on. Yes, I provide a bibliography for every event, but I get so many great, varied questions there are always more resources to recommend!

Bobby pins.
Headworn microphones are great, but they almost always slip around on me because I have a head the size of a toddler’s. Bobby pins helps keep the moldable mic frame in place on my tiny head.

Makeup remover.
If I’m heading straight to the airport and I don’t want to look like a crazy person, makeup remover pads are a lifesaver. I once headed straight to the bus from NYC to Hanover, NH after an appearance on the Today Show and believe me, television (or stage) makeup does not look normal or appealing when you are not on television or a stage. Especially when that appearance is on Fox. I got this one on a recent NYC hotel stay at Citizen M in the Bowery.

Bookplates.
The solution to the inevitable ”Shoot! I have your book but I left it at home!” or “My sister has your book but she could not come today.” They also make great mailing labels. My publisher made these for me but I’m about to run out and plan to print them myself using the image file they were kind enough to send me.

Lip stuff.
My lips get really dry when I’m speaking, and I use a constantly rotating selection of Carmex, Blistex and the Ode balm lower down in the photo, but this Burt’s Bees tinted balm (in Fig) is my favorite because it’s a lipstick and lip balm in one. I keep tubes of this stuff everywhere.

Safety pins.
To secure lav microphones, broken bra straps, stand in for missing buttons, or keep a microphone wire hidden under my jacket or shirt. If I don’t need one, someone else in the room will.

Mucinex.
About once a year, after a long string of flights and speaking gigs, I get a cold that knocks my voice out. I can usually power through if I stay quiet and gargle with salt water before the event, but sometimes I lose my voice altogether. It happened a few years ago before a keynote at the American Montessori Conference in San Diego, and despite a few days of gargling and silence I had nothing on the day of the keynote. NOTHING. I could not make a sound and I was scheduled to speak before 4,000 people. In an effort to salvage the keynote, I took two Sudafed. It worked, but with the following caveat: I was so amped up my brain was ten steps ahead of my mouth, and I felt as if my heart was going to explode. I’ve since switched over to one Mucinex and that seems to work a little better. It’s my last-ditch, do-or-die, I-have-to-cancel-if-this-does-not-work vocal recovery option.

Ricola throat lozenges.
For everything short of the Mucinex situation.

Ode Olive Creambalm Intensive Moisturizer.
Ode, I love you, but this stuff is stupid expensive. I got this small tube in a 10,000 Buddhas Wellness Kit designed by my friend, yogi and artist Amanda Giacomini. I love this stuff so much. It smells amazing and I use it as a lip balm, and as a magic ointment for healing boo-boos like my ragged, picked cuticles.. When I run out I’m going to have to find something else or resort to purchasing the regular size. I should start saving up for it now.

Portable sewing kit.
For dropped hems, loose buttons, and yes, I’ve even used the thread to stitch a loose head microphone into my hair. Whatever works. I think I lifted this one at a hotel somewhere.

Sharpies.
Yes, we have customized #AmWriting podcast Sharpies! I use them as podcast thank you gifts and for signing books, but honestly, I like fine point Sharpies even better. I can fit more on the page and they don’t bleed through the page as much. I keep a few of each in my bag.

Peppermint tea.
I always drink coffee before my events but after, I’m all about the tea. My schedule gets all flip-flopped when I’m on the road because I usually speak at night and all that adrenaline takes a while to wear off. I use the tea to soothe my throat and calm my buzzing head so I can fall asleep. I happen to like Bigelow Mint Medley and Tazo Refresh-mint but I think that’s because it’s what’s most often supplied in hotels and at conferences and it’s what I tend to have on hand.

Vocal-EZE.
I bought a two-pack of Vocal-EZE after the Montessori debacle, and I don’t know if it works, but I spray it into my throat with a lot of hope and optimism when I can feel things getting ragged in there. My author-musician friend Stewart Lewis recommended it.

The bag.
My friend and #AmWriting podcast co-host Sarina Bowen gave me this bag as a Gift of Failure publication day present. She’d stocked it with pens, sticky notes, tissues, lip balm, and some other goodies I might need on book tour, and it was one of the best, most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received.

Speaking of being on the road, here’s where I will be (armed with my first aid kit) once I emerge from my hermit-hole.

January 29: Joined in Education, Charlotte, NC (registration required)

February 5: The Town School, New York, NY

February 12: Dedham Country Day School, Dedham, MA

February 13: Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) Teaching and Learning Conference, Waltham, MA (registration required)

February 27: The Joy School, Houston, TX

February 29: Hilliard City School District, Hilliard, OH

March 3: Winchester Coalition for a Safer Community, Winchester, MA (preventing childhood addiction)

March 7: CARE of Southeastern Michigan, Fraser, MI

March 9-11: SXSW EDU, Austin, TX

March 12: Harford County Department of Community Services, Bel Air, MD

March 14: Oceanside School District, Oceanside, NY