For Writers

Capturing Past Summer Memories: A writing activity for writers of all ages

This summer is like no other. So many fun activities we normally do aren’t even an option this year. Since the places we can go are limited, let’s take the time to reflect on past summer experiences (and add a twist!). These writing prompts are designed for adult and young writers alike.

Part I
I have so many wonderful summer memories: neighborhood block parties with water balloon fights, going to the amusement park and riding roller coasters, and [sob!] hanging out at the pool for hours. These memories that are so important to me aren’t written down anywhere, although I never want to forget them. It’s time to get them down on paper!

The summer prompts below serve several different purposes:

  1. To capture the memories for our own sakes.
  2. To enjoy reflecting on activities you may not be able to do this year.
  3. To serve as a writing exercise to get the creative juices flowing.

Here are some prompts to consider. Choose to write on as many topics as you want, but focus on one at a time. Really dig deep to remember the specifics of your past experience. Be sure to add sensory details (sounds, tastes, etc.)!

Vacation:

What was your favorite trip? Who went? What kind of transportation did you use to get there? What did you enjoy doing? What was some
thing you didn’t enjoy doing? What souvenirs did you get?

Swimming:
Where did you go to swim? Who did you go with? What did you do there? What was your favorite thing to buy at the concession stand? What’s the funniest thing that happened to you? What’s the bravest thing you did? Did you play any games in the water?

Summer Camp:
Where did you go? What were your favorite activities? Did you stay overnight? Who was in your cabin? Did you make any new friends? What was your favorite camp food? What was your least favorite?  What’s the funniest thing that happened to you? Did anything scary happen? What’s the bravest thing you did? Were you homesick?

Neighborhood:
What did you do in your neighborhood? With whom? Did you go to a nearby playground? What did you do there? Did you ever play games after it was dark out? How did you get around (walk, skateboard, bike)?

Amusement Park:
Where did you like to go? Who did you go with? What were some of your favorite rides? How did you feel when you were finally tall enough for the “big” rides? Were there rides you were afraid to go on? What else did you do at the park?

Beach:
What beach did you visit? How long did it take you to get there? Who did you go with? What did you do there? Did you bring a picnic lunch? Did you go in the water? What was the most impressive thing you built out of sand? What was the neatest or most unusual thing you saw there?

Rainy Day:
What did you usually do on rainy days? Did you go somewhere or stay in? Where did you go? Did you ever build anything? Did you play any games? Did a friend come over?

Add Your Own:
What other activity do you normally do in the summer that you won’t be able to do this year? What did you like about it? Who did you enjoy doing it with? Was there something you did that you thought you wouldn’t like, but did?

Part II
Now if you want to “create” a new summer experience, go one step further and…mash it up!

Turn one of your summer experiences into…

  • a fantasy adventure! Add a mythical creature or a superpower. Create a villain like no other to ruin your summer. Or come up with something (or someone) supernatural to save it.
  • science fiction! Have the amusement park exist on Mars or a distant planet. Invent new technology that makes summer camp even more fun.
  • a comic strip! Show an experience through panels. Invent dialogue.
  • a picture book! Split your text into pages and add illustrations (note: you don’t need to be a professional artist to do art! Drawing stick figures or even cutting images out of old magazines will do!).
  • a poem! Try capturing one of your memories in verse.

Part III
Store your memories somewhere safe to reflect on them again in the future. Maybe you want to create a time capsule with the whole family’s memories in it. If you plan to bury it outside, roll up the papers tightly, tape them to stay rolled, and slide them into a clean, dry, empty (wide-mouthed) plastic bottle to rediscover years later. (Note: you may have to cut the paper first so that it will fit in the bottle.)

Hopefully next summer we will return to our usual activities. But in the meantime, enjoy remembering the good old days of past summers past!

Please share your own favorite summer memory in the comments below.

We’re Looking For a Few New Mixed-Up Members!

We’d love to add some new members to our blog who love middle-grade books as much as we do.

Who should apply to be a member?

Writers or illustrators with a passion for middle grade books!

***We’re strongly committed to diversity in publishing. If you’re a writer of color or other underrepresented voice, please apply!***

 

What’s it like to be a member of the Mixed-Up Files blog?

*Members have scheduled posting dates about 5 – 7 times a year (but are welcome to add extra posts). We love having original, quality posts that can include discussion-invoking topics about the changing market, unique book lists, interviews…pretty much anything middle-grade related.

*Each Mixed-Up member has at least one job (such as keeping our parent, teacher or librarian pages updated, gathering new release information, or updating our social media pages).

*We greatly appreciate when our members join in discussions and help promote our blog via their own social media pages, too.

 

If you’re interested in joining us, click here to fill out an application.

 

We can’t wait to hear from you! Please spread the word to others who might be interested. If you applied a while back and would still like to join us, we’d be happy to receive a new application from you.

Legal Aspects of Writing and Publishing: Interview with Author-Agent Jacqui Lipton, and Giveaway

Hello Mixed-Up Filers! I was fortunate to know Jacqui Lipton at VCFA where we both got our MFA degrees in Writing. After graduating from Vermont College Of Fine Arts, Jacqui has become an agent and an author. I’m so pleased to welcome her for an interview at Mixed-Up Files today.

 

                                   

Hi Jacqui, thanks for joining us today at Mixed-Up Files.

Thank you for having me and congratulations on your recent book deal!

Thank you, Jacqui! Tell us about your book. What motivated you to write Law & Authors?

The more I began to immerse myself in the writing community, the more I realized the need for easily accessible resources for writers who couldn’t necessarily afford to hire lawyers for every little problem, and who could use some guidance on when and how to find legal advice. One thing I’ve tried to do in the book is to make the legal issues fun and accessible by using examples from popular culture to illustrate how things like copyrights, trademarks, contracts, privacy and defamation law work. I’ve also included hints and tips about what issues writers can handle reasonably easily on their own (e.g. registering a copyright) and when legal help may be necessary.

  1. How did you become an agent and an author?

Becoming an author is easy. You just sit at a typewriter and bleed, right?

But agenting is a tougher nut to crack, and I wasn’t always sure that’s what I wanted to do anyway. While I was in the MFA program, the opportunity arose to become a reader for an established kidlit agent. I loved the editorial and manuscript development work and, with my legal background, I was fascinated by the legal and business side of the industry. After a few years of moving in that direction, and doing some informational interviews with other agents, I figured it was time to fish or cut bait.

  1. What are the top three contract provisions an author must understand before signing with an agent?

Agency contracts are actually pretty easy to follow and are usually no more than two or three pages long. It’s the with publishers that are more complex: see below. For an agency contract, it’s important to understand:

  • the scope of representation (what work the contract actually covers e.g. everything you write during the term of the agreement; only your writing in a particular genre or in a particular market etc.?);
  • when and how the agreement can be terminated (how much notice do you have to give? Are you locked in for a particular period after signing?); and,
  • if you move on to another agent, what happens to projects you’ve worked on while at the previous agency (when can you submit them to editors through the new agency? Will the original agency take a cut of the commission?)

Of course, you want to know what commission the agent gets. It’s standard for most agents to ask for 15% of your royalties for a regular sale and higher percentages if they engage other agents for subrights etc. because that sub-agent will also take a cut.

 

  1. What are the top five dos and don’ts when it comes to contract negotiations with publishers?

It probably depends on whether you’re negotiating yourself or via an agent. If you have an agent, your agent will probably guide the strategy to an extent, and will handle the negotiation on your behalf, but of course in close consultation with you. After all, the agent represents you, not the other way around.

Each contract varies with context so there are no hard and fast rules, but you should think about things like:

  • What rights the publisher is taking. If the publisher wants subrights like foreign, translation, merchandising, film/TV etc, think about whether the publisher is likely to be able to execute those rights satisfactorily. If not, try to retain them, or at least seek a reversion (ie you get back the rights) after a particular period of time.
  • How much is the advance you’re being offered? This is not something you should really look at out of context; you need to consider royalties, sub-rights etc at the same time. A lower advance will be easier to “earn out” (ie pay back out of royalties) so a lower advance isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
  • If you’re writing a book that has significant design or illustration elements (e.g. a picture book), will you get consultation or approval over those design elements, including over the choice of illustrator etc. The same comes up with choice of narrators under audio rights contracts. Many publishers will give you consultation, rather than approval, but most good publishers are collaborative on this score for the most part in any event.
  • Understand that you are likely making certain representations to the publisher that your book doesn’t infringe anyone else’s legal rights, including copyrights and trademark rights, and that your book doesn’t defame anyone. The publisher will likely seek an indemnity from you if they are sued for these things. Try to find out if you can limit the indemnity to non-frivolous legal action (frivolous claims are those that are raised more for the annoyance value than because there is a serious legal issue at stake). See if the publisher is able to extend any of its liability insurance to cover you: this is unlikely but you can ask.
  • Understand what happens if you don’t submit your final manuscript on time or you don’t submit a satisfactory manuscript. Do you have a right to have extra time (if you can’t make your initial deadline), and/or to revise to the publisher’s specifications? If you get more time, how much time? What happens to your advance if you fail to deliver a satisfactory manuscript?

Publishing contracts are much more complex than agency contracts which is why it’s a good idea to work with an agent, if you possibly can. If you don’t have an agent, it may be worth engaging the services of a lawyer with expertise in publishing contracts to help you negotiate these contracts.

  1. Could you recommend resources for authors or illustrators who would like to protect their rights in the current publishing environment?

For those who are members of the Authors Guild, there are useful legal resources on their website and they do offer contract consultations.

Volunteer lawyers for the arts organizations around the country provide pro bono legal advice to authors and artists but often have significant waiting lists.

Some writers’ organizations, like SCBWI and SFWA have helpful information about publishing dos and don’ts and current issues of concern on their website, including an “ask a lawyer” bulletin board accessible from the SCBWI website.

The Authors Alliance has useful information on their website particularly about contract negotiations, fair use and rights reversions.

I go into more detail on how to find effective and affordable legal advice in the final chapter of Law and Authors.

  1. Tell us about your experience founding Raven Quill Literary Agency, and your growing team of agents and authors.

It seems to have grown really fast but it’s been a lot of fun. I started the agency earlier this year with the aim of creating a fun and transparent, but of course professional, team of authors and agents working to bring new stories and voices into mainly the kidlit area. A significant aspect of our mission is to help make underrepresented voices heard. We also like to work closely and editorially with all of our authors. The agency largely grew by accident. It started with just me and rapidly expanded to include our other agents who are all amazing (Kelly Dyksterhouse, Kortney Price, and Lori Steel) largely through a series of happy accidents; people being in the right place at the right time.

  1. What advice do you have for authors who want to query an agent at Raven Quill Literary Agency?

Probably similar advice to querying any other agent/agency. Do your homework. Find the agent who seems like the right fit for your work. Write a professional query letter and make sure your manuscript really shines before you submit it. I always say: “I don’t want your fastest work; I want your best work.” There’s a lot of information on our website about what we’re all looking for and how to submit to each of us, and when we’re open or closed to general queries. (We all use Query Manager for submissions and try to ensure that at least one or two of us are open to queries at any given time.) We also regularly Tweet out particular wishlists. We do share submissions between us if we think something is a better fit for another agent. We do consider subsequent projects from someone who has queried us before, or even revisions of projects we passed on, but we like to see authors sit back and reflect on any feedback we may have given them for, say 6-8 weeks before submitting something new. Oftentimes what isn’t clicking for an agent in the first piece is the same in later pieces by the same author. It doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with your writing, just that the agent you submitted to isn’t the right fit. We typically respond to all queries whether it’s a pass, a revise and resubmit request or an offer of rep. We try and give feedback in our responses as often as we can but sometimes it’s just not possible with the amount of queries we receive so please excuse any generic “pass” responses. Again, it’s not an indictment of your writing, just a sign of how busy we are.

Note: My usual disclaimers apply to everything in this interview. Nothing about the law is intended as formal legal advice and those who feel they do need formal advice should consult a lawyer with the appropriate expertise.

Thank you so much for having me!

Enter the giveaway for a copy of Law & Authors by leaving a comment below.  You may earn extra entries by blogging/tweeting/facebooking the interview and letting us know. The winner will be determined on June 26, 2020 and will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (US/Canada only) to receive the book.

If you’d like to know more about Jacqui and her agency, visit her website: https://jdlipton.com/index.html or https://ravenliterary.com/ or follow her on twitter: https://twitter.com/Jacqui_Lipton