Our mentors are editing, our mentees are revising, and we hope you’re making progress on your own manuscript! While we’re all working toward the Agent Showcase on November 3rd-9th, we hope you’ll take a moment during your writing breaks and get to know our 2016 Pitch Wars Teams.
And now, we have . . .
Clay Harmon – Mentee
Judi Lauren – Mentor
Clay: Why did you choose Judi?
I wrote a dark story about some pretty heavy subject matter. Also, this story was a particularly hard sell because I knew it needed work. I’d received rejections before from agents telling me the story was too dark, so I knew I needed to submit to mentors who specialized in that sort of thing. Judi went to the top of my list as soon as I saw what she was looking for!
Judi: Why did you choose Clay?
I knew when I started reading the full manuscript that Clay was one of my top choices. It deals with some ugly things in a way that I loved. It’s really dark, and I loved that Clay didn’t shy away from talking about it in his book. He’s also super open to feedback and is incredible at brainstorming. I’m falling in love with his book all over again just talking about it.
Clay: Summarize your book in three words.
(A) dark rabbit hole.
Judi: Summarize Clay’s book in three words.
Dark and twisted (I wanted to say “written just for me” but not only does it sound a little egotistical, but also Clay already took four words. Someone has to follow the rules.)
Clay: Tell us about yourself. What makes you and your MS unique?
I work at Starbucks, and I write at Starbucks. Therefore, I spend way too much time at Starbucks. Also, I’m in my last semester of college. Something unique about me? I won first place in a state competition for a high school military program. Also, I have 30 hours of flight time logged flying airplanes. Something unique about my manuscript? My story is like deep space horror mixed with a small town in the Wild West. With lots of drugs.
Judi: Tell us about yourself. Something we might not already know.
Something you may not already know? I’m really bad when it comes to talking about myself, but that might’ve been obvious on the live shows. For Pitch Wars, I just wanted to write a wishlist minus the bio. I’m very introverted and have a tough time with attention. You know, like that time I went to the fire department to get handcuffs cut off my wrist.
