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Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

JeffRen

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I just got a personalized rejection from Thao Le :(
 

ralf58

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Any other experiences with Jill Marr? The one person who said she requested a full never posted the results.

The agency website says Jill Marr is interested in historical fiction, and that's what I'll be shopping around in a month or so.
 

Anna L.

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Stats for Jennifer:
Query + first chapter: April 13
Request for first hundred pages: December 11

It's like a zombie query, coming back to life unexpectedly. It's more welcome than a real zombie though.
 

elijoal

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I just want to jump in to agree with those who say Jennifer Azantian seems very professional and encouraging. Her rejection was more encouraging than some of the partial and full requests I've gotten:

"Dear ____,



I must apologize for the lateness of my reply. I try to get back to authors within six weeks, but sometimes that isn't feasible. In this case, the reason for my lengthy reply is that the projects I am seriously considering tend to take longer to get to and more of my time. With that being said, KISSING THE LION is very strong and drew me in right away. You have talent, but, unfortunately, I didn’t fall completely in love with it in the way that I need to in order to take it on. I do want you to know that it was very hard for me to pass on this project, and I’m certain that if it hasn’t already found a home, it will soon. I wish you the best of luck on your writing journey.


Warmest,


Jennifer"

It's too bad, really. It sounds as though she would be a lovely person to work with.
 

MaraudingDon

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I'm another author who would like to add to the Jennifer Azantian love! We corresponded quite a lot this year in relation to a manuscript. I signed with another agent but Jennifer has been nothing less than fantastic with her comments and time. She also helped me out with advice on another matter, even though she had no reason to do so.

Top rate agent in my opinion. Anyone would be lucky to have her as their literary advocate.
 

Anna L.

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Stats for Jennifer:
Query + first chapter: April 13
Request for first hundred pages: December 11

It's like a zombie query, coming back to life unexpectedly. It's more welcome than a real zombie though.

Full request: December 30
Synopsis request: Jan 4

She says she wants to share the synopsis with her colleagues. I'm not sure if this is a good sign or not, but it's not a flat out rejection...
 

merlot143

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It's a good sign. It means she's going to sell it to her agency.
 

MaraudingDon

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Full request: December 30
Synopsis request: Jan 4

She says she wants to share the synopsis with her colleagues. I'm not sure if this is a good sign or not, but it's not a flat out rejection...

It's a great sign. I understand that at this agency, new manuscripts with merit are decided by the agency as a whole, not just a single agent.

GOOD LUCK!
 

Anna L.

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It's a good sign. It means she's going to sell it to her agency.

It's a great sign. I understand that at this agency, new manuscripts with merit are decided by the agency as a whole, not just a single agent.

GOOD LUCK!

If that's what's going on... Oh man. The weekend feels way too long already.
 

yendor1152

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I just want to jump in to agree with those who say Jennifer Azantian seems very professional and encouraging. Her rejection was more encouraging than some of the partial and full requests I've gotten:

"Dear ____,



I must apologize for the lateness of my reply. I try to get back to authors within six weeks, but sometimes that isn't feasible. In this case, the reason for my lengthy reply is that the projects I am seriously considering tend to take longer to get to and more of my time. With that being said, KISSING THE LION is very strong and drew me in right away. You have talent, but, unfortunately, I didn’t fall completely in love with it in the way that I need to in order to take it on. I do want you to know that it was very hard for me to pass on this project, and I’m certain that if it hasn’t already found a home, it will soon. I wish you the best of luck on your writing journey.


Warmest,


Jennifer"

It's too bad, really. It sounds as though she would be a lovely person to work with.

It's a nice letter but I have the sneaking suspicion your book's title was "inserted here," and that the rest of the copy is a typical rejection.
 

Thedrellum

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I disagree, yendor1152. In my experience, there's no reason an agent would play the "it was very hard for me to pass on this" card unless they actually felt that way, because language like that is only going to encourage the author to send them more work.

It's not a detailed rejection, sure, and I imagine it is based off a template, but I think to say that the letter is a typical rejection is to make an assumption.
 

HLWampler

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I got a full request from Jessica Watterson last night.

I'm super excited.

Query - 4/27

Request for full - 5/7
 
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mrgilbert2010

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I sent my novel to Sandra Dijkstra on a referral from one of her more prominent clients. Sandy said she was excited about reading my manuscript and promised to get back to me soon. She also cc'd Elise Capron, which I assumed meant she wanted Elise to read it first (or instead). Elise stated in a March 2015 interview that referrals from well-known writers get her attention, and that she responds to writers in 2 to 3 weeks.

Four months passed. When I sent a polite nudge to Sandy, she wrote that she hadn't received the manuscript yet. She cc'd Elise again and said that she, Sandy, would get back to me soon.

Another four months passed. I sent a second polite nudge, this time to both Sandy and Elise. No response.

I guess this agency doesn't take referrals seriously.
 

avnelson

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Didn't see much on this thread about Thao Le, and I just wanted to take a moment to heap praises on her. She is a stellar agent with amazing sales and is really committed to representing diverse works. She really understands speculative fiction and her projects are downright fun! I really like The Abyss Surrounds Us and the Star-Touched Queen. I queried her over the summer, got an R&R, and spent the past few months addressing her criticism and points and then resubmitted. She is one of my dream agents and really seems to get the novel! I would be ecstatic to have her.
 

jadahmac

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RE: JILL MARR

EQ: 4/4/17
FR: 4/6/17
4/19: Jill emailed me to say she was very interested and that her second reader loved it and had notes for me that she would forward.
4/28: R&R.
5/15/17: emailed revised MS.

I adore Jill Marr. She is seriously so kind and personable. She is very quick to get back with me any time I email. She easily identified areas in my MS which could use some work, and her notes helped me create an even better version of my book. For that I am so thankful, regardless of whether she offers representation after she reads my revision.

I would be so happy to have her as my agent - but for now I shall patiently wait a couple weeks. :)
 

Pisco Sour

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Does anybody have recent experience with Jessica Watterson? She's requested my full, and I'm wondering what her response time are like. Thanks!

ETA: went ahead and e-mailed the full, including our e-mail trail (she'd requested it after an online webinar, but the book wasn't finished at the time, so she said to pop it over when it was ready): 18.09.17

But today I saw a message on QueryTracker saying she no longer wants e-mail queries and has a form. Ack!
 
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Debbie V

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Thao Le

Anything else of Thao Le? I'm compiling my final query and trying to decide who should be in the top group.