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Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

AuburnAssassin

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I once had multiple hits over several days from someone with the IP address of Holtzbrinck Publishing in NYC. I have no idea what (if anything) it means or who it could be, but it gave me a momentary thrill. I don't have an agent yet or anything being shopped to the big publishers like Holtzbrinck but a girl can dream, especially since the hits were to my in process novel teasers and my completed WIP's page. Love my Statcounter widget.
 
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DMarie84

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Thanks everyone for the responses. I too love my stat counter; it helped me A LOT.

And I'll let you all know what comes of it. If anything, this has lit a fire under my rear to get this book finished--and soon!
 

chimita

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Hi!
Anyone knows if Taylor Martindale is the "silence means no" type of agent when it comes to queries?
I queried her in March, and still haven't heard anything...
 

agentpaper

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Hi!
Anyone knows if Taylor Martindale is the "silence means no" type of agent when it comes to queries?
I queried her in March, and still haven't heard anything...

The whole agency is a no answer=no for the most part. But it's still a bit early and I know that both her and my agent (Natalie) are swamped. I'd give it a few more weeks before you count it as a no. Good luck!

~AP
 

harriet47

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Their website says 6-8 weeks for a response if they want to see more. And no news means "no."
Agentpaper: I've been slow to query Natalie Fischer because of the agency's no email policy, but I'll print pages out this week to send to her. Are you happy with her?
 

agentpaper

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Their website says 6-8 weeks for a response if they want to see more. And no news means "no."
Agentpaper: I've been slow to query Natalie Fischer because of the agency's no email policy, but I'll print pages out this week to send to her. Are you happy with her?

Oh I LOVE her. Really. I couldn't have asked for a better agent for me or my books. She is awesome. Quick to respond to questions, her suggestions are spot on, and she's great to work with, not to mention super sweet. :D Don't be afraid to query her. I almost didn't for that same reason and I would've missed out on a great agent if I had. Good luck. Keep us informed.

~JA
 

harriet47

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Thanks

Thanks for the quick response agentpaper.

I'm back in query mode after one major NY agent declared my novel ready for submission, but due to a family emergency wasn't taking on new authors. Another said she loved it for its originality, plot, pace, characters, blah, blah, but ultimately wasn't "passionate" enough to rep me. While encouraging, this kind of response makes me want to bang my head against the closest wall!

I'll get a query + 50 pages in the mail to Natalie on Monday. She sounds like a gem and from the comments on this board the agency sounds like it's staffed by humans.
 

Lindzy1954

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Just queried Taylor yesterday (my goodness she is sweet:) and am settling in for what will most likely be a decent wait. She mentioned that she's a bit backlogged, so for those of you waiting to hear from her - I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet. She seems so professional and energetic about her work. . . congrats to the others on here who have signed with her (and with Natalie for that matter!).
 

ILSinTexas

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Well, I thought this agency was a no response = no, but...

Snail mailed Natalie the query, synopsis, and first 50 pages on 3/30/10. Then I went on with my life never expecting to hear back. (They actually tell you not to include a SASE, if they want to see more they'll email you.)

Imagine my surprise when I received a personalized email rejection last night -- adressed to me, and mentioning my book by name. She said she was impressed by my writing, but it reminded her too much of Harry Potter. I was surprised she took the time to actually reject me. I wasn't surprised by her reasoning -- after all, my story is about witches and warlocks. I expect I'll get a few more Harry Potter rejections before I finish querying this book.

Anyway, I was so impressed that she responded at all, I actually emailed her back and thanked her for her rejection. I so appreciated the closure on one of the 12 or so queries that are still out there in limbo.

Natalie is a class act. I'm impressed.
 

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Cheering you all on!
I queried Taylor Martindale with 50 pages of AFTRLYF on May 5, and she responded on May 6 that she was looking forward to reading beyond the first few pages she had looked at. On June 8, she requested the full. :)
 

Epiphany

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I queried Taylor Martindale with 50 pages of AFTRLYF on May 5, and she responded on May 6 that she was looking forward to reading beyond the first few pages she had looked at. On June 8, she requested the full. :)

My fingers and toes are crossed for you. ;)
 

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Hey Sage, Congrats on the request and thanks for posting your response time. I mailed a submission to her May 12th so it gives me an idea of when to mark it off as an R.

Good luck.
 

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I am planning on querying Natalie, but I am struggling with my synopsis. How many pages was the synopsis you sent?
 

Libbie

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I believe I sent a two-page synopsis when I queried Natalie. It was about 1500 words, as I recall.

And yes, she responds via email, and is really quick (usually).
 

Roly

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Woohoo just checked Canada Post - my mail was "successfully delivered" on June 1st :D I love this whole tracking thing :D

So I guess more waiting (that is unless I don't get a response because they are technically silence = no)! BTW do these agents typically pass stuff to each other if they think one is more suited for material?
 

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Cheering you all on!
I think they do. Because when Taylor was first around, she was answering a lot from queries + 50 that had been submitted to other agents at the agency. Of course, that could have been because she was new, but it suggests that they do pass around if they think someone else might like it.
 

Miss Plum

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I once had multiple hits over several days from someone with the IP address of Holtzbrinck Publishing in NYC. I have no idea what (if anything) it means or who it could be, but it gave me a momentary thrill. I don't have an agent yet or anything being shopped to the big publishers like Holtzbrinck but a girl can dream, especially since the hits were to my in process novel teasers and my completed WIP's page. Love my Statcounter widget.
AA, are you still here? (If not, I'll be PMing you!)

How do you get the owner of an IP address? All I can do is get the city they're in.
 

AuburnAssassin

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Miss Plum, It just shows up in my statcounter's "recent pageload activity" in the column called "Host Name/Web Page/Referring Link" I rarely get a referring link but always get the host name, usually a cable company name like Comcast, Qwest, Bell, Rogers, etc. but many entities host their own stuff like governmental entities, colleges as do some private businesses like the one my friend has.
 

houndrat

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I do think the agents there do sometimes share if they like the work but it isn't exactly right for them, but think it might suit another agent in the office.

Good luck everyone! :)