[Agency] Donadio & Olson, Inc.

AyJay said:

Hey Merc - I saw Darren there too. Not much info. Says he doesn't accept e-mail queries. Anyone have experience with him?

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Not email queries, but if you click on his profile and go to the next page, it says he accepts snail mail queries with SASE.

AyJay said:

I'm considering querying this agency for my gay-themed young adult. J.M. - how did you come to query Edward Hibbert? He's listed on LitMatch and Querytracker as not accepting unsolicited queries. Maybe he hasn't updated his status? Also, LitMatch lists another agent Darren Web as interested in gay/lesbian fiction. I couldn't find any information about him. Any leads?

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I just queried Edward Hibbert in the usual way and got a request back; however, I am pretty sure the request was not from him personally (could be from an assistant?), so the information that you have about him not taking unsolicited queries is probably correct.

Thanks J.M.. Hibbert is a great score. Hope things work out for you. I'm going back and forth over who to query at D&O. It would be great to get Hibbert's interest based on his track record, but I'm sure he's highly selective in who he takes on and if I get turned down from him, I'll have to write off the agency for awhile. I could try the lesser known Darren Web, but I can't find any info. about him, not even people who've gotten responses. Any thoughts?

AyJay said:

Thanks J.M.. Hibbert is a great score. Hope things work out for you. I'm going back and forth over who to query at D&O. It would be great to get Hibbert's interest based on his track record, but I'm sure he's highly selective in who he takes on and if I get turned down from him, I'll have to write off the agency for awhile. I could try the lesser known Darren Web, but I can't find any info. about him, not even people who've gotten responses. Any thoughts?

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Why don't you try querying the agency in general at [email protected] - I am pretty sure that no matter who you query, it all goes through the same filter. The other people involved that I could find are Neil Olson and Tom Eubanks (email addresses all follow the same pattern - [email protected], [email protected], etc...) I hope this helps!

Thanks again J.M.. So I ended up following the guidelines (rule follower that I am) and sent my query to Darren by postal mail. I'll let you know how it turns out. Any word on your end?

AyJay said:

Thanks again J.M.. So I ended up following the guidelines (rule follower that I am) and sent my query to Darren by postal mail. I'll let you know how it turns out. Any word on your end?

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You're welcome - best of luck to you. I haven't heard anything back yet...

update

Well, just got a pithy form rejection letter to my query today. Bleck. Wasn't even signed by "Darren Web," just the agency. Guess my obsessing about this was totally unwarranted.

Email rejected as spam

Well, count me among those who tried unsuccessfully to equery Carrie Howland. Tried twice, and the 2nd time I changed my email address (the only possible link in my query) to xxxxxx at yahoo dot com, but no luck. Guess I'll send via snail.

Has anyone heard back from her one way or the other? Any info on her sales?

AyJay said:

Well, just got a pithy form rejection letter to my query today. Bleck. Wasn't even signed by "Darren Web," just the agency. Guess my obsessing about this was totally unwarranted.

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I am still waiting on a response. I'll probably close it out in about two weeks as a no-go (but I'll secretly keep my fingers crossed for another four five months, I'm sure!)

J. M. Hunter said:

I am still waiting on a response. I'll probably close it out in about two weeks as a no-go (but I'll secretly keep my fingers crossed for another four five months, I'm sure!)

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Yeah, sometimes the lack of closure is worse than the rejection letter. Maybe things have just slowed down for the summer. Good luck!

carrie howland's email

fyi: i sent an e-query and it went through. got an out-of-office message that their offices are closed from 8/28/09 - 9/09/09. good luck everyone!

Thanks for the info Sunnywave.

I queried 7/2 and got a request for a partial 7/8.

Still waiting...I'll update when I hear something.

Bc of all the bounced emails, I sent a snail query at the end of August. This week got a snail return letter for the partial.
Now have a request for a full (!!!) and I can't wait to see what happens.
I've been corresponding with an Allyssa, though--not sure if she is an agent or an assistant, but so far, super nice.

Got a request for a full from D&O today! For the record, here's my timeline:

5/5 - Sent query & Synopsis
6/15 - Requested sample chapters
6/16 - Sent Sample Chapters
9/24 - Requested full manuscript
10/13 - Declined Representation

I spoke to Katie Zaneccia (sp?) - she read the entire manuscript and pointed out the things she liked and didn't like. She was professional and genuine, and even though she ultimately turned me down, she was a treat to work with. I would recommend the agency to anyone writing quirky literary fiction.

It's not necessary to add your email address to the body of the email as the email address is identified in the top banner of the email at "From:"

I just got a Mailer-daemon from Carrie at Donadio--reason: spam

I recently sent a query with a synopsis and sample pages to Carrie Howland and received a very enthusiastic and personalized request for a full signed Laura Silverstein. Is she a new agent? Secretary/Assistant? I'm very excited!

Well I just heard back and my manuscript made it past the initial reader and is now in the hands of a senior agent! Crossing my fingers! Also, this agency now has a website: http://donadio.com/ and a twitter account: http://twitter.com/DonadioandOlson

EMAIL TO "mail @ Donadio" (their general submissions address) rejected as spam.

I have a 50 pg partial out with Carrie. Here's hoping!

I just received a rejection for a query I sent August 2011. Somebody must have found a few emails in the back of a drawer.

Received a partial request from Carrie through #PitMad--anybody have any updated info on her or the agency?

Hey guys, Carrie requested my full and I was wondering if anyone has any relevant information on her or the agency. She only has one deal on PM (which I know isn't a complete representation of sales but still) and the agency doesn't have any YA books listed on their site either. I'm feeling a little wary but it could be that they just don't update their site or PM--can someone help?

Agreed. I'd like to know a little more about their recent sales, since Carrie requested a 50-page partial from me from a pitch contest.

Bumping this thread way up

I did a Twitter pitch contest called #pitmad and got a request from Carrie Howland for the first 50 pages. It turned into a full, then an offer. I ultimately ended up with 4 offers but went back to Carrie, who I cannot talk more highly of. She is prompt in her responses, whether phone or email, and knows the industry. Though some of her sales aren't on PM, she's made good ones (most recently - a YA Greek mythology to R@nd0m H0use for 2015 and one of her adult sales releases in July ). She is very editorial (seriously my edit letter is 5 pages), but she knows what she's doing.

Here's the official stats w/Carrie:
3/28 - #Pitmad req for YA contemp, first 50 pgs.
5/2 - Req for full ms
5/9 - Offer of representation
5/19 Offer accepted.