Being an agent on the West Coast generally conjures up images of Irving Lazar’s huge eyeglasses, the most intellectual aspect of Hollywood.

We are a horizontal lot; we don’t do elevators well, so we have fewer chance encounters of an editorial kind. Yet, we do see the big sky, which is often bluer out here and can inspire acts of great courage (or foolishness).

The day is definitely longer out here or “there” for most of you. Until a few years ago, when Jon Galassi told me I didn’t have to work so hard, I began my day at seven AM on the phone, hoping to retrieve that elusive three-hour difference. Then, at five PM, the West Coast calls poured in, with film-land finally chiming in after six.

Now, a bit older and wiser, I recognize that we may always be three hours behind, but you are already asleep when we are still thinking brilliant thoughts! And sometimes, the call from “out there,” or the overnite package from the Coast can get more attention.

Being “out there,” we West Coast agents have another supreme advantage: our holiday beaches are not crowded with name authors and publishers, which means we don’t have to work ALL the time.

Our days are blissfully lunch-free, most of the time. When the odd editor ventures out here, the rule is broken, but mostly our noontimes are NY primetime, and we are womaning the phones. This reduces our calorie intake and sharpens our appetites for meaty deals with editors sleepy from long lunches. And, when we flash through New York, we are consumed, though mostly in expensive restaurants.

California was reported to be sinking into the Pacific when I began just over a decade ago. Since then, it has erupted and blazed and deluged us with Nature. Yet, being “out there” still has its advantages, the greatest of these may be the ease with which we can remember for whom we work: our authors.

Just as the DC press corps can get too cozy with the Administration, lunching and wining an dining and golfing together, so our NY confreres and soeurs risk contamination by too-frequent contact. Familiarity can breed contempt, so we remain blissfully ready to take the measure of our business partners from a distance.

Then, too, being “out there” confers the huge advantage of allowing one to see the sun set on the Pacific…where the future lies. Rather than gazing northward, I let our Hollywood co-agents walk the Avenue of Star for us, while I contemplate ancient civilizations and their newest literary expressions. (As for e-mail, I leave it to our younger agents, who are more electronic than I.)
Indeed, the virtue of being virtually “nowhere” is inestimable. Del Mar does exist, though it is neither a ‘burb of LA, nor a burg of S.F. Six miles north of La Jolla along the sea, one and a half hours south of LA by train, a half-hour from Tijuana, two hours west of the Anza Borrego Desert, Del Mar is a tiny village really, even though Anthony Robbins hustles from here and Deepak Chopra heals the urban wounded here.

When I began to practice the art of agenting, my first New York friends warned me, “You’ll never be able to do it from ‘out there,’ you’ll have to move to New York.” Many of these same friends now warn me against this very move. Contrarian that I am, this advice worries me, but I won’t give in. Being “out there” is habit-forming. Besides, it is said that four of the top ten book markets are based in California, and I’d rather be where the action is!

Being truly “bi” is so fashionable anyway these days, but I don’t know if that includes “bicoastal”! Born in the Bronx and schooled in Berkeley, I do know this: You can take the New Yorker out of New York, but you can’t take the New York out of the New Yorker, no matter which coast she calls home!

With over 100 authors based around the world, Sandra Dijkstra’s impressive client roster ranges far and wide. Ms. Dijkstra is “regarded by many as the most powerful literary agent on the West Coast” according to a recent Los Angeles Times Profile, and Newsweek has proclaimed her “the best agent in the West.” Esquire, Publishers Weekly and the influential New York Observer list Ms. Dijkstra as one of the nation’s top five literary agents. In her more than twenty years as a literary agent, Ms. Dijkstra has developed a reputation for discovering new talent and representing quality work with great commercial potential. She has helped establish and guide the illustrious careers of many bestselling authors in several genres.

GENRES & SPECIALTIES

General fiction
Mystery
Biography
Business/investing/finance
History

Religious
Health
Children's books
African-American
Self-help

LEADING CLIENTS

Amy Tan, Kate White, Chitra Divakaruni, Mike Davis, Diane Mott Davidson, Janell Cannon, Anchee Min, Gary Small, Maxine Hong Kingston, Lillian Faderman, Kevin Starr, Chalmers Johnson, Peter Irons

BEST-KNOWN PROJECTS

THE JOY LUCK CLUB (Tan), IF LOOKS COULD KILL (White), STELLALUNA (Cannon), EMPRESS ORCHID (Min)