Update 8-30-18: After almost 6 months of having my manuscript, Gina's assistant, Tia sent a rejection today. I was hoping for useful feedback. And while she did point out one picky and fixable detail to me, the rest was very contradictory. Please see the contradiction as follows:

"There were a lot of positive aspects to the manuscript that made this decision difficult. I thought that the narrative voice worked for the project very well. I also loved Aubrey's journey through grief. I thought it provided interesting character development for her that the reader could connect with.

The reason I ultimately decided to pass is that I wasn't getting the emotions I was looking for from the story. As Aubrey struggles through her grief over her son and husband, and her mother, I wanted to feel what she was feeling. However, it seemed like there was a distance between the narrator and the reader that made it hard to understand Aubrey's journey on a deep, emotional level. Since her journey is the main story in the book, I was looking for a strong, deep connection with her, but I felt like the narrative wasn't quite there yet. Because of this, I decided to pass."



EQ: 2-26-18
Full Request plus 3-5 page synopsis: 3-1-18
Sent Materials: 3-2-18
Nudge: 4-9-18 no response
Nudge 5-2-18, Gina responded and apologized for the wait, saying that my MS was in the final read and that it should only be another "couple of weeks". It's been 5 weeks and still waiting. Still hopeful!
Nudge 6-25-18, nothing yet, but I hear it's normal for these things to take this long.


Update 7-19-18: Still haven't heard anything. Even nudged one more time. I guess I can CNR this. :-(

80k women's fiction

EQ: 6/11
PR: 6/14
FR: 6/18

I queried her for another novel back in winter and she provided a wonderful critique before passing. Exceptional agent!!!!

Update: Assistant Kara no longer an intern there. She read my novel and liked it and now Assistant Tia is reading my novel.

Tia rejected but I received over two pages of very specific notes for revisions. Invaluable! On to revising!

16-Aug — query update

Received a response to my query. Very nice note explaining they are behind and trying to catch up on 2018 queries.
Have patience and faith in yourselves, QT friends -- and don't give up. Best of luck to you all.

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Well folks, after 3 separate attempts to get a response from this agent, epic FAIL.

According to her Twitter account, everyone should receive a response, even if it’s a pass.

For those of you who heard back from this agent, kudos, but I will not query this agent again for any future projects due to lack of communication. Not a good sign for a relationship. Closing the door on this one.

29-Jun
EQ sent a THIRD time due to no response (originally sent back in February, then re-sent in April -- Twitter says she responds to all).

Don't know what to make of the continuous skip-over of my query. Hoping 3rd time is a charm.

12-Aug — update

Well folks, after 3 separate attempts to get a response from this agent, epic FAIL.

According to her Twitter account, everyone should receive a response, even if it’s a pass.

For those of you who heard back from this agent, kudos, but I will not query this agent again for any future projects due to slow (and lack of) communication. Not a good sign for a relationship. Closing the door on this one.

29-Jun
EQ sent a THIRD time due to no response (originally sent back in February, then re-sent in April -- Twitter says she responds to all).

Don't know what to make of the continuous skip-over of my query. Hoping 3rd time is a charm.

Intern favorited DVPit tweet 10/2/17
EQ: 10/3/17
FR: 10/4/17
10/9/17 - Intern emailed saying she has passed my manuscript and a recommendation to the agents. I'm hoping this means she read it and liked it!
12/11/17 - emailed intern letting her know about revision after receiving non-exclusive R&R from another agent
12/14.17 - intern answered saying they see positive revisions so far and will get back as to if they decided to represent. She emailed again today asking about where I am in the process with the other agent(s) who are interested in ms so they can determine if they have enough time and resources to adequately consider the revision. Emailed back letting her know the details. Fingers crossed! The communication has been great so far!

Update:
1/15/17 - emailed Gina directly as the assistant I'd been corresponding with no longer works there. Gina emailed back saying she's reading the project and has a number of notes she's been making that she'll be forwarding to me shortly for my consideration, and that she looks forward to speaking to me then. Eep!

Update:
Have nudged a couple times but never heard from her again after that last email saying she looks forward to speaking with me. Big bummer! I'm sure she's super busy so I'm just going to finally CNR this.

I normally don't comment here, but I received a very nice and genuinely helpful rejection from her. As I'm used to getting back only a form letter or no response at all, this was a pleasant surprise.
EQ: 7/5/18
ER: 7/18/18

Thank you for submitting Athena's Arena to Talcott Notch for our consideration. Unfortunately, we are going to pass on this project.
The story in the query sounds interesting and Arinara is a well-developed character that readers will be able to root for. However, we found that the sample pages were a bit heavy with backstory which made it difficult for us to connect with the narrative. For this reason, we ultimately decided to pass.

Thank you again and we wish you the best of luck in finding representation in the future.

Regards,
Gina Panettieri
P.p. Tia Mele

Profile Update: Closed to queries.

EQ: 5/16/18
Resent 6/20/18, as per agency recommendation after 4 weeks
ER: 6/20/18, Nice note with a small bit of personal feedback.

EQ: 2/7
PR: 2/13
FR: 3/27
R&R 6/19
From Tia for historical

EQ: 9/15/17
PR: 9/19/17 from Abigayel (assistant)
FR: 9/29/17 from Abigayel
10/8/17: very kind note from Abigayel recommending MS to one of the agents
4/4/18: followed up with Abigayel and Gina; received auto message that Abigayel no longer at agency

cozy, 76K

JPaulArden: Glad to hear you got some feedback. I submitted a full early in the new year, have politely nudged twice and received no response--so apparently their saintliness is selective.

I was so touched to receive this thoughtful, helpful, and kind note. So incredibly better than to receive a form letter . . . or nothing at all. And this was sent back quickly . . . in just a week. These agents must all be wearing halos.

Sent: Fri, Jun 1, 2018 1:12 pm
Subject: Re: Query THE ANGEL'S ROBOT

Dear Mr. Sherman,

Thank you for writing us about your project. We read and consider each query carefully. While your project has merit, I had some issues with your story that caused me to pass on it. It seemed to lack characterization, in that I couldn't find a reason to care about the characters early on. It is important to establish a relationship between the reader and characters early to keep the audience engaged. In addition, I had hoped to see more description from the five senses in order to ground the reader in each new scene.

That being said, publishing is a very subjective industry, and what doesn’t work for us may work for another agency. We wish you the best in finding a home for you manuscript.

Kara O'Rourke, Assistant
Talcott Notch Literary

EQ: 5/23/2018

66K YA Fantasy

EQ: 4/8/18 72,000 word crime
ER: semi-personalized from assistant after nudge: 5/22/18

Thank you for submitting to Talcott Notch for our consideration. Unfortunately, we have decided to pass on this project.
We think the book sounds interesting, but that the subject is outside of our wheelhouse and so we wouldn't be the right agency to represent your manuscript. Publishing is very subjective, so what isn't right for our list may be exactly what another agency is looking for.
Thank you again and we wish you the best of luck in finding representation in the future.
Regards,
Tia Mele

@WhiteGardenia, I re-nudged her, and she apologized for the wait, said my ms was in the final read, and said that I should hear in a couple of weeks.