EQ: 1/31/18
ER: 12/12/18

Contemporary Romance 75K
Received the rejection 316 days after submitting the query. At least she got back to me and she made some very helpful suggestions.

EQ: 11/15/2017
On 09/21/2018, received a reply from her that read (in its entirety): "Dear [my first name]:" I immediately replied, letting her know that her email to me had been blank, and I received an automated reply stating that she's closed to queries. I figured this was because the subject line still had "QUERY" in it (and that my email might therefore be sorted into a discard folder) so I sent her a new email, with a new subject line, again advising her that her reply to me had been blank. No response yet. I'm 99% sure that she meant to copy-and-paste a form ER and somehow forgot to paste, but it's frustrating.

Wow, was very surprised to receive a response from her today. EQ 2/6/17, ER 10/9/18. The letter was nice but still seemed like a form, "Overall, there are many elements I’ve enjoyed. After further consideration, though, I’m not finding myself as passionate as I’d like to move forward to the next step."

EQ: 12/14/2017 PB
ER: 9/21/2018

Said she took so long to reply and that she wasn't sure if this manuscript was still available. She enjoyed it, but as she's closed to submissions at her new agency she will pass. (not passionate as she'd like) She suggested that I send her anything else that I have when she opens.

Long story on this one. I emailed Victoria in early May to ask if she would be willing to read a revised version of a YA manuscript of mine that she had previously considered. She agreed, but asked that I wait until July or August to send it, after she caught up on queries and submissions from before she closed. I sent it on August first and received a rejection with some detailed feedback today. She left it open for me to query her with other manuscripts when she opens up to submissions again. She is a gem and anyone would be lucky to have her as an agent.

EQ 11/10/17 (Requery Venom)
ER 5/22/18 (Passed--didn't connect, intriguing premise)

EQ 8/31/17
Form R 5/2/18

EQ 11/11/17
Form reject 4/11/18
Same language as below ("As this is a subjective process, I do encourage you to continue honing your craft as you submit to other agents and editors. I also encourage more feedback from agents and editors before delving into extensive revisions.")

MG

I was going to mark this one closed/no response, but then I saw the message below posted under her profile at Storm Literary Agency:

Previously received submissions . . .

While lots of updates are happening behind the scenes, I’ve closed submissions (except for conferences, events, contests, and/or anything I’ve agreed to remain open for), so that I can respond to everything that I currently have and/or requested. As it has always been important for me to respond to writers, I’d like a chance to do so, before opening submissions again. Anything I've received before March 22, 2018 is now being considered for Storm Literary Agency.

Profile Update: Changed agencies. Formerly with Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency.

(Thanks MadHunt24)

According to her Twitter, she has switched agencies and is now closed to queries. New agency: http://www.stormliteraryagency.com/

Hello JaeStories,

Your rejection is the same as mine, word for word. I agree that the response was odd and was very wordy without giving us any tangible feedback. Too bad. It almost seems that she was trying to create a form response that has the look of an individual personalized letter, which it isn't . I guess we have to meet her criteria to get one of those.

EQ: 09/16/2015
ER: 03/06/2018.
Huh.... Yeah, I closed this out and wrote two other novels in this time. The form rejection was a long explanation about why it wasn't a custom response, which was also a little odd. Here is the form:

"
Thank you for the interest in The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.
I do apologize for the delayed response. Due to my personalized letters, it does take me a long time to review every query and manuscript that I receive. As of September 2, 2016, my procedure for responding has changed. While I wish that I could continue my personalized letters, submissions have increased making it almost impossible to respond in a timely manner (hence the lateness of this).
My new procedure is below:
I will personally respond to any queries with the correct heading (will be given to you) in the subject line of the email, received from:
• my request
• offers (from another offering agent or a publication offer)
• conferences/workshops/retreats/other events
• contests (if a request has been made)
• interviews (selective)
All other queries will receive a form letter, with a brief comment on why I'm passing. I thank you for your understanding and patience.
Regarding your submission, while there’s much to like, I’m afraid I'm not connecting enough emotionally to your characters, which ultimately means I’m not connecting enough with the content of your story.
As this is a subjective process, I do encourage you to continue honing your craft as you submit to other agents and editors. I also encourage more feedback from agents and editors before delving into extensive revisions.
One rejection from me is not a rejection on future manuscripts, and if you decide to submit again please put “2nd Query” in the subject line. As noted, I’ve updated my submissions’ procedure and the time of my response has improved drastically.
Thank you, again, for sharing this with me.
All my best,
Victoria A. Selvaggio
"

EQ=1/12/17
ER-10/10/17

I was one of the luckier writers that got a response using Victoria's new procedures. Still it took almost 10 months. The response was very apologetic about the time delay. Her response was 7 paragraphs long too and stated that "One rejection from me is not a rejection on future manuscripts, and if you decide to submit again please put :"2nd Query" in the subject line..." Further, " ...I also encourage more feedback from agents and editors before delving into extensive revisions." These two comments seem like boilerplate language to me. There wasn't any specific comments on my ms in the email. Contact me at www.brianwoods.blogspot.com to discuss if interested in comparing notes.

PB

EQ sent 12/5/2015
ER 02/27/2018.

Yup. 817 days later.