Has anyone gotten a confirmation email from Donovan?

Submitted query

5 Novemver 2025
85,500 words genre bending psycholgical/supernatural

Full manuscript request :
21 January 2026

Submitted
23rd January 2026

Nudged
6 March 2026

Reply
26 March 2026
still reviewing - hopes to get back to me in April ( wish me luck)

Nudged again
13 May 2026

Reply
21 May 2026
Advised he would get in touch in the coming weeks

Third nudge
8th July
22 July no reply

It is now 03/08/2026 - and no reply from the last nudge - after such a positive few interactions which looked hopeful I am balancing between - is he just busy or am I being ghosted - I just dont know and its killing - sometime a bugger off your book is crap is better than nothing

FInal nudge sent - 05/08/2026 - will wait till month end then finally for my sanity mark as CNR

24 August 2026 -final pass after 7 months - I'm emotionally drained and exhausted and he passed despite saying :

" Thank you for the nudges - and apologies for the late response, I'd been so slammed with projects over the summer. I did eventually get around to reading THE FRAGILE THREAD. I really connected with Laney and enjoyed much of the sharp, controlled writing styleYou're a talented writer, so I hope you're able to find a home for this in the future, and feel free to keep me in mind for any future queries."

Not sure whether I would have prefered a form rejection in January

Queried 7/7/26, 94K adult thriller.
Full Request 8/14/26, sent as docx attachment 8/17/26.

I'm sure nothing will come of it, but I was considering retiring this book from the query trenches but maybe I'll hold off a bit.

EQ: 7/7/26 YA mystery
R: 8/5/26 (at the end)

Though disappointed to get a rejection, it was a kind rejection. I'm honestly thrilled to have gotten a response at all, because he seems to rely heavily on the no-answer-is-a-no method. Considering his response rate is only 25%, I feel like he thought my Q was at least worth looking at further. The R may be a form letter, or it may be a real sentiment (in which case, I'm pleased).

note: his website says he also accepts queries via LitConnect, so I tried there too. It shows he never saw it on LitConnect.

"Thank you for sending me TITLE. While this has an intriguing premise, I sadly don't feel this is a match for my current list, and so it's a pass from me. I do wish you the best in finding a home for your book.

kind regards,
Donovan"

Historical fiction 78k
Q: 7/3/26
Personalized rejection: 7/8/26