Archetype Writing Blog

I discovered the coolest writers' website, and I just had to share.



QueryTracker.net lets you research agents, track queries as you send them out, and compare your results to other people's experiences -- for free.



Here's my tracking page. I desaturated the color to make my (red) notes easier to see. The page is really in full color.







Here is a pie chart of my querying activity for one of the manuscripts.







The site owner's goal is to collect data on agents' response behavior and share that data with everyone who uses the site. So you can see how many other people who have queried that agent got positive vs. negative responses and how long it took to get that positive or negative response.



You can also sign up for a Premium subscription to see additional statistics. All funds the owner collects go toward advertising -- the idea is that the more people who use QT, the more data is collected. And that benefits everyone in the community. Since I'm part of the community, I'm telling you so you can add to the data, too!



Here is the Premium Advanced Search, which shows you not only agents who meet the criteria you've noted (here it's agents who represent Fantasy Fiction), but also what forms of queries they accept and what others' experiences have been. The envelope represents the number of queries QT members have sent, the smilie face how many requests for partial or full manuscripts were received, and the frownie face for how many rejections were received.







The owner is also careful about who he adds to the database. He researches each suggested agent and makes sure that person is legit. A forum lets users share additional info about their experiences with agents.



I've also discovered an unexpected positive. Normally I collect rejection letters with a bit of shame and tuck them away as quickly as I can, relying on as many defense mechanisms as I can to shore up my flagging self-esteem. But I enjoy adding whatever response I get to my QT, because I'm helping other writers when I do. For me, that makes a negative into something of a positive. It also feels very organized, because I can see everything in one place from any computer I'm on. In the past I've used MS Access databases, but of course I could only access those from the computer the database was stored on.



Anyhow, I've really found it to be a great resource so far. Anything that makes receiving rejections less of a negative experience is to be applauded!