Archetype Writing Blog

Surely with all my raving about how great QueryTracker.net is, you've at least gone to see what all the fuss is about?  (If you haven't and have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a quick explanation I wrote up.)

If you've signed up for the free version to try it out -- or even if you haven't yet -- you might be eyeing the premium membership to decide if it's really as great as we all say it is.  (It is!)  Well, now's your chance to get a full year's premium subscription for free!  There will be weekly winners for as long as the contest runs.

1. The QueryTracker.net Blog (where yours truly is part of the blogging team) is featuring a Link Lottery contest.  Joining in the fun is easy.
2. For every new QueryTracker.net link you add to the internet, you get one chance to win.
3. After you've added the new link/s, you send an email to links@QueryTracker.net to let the site webmaster know where to find them.  Enter as many times as you like.
4. Every Friday, the webmaster will perform a Google search for QueryTracker links and select one of the results at random. The person who created the selected link will receive a year's premium subscription to QT.

If you're not sure how to create a link, visit the contest announcement over on the QT Blog.

I've added a Subscribe via Email link to the blog.  Sorry that took so long, I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't realize how popular it was to read blogs that way.

I also want to let you know about another writing site I'm now a part of: The QueryTracker.net Blog.

If by some chance you haven't visited QueryTracker.net yet, what are you waiting for?  It's the site for finding literary agents and tracking submissions to them.  I used it to find my agent.  I also blogged about it when I first found it, and I love it more now than I did when I found it.  It's free, though you can buy a premium subscription for extra features.  (I don't get a kickback if you start using QT, it's just that awesome.)

Along with four other fun, wacky women and the master sitebuilder himself, Patrick McDonald, I'll be blogging several times a week on hot topics like important industry news (including agent contests and announcements), hot writing and publishing tips, a soon-to-be announced QT Blog contest, and ways to use QueryTracker.net, QueryTracker Forum, and RallyStorm to help you become a better writer, find an agent, and get published!

Added some fresh articles and updated the Deviant Art Prompts!

• What Will Your Character Do When Disaster Strikes? by Carolyn Kaufman
• Playing Chicken With Your Story by Holly Lisle
• 8 Keys to a Successful Author Website by Karin Bilich

You should also check out RallyStorm, a new website by the creator of the wonderful QueryTracker.  On RallyStorm, writers can set up private critique forums for their readers.  And QueryTracker, of course, lets you track queries sent to agents, as well as share information with other writers about agents.

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!