Query Managers

[Karlin]

HI. I've finished a novel, and am looking for an agent (traditional publishing). Many agents use a "query manager". It's a way for them to keep track of the flood queries, and I suspect to automatically dismiss the less likely ones. Anybody here have experience with these? Is there anything in particular that I should look out for, or that might get me through what amounts to another gatekeeper?

 

[pmmg]

Not for many years. Today I would just use a spread sheet. All you really need is where and when you sent it, and when you expect to hear from them. That way, you can know when they have had it long enough that you can re-query, or move on if they dont respond.

I forget the site that we were using to keep track of it. It might have been Story Pilot, if that is even still around.

 

[pmmg]

I forgot to dive deeper.

Gatekeepers abound. Some will say so up front, some not. I would look for stuff on their websites that say things like, looking for diversity or works from marginalized groups. Warnings about graphic content, such as violence or sex, and violence against women, or stuff about white supremacy. People with this up front are likely to gate keep you if you dont share their values, and likely have a low threshold for stuff that does not meet their worldview. Even words like empowerment might be a clue.

Course, if you write into their worldview, you won't have a problem.

(The same could be said for more Christian works, such as no unmarried or graphic sex, but unless you are looking, you wont encounter them.)

But...you will have a more difficult time breaking in, regardless of what content you have just by being new and unheard of. If you dont get picked up, its more likely it was for reasons of their estimation of quality, or engagement than any of the above.

If you are looking for a list of agents, I dont know a great source either. I would look at Reedsy and expand from there.

If I was looking, and I am not, I would look for some who do not advertise what they reject.