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.

 

[Fyri]

Most agents are migrating to QueryManager, which is just an organization system for them to manage queries in one place, all put into the same format. I thiiiink there is also something that is deleting queries found to be written with AI, but that's gonna be tough to really judge, as AI can be sneaky and false negatives and false positives happen more and more as AI develops, soooo just don't smell like AI.

They also may have a tracker for key words that they don't want. Now I will mention my favorite website: The Official Manuscript Wish List Website – #MSWL: What do you wish you had in your inbox?

This is such a fun website to use to find both Editors AND Agents! You can search by key words and start building your list of agents most likely to want your work. I search by target audience (YA, Middle Grade, Upper Middle Grade, whatever), theme (Belonging, Found Family, Vampires, whatever), and comp titles (I can elaborate on this if the term is confusing).

Usually at the bottom of their MSWL, agents will mention what they are not looking for. Pay attention to that.

From there, you can also use QueryTracker! That's where you find the agent you are submitting to and keep track of the stuff pmmg was talking about! I actually just use my own spreadsheet or a notebook where I made the list of agents I wanted to submit to and keep notes of "sent/rejected" there.

Here's hoping you get better responses than I've gotten!

There is more info I could share, but Idk how much would useful nowadays.

 

[pmmg]

Well, that was useful enough.