Maximizing QueryTracker

Sharing all the best features for data tracking so you can make the best decisions for your querying journey.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve heard of QueryTracker and know writers use it for the querying process, but you might not be sure why or feel overwhelmed by how to use it. Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. The first time I queried, I didn’t use QueryTracker and have since learned the error of my ways.

The primary reason to use QueryTracker is for data. If you are a data nerd, then you’ll love QueryTracker. However, a big caveat is that the data may not be the most reliable. So that leads us to the question: why use it? While the data on QueryTracker may not be entirely clean, it does give us an idea about information you may want to use on your querying journey, such as agent response time and percentage of responses.

First, I want to address why the data may not be entirely reliable or clean. All of the data is logged by its users. If an author is querying but not adding their queries or tracking their rejections/requests in QueryTracker, then it is going to skew the data. Therefore, we can only use the data for general purposes and not as absolute.

Now that we have that all sorted out, let’s dive in.

When you log into QueryTracker, you will be presented with a Dashboard. The Dashboard gives you a general overview of the projects you are querying. To track a project, you will need to create an ‘Active Project’ within QueryTracker.

The next place you’ll probably spend a lot of time is the ‘Agents’ page. On this page, you can find agents and navigate to your own personalized list of agents. I highly suggest using the filter option to search for agents in your genre.

Additionally, change your ‘Data View’ to ‘Query Data’. This view will provide data about agents' responses, such as their reply rate, which helps find agents who are more likely to respond. There is other data I like to use, such as how many days it takes to receive a response. At the beginning of my querying journey, I like to use this data to pick agents who respond quickly to begin testing the waters with a new project or query letter.

Once you have added an agent to your query list and sent them a query, don’t forget to use the ‘Data Explorer’ on the individual agent page. The Data Explorer will allow you to see where your query is in the line of queries. Beware, though, not all agents open queries in chronological order; some jump around.

If you have any specific questions about QueryTracker, let me know. I’m more than happy to help.

Good luck and best wishes from a fellow author in the trenches!