Tracking

One of my considerations was how to track the agents I queried so that I didn’t send duplicate queries. And once I started researching agents another consideration became obvious: tracking the agents I’d researched so I didn’t research them again.

In my regular job I deal with spreadsheets. A lot. Just like many people in the business world, I’m proficient at putting them together and manipulating them as needed. This tracking exercise required none of that skill. This was a simple list where I could put relevant info on every agent Iooked at.

Here are the columns I used in my spreadsheet:

• Agent Name

• Literary Agency

• Submission Date (blank if not submitted to that agent)

• Response Date

• Email

• Status (e..g, Closed to Submissions, Retired, etc.)

• Represents (names of author the agent represents, at least the ones I’ve heard of)

• Notes (usually the reason I didn’t think the agent was a good fit for me, but also other notes like “Usually takes 8-12 weeks to respond)

• Web Page

• Query Different Agent at Same Agency if Rejected? (some agents say if they reject it, their entire agency does; others say go ahead, maybe someone else at the agency would be interested)

Not rocket science, by any means. What it did do was keep my research focused and easily trackable. Next time I’ll talk about my sources for research, and you’ll see why it was important to track all of the above and avoid easily wasted time.