Guest Interview with Patrick McDonald *AND* QueryTracker Gift Card Giveaway!!!

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Today I'm honored to have Patrick McDonald, founder and moderator of QueryTracker.net, joining us for an interview. *waves to Patrick*

(click picture to read Patrick's QT bio)

Patrick, who works in Industrial Automation by day, started QT back in 2007, and since then it's grown to be one of the most extensive online data bases for aspiring authors, boasting statistical information for 1,253 literary agents and 131 publishers. To date, there are 681 success stories born of the some 47,530 QT members.

Yet the most important service QT provides is the community fellowship. There's such a supportive spirit to be found at the blog, the agent/publisher threads, and the groups/forums. When I first started hanging around the threads, I was touched and impressed by the cheerleading and encouragement taking place. In spite of the fact that these people were all vying for the same thing, no one was competing. They were there to lend a helping hand or offer a word of comfort when someone was down, or share in the celebration when someone got good news.

I'll never forget the people who reached out and helped me, Patrick included. And even though I don't get over there like I used to, I know that there will always be someone to take up the slack. Because writers rock like that. (◕‿-)

One of the best things about QT is it's completely free to join and get access to the agent/publisher info, threads, etc... BUT, a $25/yr premium membership opens a whole new world of features. Click here to check out that list.

Interested? At the end of this interview, I'll let you know how you can win a FREE premium membership gift card. So stay tuned...

In a prior post, I put out a request to my readers: What would you like to ask Patrick Mcdonald, the wizard who so humbly stands behind the curtain to keep things running smooth in QueryTracker Oz? The last several questions in this interview were born of that post, so thank you ladies for your contributions! 

And off we go...

AGH: It’s rumored that you dabble in writing yourself. What genres are you drawn to creatively?

Patrick: It's been a long time since I've dabbled in writing, and that's a good word for it. I'd be the first to admit I'm just not very good at it. Now days, when I feel the urge to write coming on, I resist with every ounce of willpower.  I've accepted the reality that my poor brain is much better suited for programming than writing. When I write, it always comes out sounding like a computer manual, and we all know how much fun those are to read. 

AGH: Are you working on any current projects you can tell us about?

If you mean writing, then no. Besides being terrible at it, QT has kept me too busy to give it much thought. There are some new QT features I've been considering lately, and I hope to have time to get to them real soon. Maybe over the Christmas Holiday when I'll have some time away from my day job.

AGH: How did you being an aspiring author influence the birth/growth of QT?

It certainly helped me to identify the need for something like QT. Way back, when I was querying, I used AgentQuery (which is a great resource, by the way) but I kept thinking it would be really nice if I could mark off agents right there on the site as I went along. I looked around, couldn't find anything that did what I wanted, and since my queries weren't going anywhere, I decided to give it a shot. And, thanks to all of you out there who gave it a try and continue to use, it has been a success.

AGH: Who comes up with all of those great premium membership feature ideas?

I'm always on the look out for new ideas, so if anyone has any thoughts on new features, please let me know.

AGH: Speaking of features, QT has a recent one for premium members where if you mark which agents have your full MS it'll tell what other agents have "similar tastes." Kind of like the “customers who liked this book also bought this one” feature on Amazon. How do you come up w/that information?

It is based on the query results recorded by users. So, if two agents request the same material then they must have similar tastes.

Angela Cook: Some of the comments left on agent profiles are brutally honest and/or emotionally charged. Have you ever been asked by an agent to remove those comments? If so, did you?

I don't recall ever being asked "nicely". There have been a few cases where an agent threatened legal action if I did not remove a comment. In those cases I just removed the agent entirely. Those kinds of people don't deserve to be listed.

Jenny Phresh: Have you ever considered letting authors choose the look of their frowning/smiling status faces from a gallery? I would be prefer my frowning face, for example, to have an insouciant, devil-may-care expression that shows that I Will Rise Again! Right now it's too durned sad and beaten-down looking.

That's actually a pretty good idea. But I don't have the artistic talent needed to draw up a bunch of different icon sets. So, if anyone out there wants to contribute, just let me know.

Mindy McGinnis: How do you keep your agent contact information updated? Do they inform you of changes or do you hunt this information down?

Some agents will inform me of changes, other changes I find myself. But the majority come from users who send me a note about something they found, or post it on the agent's profile. After confirming the change, I update the agent's profile. And I really appreciate all the help I get from users. There's just no way I could keep up with all the agents on my own.

Krista V:  How can QueryTracker users get the most out of QueryTracker? And what is QueryTracker's best little-known feature? 

There's a lot going on at QT, and it can be a little overwhelming at first. So, I think the best place to start is with the tutorial videos (which can be found at QueryTracker.net/videos.php).

As for best little-known feature, it's hard to think of just one. But, one of the things that I think is really simple, yet highly useful, is the agency cross-reference. When you view an agent's profile page, there is also a list of all the other agents at that agency along with your query status to any of them (if you happened to have already queried them). It helps to know, so you don't query the same agency twice. If you're a premium member you'll find the cross-reference on the right side of the page, where the advertisements would be.

**Five for fun**  

1) What’s your favorite breakfast?

Lunch. I like to sleep in.

2) Are you Team Dog or Team Cat?

It depends on how they are cooked.

3) If I were at your house right now, what would I find in your refrigerator?

Absolutely nothing. Just ask my teenage son.

4) If you could morph into any food, what kind would you become and why?

Turkey. It's the holidays and I always wanted to be the guest of honor. 

5) What would be the first thing you would do if you woke up to find you were a fish?

Drown. I can't swim.

***

Eek on the drowning! Hee. And I get what you're saying about your teenage son. I have one of those, too. Hungry little critters.

Thank you, Patrick, for the interview, and for everything you do for us!

Now for the GIVEAWAY: Patrick has offered to donate a premium membership gift card to give away to one of my readers. All you have to do is leave a comment* on this post, from today through Sunday at midnight (central time). I will close the comments then, and will draw the lucky winner's name TBA on Monday.

Thanks for dropping by. Have a fabulous weekend and see you next week!

*Please note: this pertains to legitimate comments ... I reserve the right to use the delete function if there are any naughties out there ... 'nuff said. ;)

Query Trackers Making Tracks, #13

Today is an abundance of interviews day. I'm hanging with the savvy Melodie Wright over at Forever Rewrighting where she asked some of the hardest most insightful questions I've ever had the pleasure of answering. Heh. In all seriousness, this girl is one of the best interviewers I've had the pleasure of working with.

And of course, here in the land of madness it's installment number thirteen of my "first Friday of the month" series on successful authors from QueryTracker. Some of my guests have agents, others have found success in less conventional ways. But one thing they all have in common is the utilization of the QueryTracker website to help make their tracks in the publishing world.

I just realized how appropriate it is to have the 13th QT interview in October. But there's nothing scary or unlucky about today’s guest, Gennifer Albin. Her success story is one that would give anyone inspiration (not to mention cause much drooling in awe and wonder).  Genn had a whirlwind submission after she signed with agent Mollie Glick of Foundry Literary + Media. Within a matter of weeks there was an auction for her book which ended in a major deal. Her story on QT, here, was enough to leave me breathless just living vicariously.

By the end of today's interview, no doubt we'll all need inhalers. (◕‿-)

And onward we go...


AGH: Welcome, Genn. Could you give us a quick summary of the book which snagged your agent?

GENN: Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

AGH: Before you signed with your agent, how many books had you tried to query?

GENN: This was the first book I ever queried.  I'd come to close querying a book I never finished back in my naive days. I'm so glad I didn't.

AGH: What were the responses to those queries (stat-wise: fulls, partials, etc.)?

GENN: I had about a 70% request rate, about 40% of those were requests for partials and the rest were requests for the full.

AGH: How long did it take to find a publisher after you signed with your agent ?

GENN: We had out first preempt offer in a little over a week and then we went to auction about 3 weeks after I signed with my agent.  It was unusually fast.
 
AGH: What inspired your very first book idea?


GENN: I've been obsessed with a painting by Remedios Varo that shows women embroidering the world since I first saw it in college.  One day I wrote a one page prologue that came to me out of nowhere.  It was the story of a girl in the painting, and I went from there.

AGH: How do you come up with titles?

GENN: I have to have a title before a book will really flow for me, so I obsessed over this.  Originally I thought Tangled would be great, but when I googled it up came a new Disney movie!  I was so disappointed, although I actually loved the movie.  From there I pulled ou the thesaurus and started looking up weaving and sewing terms.  When I saw CREWEL, I knew it was perfect 

AGH: What books / authors have most influenced your own style and concepts?

GENN: That's hard to say.  I have considerable time put in towards PhD in literature, so I think I'm heavily influenced by a lot of the themes from the early novels of the 18th century.  My next book is much more academically influenced.  But then I think I've learned a lot from rereading my favorite books and really studying the voice and style of people like Rowling and Collins, but then I think conceptually I was influenced by people like Margaret Atwood and Orson Scott Card.  I certainly have a mixed education in literature.

AGH: How did you find QueryTracker, and how did it help you in your effort to get inside the publishing doors?

GENN: The lovely Scott Tracey posted about QT and since I was so impressed by his success, I ran over and joined.  First of all, everyone should get the premium membership because it allows you to see all these special charts and reports, which is awesome when you want to obsess during the querying process.  I loved that people posted stats in the comments, and I still try to stop by and offer support when I can.  I also used the QT boards to vet my queries before I sent them out. Overall, it's such a supportive, welcoming community that I feel comfortable there.  Not too big, but constantly moving - QT was a perfect fit for me.

AGH: Have you recently learned anything about the business side of publishing that you can share with up and coming writers?

GENN: No one else's success will look like yours!  I think we all look to stories for insight into what to expect.  Like so-and-so was asked to share her favorite covers with her designer, or such-and-such got a huge ARC campaign - it doesn't mean anything in regard to what you will get!  Trust me.  It's a bad and good thing.  Share in others stories to support them, but keep your eyes on your own paper.  Focus on your book and your campaign and don't get stuck in comparison hell.

AGH: Do you have any current news to announce?

GENN: CREWEL is coming out October 16, 2012!

**Five for fun**

1)      In your opinion, what was the best thing before sliced bread?

GENN: Stew.  Everyone knows it was around the day man crawled from the primordial ooze.

2)      Which would you rather do: carry an umbrella or sing in the rain?

GENN: Why can't you do both?  I loved to splash in the rain, but I use an umbrella since I wear glasses.  I also have my cake and eat it too.

3)      Are you Team Dog or Team Cat?

GENN: Cat.  I guess I appreciate having to work for my cat's love.  The Tuesday cat runs the house.

4)      If I were at your house right now, what would I find in your refrigerator?

GENN: Cheese.  So much cheese.  Dubliner.  Wisconsin cheddar.  Goat cheese.  Feta.  Pepper-encrusted pecorino.  And  Gouda.  Always gouda.

5)   Drinking tea … pinky up, or heavy on the Long Island?

GENN: I have to say I have a weakness for Long Island iced tea, but I also love Earl Gray.  But if I had to choose, heavy on the Long Island.

~~~

Thank you for sharing your amazing experience, Genn! CREWEL sounds incredible, and I love how you thought of the story and title. I'm so excited that you have a pub date now, and wish you every success! Although it's obvious you're already there. (◕‿◕)

Don’t forget to visit Genn’s blog and follow her on twitter to stay abreast of news and announcements. Also, please leave her any questions, comments, or kudos below. I know she'll be thrilled to see them.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you next week.