Auto-Track QueryManager Queries in QueryTracker

But first, what's the different between QueryTracker and QueryManager?

Many will use the two names interchangeably, but they are actually two distinctly different websites with distinctly different purposes.

QueryManager is used by agents and publishers to manage all the queries they receive. Only agents and publishers have accounts on QueryManager. Authors can send queries to the agents/publishers using QueryManager, but authors don't have accounts. No account is required to send a query.

Authors can have accounts on QueryTracker, which, among other things, is used by the authors to keep track of all the queries they send out. Typically, whenever an author sends a query, or receives a reply about a query, the author is responsible for inputting that information into the QueryTracker.

Automatic Tracking

QueryTracker can now automatically track queries sent through QueryManager. So, whenever an agent replies to a query, QueryTracker will instantly show that reply in the tracking system.

Authors will still be able to view their query on their QueryManager status page, and will receive emails when a status changes. The tracking in QueryTracker is just an extra way to be informed.

Please keep in mind, this only works with queries sent through QueryManager. Queries sent by email, or any other means, will still need to be tracked manually by the author.

In order for QueryTracker to know which queries are yours, you'll need to sign into your QueryTracker account while on QueryManager. This will tie the query to your QueryTracker account. You'll need to do this for each individual query.

Auto-Tracking is available to both free-level and premium members.

This can be done in two different places:

Claim a query while submitting the query.

At the bottom of the query form is a new section for signing into QueryTracker. Fill out the query form as you normally would, then, before actually submitting the query, sign in using your QueryTracker credentials.

If you have more than one project defined in QueryTracker, select the project where this query will reside. If you only have one project in QT, then the project select option will not be displayed and your query will be placed in your sole project.

Finally, submit your query by clicking the "Submit Query" button. And that's all there is to it. Now, any replies to your query will be automatically tracked and reflected in your QT account.

Claim a query after it has already been submitted.

If you've already submitted a query, you can still tie it to your QueryTracker account, regardless of the status of the query. Go to your query status page using the link you received when you initially sent the query. If you no longer have all your links, you can get a list of them at https://querymanager.com/portal/recover

At the bottom of the status page is a new section for signing into QueryTracker. Sign in using your QueryTracker credentials.

If you have more than one project defined in QueryTracker, select the project where this query will reside. If you only have one project in QT, then the project select option will not be displayed and your query will be placed in your sole project.

Finally, click the button labeled "Auto-Track on QueryTracker". And that's all there is to it. Now, any replies to your query will be automatically tracked and reflected in your QT account.

Note: This is completely optional. If you don't have a QueryTracker account, or don't want to automatically track, you can skip it.

Exceptions

In some cases it is not possible to auto-track a query. In those cases, you'll be presented with a message like the one below.

Here are some reasons why a query may not be auto-tracked.

• Currently, only queries to agents can be auto-tracked. A query to a publishing company, even if that publisher uses QueryManager, can not be auto-tracked at this time.
• Not all agents using QueryManager are listed on QueryTracker. If the agent is not on QueryTracker, they can't be auto-tracked.
• Some agencies using QM have only one QM query form/account that is used by all the agents at that agency. In these cases, since the individual agent isn't known, those queries can not be auto tracked.

Why are these extra steps required?

Why can’t QueryTracker just know who I am and which queries are mine?

I wish it were that easy, but there were certain design considerations when QueryManager was first created. The main being that there should be no barriers between the agents and the authors, and having to join QueryTracker (or any site) is considered a barrier. There should be no prerequisites to allow an author to query an agent.

So that's why QueryManager is separate from QueryTracker. It needed to be independent, but that creates some technical issues when it comes to sharing information between two different websites.

Another issue is, if queries through QueryManager are all automatically tracked, but regular queries still have to be input by members, then there will be much more data available for those agents using QueryManager then those who don't, and that could skew the data.

The solution there was to first wait until a large enough number of agents were using QM. Now, with almost 20% of QT agents using it, the problem with skewing data has been greatly reduced. But, another way to keep the data equal is to require the authors to still perform some kind of step to auto-track a query. That way, it is more likely that only the queries that were going to be tracked anyway, are being auto-tracked.