Mar 19, 2009

Do you limit the number of queries you post?

I've had several people ask me if I plan to limit posts to once per day, or put some other volume control policy in place. The concern is that many of you want to read and comment on every query, and fear that you won't be able to keep up.

For now, I don't plan to limit the posting. When I get a submission, I post it as soon as I see it and can get it up there. I read most of them, but I admit there are a few that I just posted and didn't read because I had several at once and just wanted to get them up on the site. I want to comment on all of them, too, but I've only been able to comment on about half of them so far.

I do read all of the comments, and in blogger I can see all of the posts and number of comments per post. So far every post has comments. If any queries go a couple days with no comments, I will put up a special post with links to those queries to call special attention to them.

The reason I want to do it this way is to provide everyone with a chance to get their query online, and to minimize the queue. I've submitted to other query review sites where there is a single reviewer, and I have waited days for posting / feedback on some, weeks on some, and I am still waiting on others (read: I have given up hope on others). No fault to the people who tend to those sites...Until the earth's rotation slows and we get 30 hours days, we will have to deal with the constraints of the 24-hour clock as it relates to families, day jobs, other hobbies, etc.

Most of us play the waiting game a lot...waiting for responses to queries, responses to manuscript submissions, etc. My hope is that this site will not be another line to wait in.

One thing that makes this work is the basic format. I post the queries, but there are 50 followers to the site and a couple hundred unique visitors per day (thanks mainly to a mention by Nathan Bransford on his blog). No one person can shoulder the burden of commenting on every post, but as a group we can take care of each other.

If this system starts to fail, trust me, I am resourceful and I will find a way to fix it!

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9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rick,
I just left a comment and I don't want my advice to be the lone or last a writer bases changes on. It would be cool if there was a way to not a new comment was left, so opposing arguments or agreements could be made.

Also, if you don't want to limit the number of queries a day, maybe you could seperate them by a big bold date each day, so it is easier to figure out where you left off on your commenting.

Thanks again for a great site.
JO

Anonymous said...

Oh crap, that should have been.

It would be cool if there was a way to note a new comment was left, so opposing arguments or agreements could be made.

I need to get me a sign on so I can fix those type of things!

Disgruntled Bear said...

Thanks for doing this!

I got some helpful feedback on my own query (Bagastana), and have been enjoying critiquing other people, as well.

This is a great idea, and a great site!

Rick Daley said...

JO,

I don't know if you choose to post anonymously because you are on a shared PC at work, or the library, etc. but if you are posting through a Google Blogger account, you can have comments on a thread emailed to you.

I just changed the blog archive frequency to Daily, that breaks them out a little better but I'm afraid that without seeing the entire list for the week or month, some older queries are more likely to be missed. I may change that back.

When I am at my PC at home, my browser cache remembers the links I've visited, so they are highlighted a lighter shade and I can tell where I left off. Again, I'm not sure of your PC environment, so on a shared computer you may have unique limitations.

Rick Daley said...

Bear,

Thanks, it's my pleasure. I'll post some FAQ's with more information about my writing and what inspired me to start this site, watch for them, if you are interested. And I'll keep posting queries as long as they keep coming in...

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Rick, you really are doing a great job! I am so happy Nathan mentioned your blog. It has grown so quickly. Let me know if I can help in any way.

Rick Daley said...

Lady G,

Thanks for helping support this site. If it grows so fast I can't keep up, I'll look for help administrating it. Blogger allows to you assign privileges to other users. For now I can manage, but who knows what the future will hold...

Anonymous said...

Rick,

I do normally use a shared PC, and internet is slow at home. Alot of content is blocked. It has always been easier to be ANON, but I'll give it a shot at home.

JO

Ryan S. Kinsgrove said...
This comment has been removed by the author.