It's a great pleasure to welcome literary agent Tracy Brennan of the Trace Literary Agency to the RNA blog today. Tracy is here all the way from Mishawaka, Indiana, to talk to Helena Fairfax about her agency and about her role representing British and Irish authors.
Welcome to the RNA, Tracy!
The Trace Literary Agency is based in Indiana, and yet you represent many top contemporary Irish
authors, as well as authors from the UK. Please could you tell us how this came
about, and
how you came to set up your business.
This is a question I get all the
time. And I always say, “How much time
do you have?” 14 years ago I was traveling with my husband and then 8 month old
daughter to Dublin.
About 400 miles off the coast of
Ireland, the airplane caught fire! A
cooling fan in the cargo hold overheated, causing a fire somewhere below the
first class cabin. The pilot had to take
the plane down to 10,000 feet so he could open the cockpit windows to let the
smoke out. He then made the announcement
that he would ‘try’ to make a landing in Shannon!
When the coast of Ireland appeared,
the danger had not passed. There was no
way of knowing if the fire had damaged the landing gear. Eventually the airport runway came into view,
lined with firetrucks and ambulances.
When we did land, all the passengers were told we’d be taken by a fleet
of buses to Dublin. Unbeknownst to me,
this is where the business of becoming a literary agent would begin.
I met a very lovely woman on the
journey from Shannon to Dublin. She held
our daughter the entire time. She gave
us her business card and told us if we needed anything while in Dublin, to let
her know. Her name was Terry Prone, then
director of Carr Communications; now with The Communications Clinic in Dublin. We had no idea that she was a radio and television
personality and very famous Irish author.
To make a very long story short (and
I don’t think I’ve done a very good job here), Terry and I remained in contact
for a couple of years after that trip exchanging emails, letters and even
Christmas presents.
So how did I become a literary
agent? Plain and simple, the credit goes
to Terry Prone. She was my first client. I started working on her books trying
to place them with US publishers. Terry then introduced me to several other
Irish authors. Over the years Trace
Literary Agency has grown and I now represent authors from Ireland, Wales,
England, Scotland and the US - may of whom are award-winning authors.
Do you often visit Ireland and the UK? Or do you feel it's possible now
for agents to work with authors all over the world without the need for travel?
I usually make one, sometimes two
trips a year to Ireland and the UK. I do
think it's much easier with the internet and publishers requesting e-files to
do a lot of work via email, Skype, FaceTime, etc. But it is still nice to meet face to face and
talk with your clients and get to know them on a personal level. I usually meet potential clients at book
launches I attend or at Literary Festivals.
I only have a couple of clients that I’ve not met personally.
I do a lot of networking and
research. Sometimes I am referred to a
particular publisher from editors I’ve worked with. And I always ask my clients to give me a list
of the publishers they would like me to contact, as there are quite a few that
I am not familiar with.
What is it you are
looking for when a manuscript lands on your desk? Are there any specific plots
or themes you’d like to see?
My interest is quite diverse. I enjoy women’s commercial fiction,
historical fiction, YA and I am now working with a lot of crime/thriller
novels. I am dabbling a little in
non-fiction as well.
Do you ever find
authors outside the slush pile? If so, how?
I do. If I am
uncertain or don’t have a strong feeling one way or the other, but there is just
something that catches my eye, I ask a reader/book reviewer for their input.
What advice would you give someone submitting to you?
Do your homework. Make sure the agency represents the type of
book you are writing. Write a clear, concise query letter of introduction.
Don’t be afraid to sell yourself. This
is the time to brag about your accomplishments. Include a brief synopsis that
tells the story without giving away the ending.
Make sure your manuscript is complete and has been edited. There is nothing worse than reading a
manuscript that an author is dying to have published, but is full of
grammatical errors, spelling errors, and has poor pacing.
What’s your favourite romance novel of all time?
That’s such a hard question. There are so many to choose from. I’d probably have to say The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks.
Apart from your own authors, which book have you enjoyed the most in the
past twelve months, and why?
I’ve enjoyed re-reading some of the
books I read as a student in Great Books Seminar:
The
Catcher in the Rye, The Grapes of Wrath, The Old Man and the Sea, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird and there’s more on the list. Just never enough time!
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love traveling, boating,
photography and spending time with my family.
If you could describe your working-day in just three words, what would
they be?
Busy, exciting, challenging.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Tracy. That's certainly one of the most dramatic introductions to literary agency we've encountered! I'm so glad your plane journey ended happily.
If you've enjoyed Tracy's interview, or have any questions or comments at all, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you!
About Helena
Helena Fairfax is a romance author and editor. Her latest release is a feel good summer romance called Felicity at the Cross Hotel. You can find out more about Helena's books and her editing services on her website www.helenafairfax.com
If you would like to write for the RNA blog please contact us on elaineeverest@aol.com
