‘I was lucky to be Sir Terry Pratchett’s agent’
Danny Fullbrook
BBC News, Buckinghamshire
Paul Felix
Colin Smythe published Sir Terry Pratchett’s first book, The Carpet People
Ten years ago, Sir Terry Pratchett died aged 66, eight years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. His friend and lifelong agent Colin Smythe recalls his memories of the renowned fantasy author.
A 20-year-old Terry Pratchett first walked into the office of the man who would become his first publisher and his agent in 1968.
Colin Smythe had just published a book about education and Sir Terry had been sent by the Bucks Free Press to write up a story about it.
Sir Terry mentioned that he would rather be an author than a journalist and the link-up began.
Mr Smythe went on to publish the Beaconsfield-born writer’s first five books, before becoming his agent. He retained that role until Sir Terry’s death on 12 March 2015.
When asked why Sir Terry enjoyed working with him, he recalled: “Terry would tell me: ‘You are the person I distrust the least in the publishing business’.”
“The trouble is I was spoilt. I was exceptionally lucky that I was the individual he distrusted least,” said Mr Smythe, now 83.
Trinity College Dublin
Sir Terry described friend Colin Smythe as the person he “distrusted the least”
Sir Terry first showed Mr Smythe his fiction work in the summer of 1968 and the publisher was immediately struck by his “brilliance, sense of humour and his skill at writing”.
“At that time publishers were much more prepared to back their hunches,” he said.
“This is a person who I did not want to allow to go some place else.”
The first book the pair worked on together was The Carpet People, which released in 1971.
In 1986, after publishing the second Discworld story, The Light Fantastic, the friends agreed Sir Terry would need a bigger publisher and Mr Smythe would instead act as his agent.
The Buckinghamshire-based publisher used his contacts to secure Sir Terry a deal at Victor Gollancz Ltd, which was known for science fiction and fantasy titles.
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Sir Terry is best known for the 41 novels in the Discworld series
As Sir Terry was already known to publishers, Mr Smythe said his job was often focused on negotiating contracts or arranging speaking events.
That left Sir Terry to focus on his passion of writing.
“He didn’t write as often as I would like. He would tend to write during winter evenings. In the summer evenings he preferred gardening,” he said.
“He could write fast. He always worked on the idea that he would do at least 400 words a day. As it evolved he might do more, maybe 400 words before breakfast.”
Mr Smythe admitted he was occasionally chastised for making deals worth “too much money”.
He said: “On one occasion… two publishers competed. Each came up with one price and I rang up Terry and said: ‘They have offered me £750,000’.
“He said: ‘This is mad, there is far too much testosterone going on around here’.
“He used to say: ‘Truth be told, I shall tell them I would pay to be allowed to write.’
“I thought it was best not to tell that to the publishers.”
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The fantasy author openly discussed his experiences with early onset Alzheimer’s disease in a series of BBC programmes
Sir Terry died after being diagnosed with a rare form of early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
“It affected his motor abilities rather than his cognitive abilities,” said Mr Smythe.
“While he thought he was going to die within a few years, he went on with enough time to write another six best-sellers.”
Mr Smythe said 10 years after the death of his friend, he still misses “the pleasure of his company”.
He said: “He was humorous, interesting, wide-ranging – all sorts of things.
“On one or two occasions I’d get a phone call on a Saturday: ‘I’m stuck, I’m not sure where I go from here’.
“He’d tell me a layout of how far he’d got and you’d talk to him and he’d say: ‘Oh, now I know where I’m going’. And he’d hang up.”
Trinity College Dublin
Colin Smythe described his friend as humorous and wonderful
Mr Smythe added: “He was such a wonderful person would was always full of brilliant ideas.
“Sir Terry Pratchett must be considered to be a superb satirist, a brilliant, imaginative writer. A person who had a brilliant sense of humour and was brimming over with ideas.”
