Eyre Price Attends Killer Nashville Writers' Conference with a Dream, Leaves with a Career

Before the publication of his critically acclaimed debut novel, Blues Highway Blues, Eyre Price had been submitting manuscripts (and collecting rejection slips) for probably twenty five years. He'd had a number of agents during his long road to publication, and those experiences taught him that getting and having an agent is an aspect of the business that is too often misunderstood.

"When I was first looking, I just wanted an agent," he says. "I wasn't as particular as I should have been, and it resulted in a lot of bad relationships that cost me time and opportunities, ultimately setting me back more years than I want to think about. A writer and an agent have to have a working relationship in order for the partnership to be beneficial. So my best advice to anyone looking for an agent is to be patient and wait for the 'right' one."

The 'right one' turned out to be agent Jill Marr of the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. Marr says, "I met Eyre Price at Killer Nashville and sold his series to Thomas & Mercer the following year. He is so talented and driven, so typical of the authors who attend the conference. The authors I've met there are dedicated to their craft and it shows in their writing."

Price believes that Killer Nashville provides a unique opportunity for writers. First, there's an opportunity for published and aspiring writers to meet, network, and provide support, encouragement, and mentorship for each other. There's also an unparalleled opportunity to meet agents and publishers. There is also an incredibly receptive audience there for promoting projects and significant press coverage, such as magazine coverage and the live podcasts by the Library Police, which can help get an author's name out there.

Price says, "I am, and will always be, a child of Killer Nashville. Killer Nashville was absolutely the launching pad of my career, and I cannot imagine the circumstances that would have led to me being a published author today if it had not been for my involvement with KN. All in all, I really don't believe there is a better conference out there for writers who are approaching literary conferences as a means of advancing their careers in real and practical ways."

What Killer Nashville taught him, more than anything else, was to concentrate on the work and keep moving forward. "There were a lot of disappointments [along the way]," he says, "but this is a business of disappointments. The Killer Nashville community was so supportive that it was easier to keep writing and just keep moving forward. And that is the only true secret to success in writing: just keep writing. Write. Every day. Whether you want to or not. Write."

The Killer Nashville Thriller, Mystery, and Crime Literature Writers' Conference, held annually on the fourth full weekend in August, was created in 2006 by author/filmmaker Clay Stafford to bring together forensic experts, writers, and fans of crime and thriller literature. The conference draws attendees from as far away as Portmahomack, Scotland; Rome, Italy; and Hadano, Kanagawa, Japan. For interviews or more information: http://www.KillerNashville.com, http://www.ClaymoreAward.com, Contact@KillerNashville.com, 615-599-4032.

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