There is a group of writers and mystery lovers who are working to bring a chapter of Sisters in Crime to the Central Virginia area. Yesterday, Meredith Cole  and Ellen Byerrum  did a panel discussion on "Writing the Mystery Series." They gave a great presentation on writing, agents, and mysteries. Here's what I learned from the authors and the group discussion...

1. Readers like change, but they like the reliability of familiar characters.

2. Be creative. Write the book that you need to write, but don't disappoint readers who are expecting the conventions of a mystery.

3. Think about taking a class or series of classes for Private Investigators. They provide lots of background information for mystery writers.

4. Read the acknowledgements of other writers' works for information about agents and editors.

5. A bad agent is worse than no agent at all.

6. Think about who you select as your agent. Even if you change later, you will still have some business dealings with the original one.

7. Never pay an agent to read your work.

8. Be the best you that you can be. Your name is your brand.

9. Writing is a business. You need to be professional at all times.

10. Make sure that you thank those who help you.