Pat Iyer’s Blog
All Blog Posts
Why You Need Beta Readers and How to Find Them
You need to trust yourself to write your book. However, you are not the best person to critique it after a certain point. When you think you’ve gone as far as possible in reading and revising it, you will benefit from having it read from a fresh perspective. This is...
Does Fear of Rejection Interfere with Your Writing?
Take heart; you’re not alone. Many of us have a fear of rejection. If you were to ask any cross-section of writers what they most feared when it came to their work, they would probably say they feared rejection. This shouldn’t surprise you. From the person afraid to...
Direct Quotes in Non-Fiction: Do it Right
You may be thinking that direct quotes belong exclusively in fiction. The truth is that you read either dialogue or direct quotes in non-fiction all the time—from news articles to blogs to books. Here’s an example from the CNN website. South Bend mayor and...
Meet Blogging Deadlines: 5 Step Process
An actively updated blog does wonders for your search engine optimization. Recently I attended a conference of women entrepreneurs. Of the approximately 75 people present, about one third of them had blogs. Only two people in the room, including me, blogged once a...
Book Cover: How You are Judged
Whether people are browsing on Amazon or another bookselling platform or in their local bookstore, a book’s cover is the first element to attract them. That’s why a good book cover is vital to your book’s selling success. Whether you are self-publishing a book or...
Put Your Writing on a Diet
Is there fat you can trim from your writing? Is it time to put your writing on a diet? Deleting redundant phrases makes your writing more professional. I wish I could say that one of the most dramatic signs of amateurish writing is using redundant phrases....
How to Make Time for Writing
The biggest reason I hear would-be writers give for why they don’t write is “I don’t have time.” The secret of time is that we can make time for writing. Earlier this year I Interviewed Seth Greenwald for Legal Nurse Podcast. He wrote his book while commuting back and...
Why You Deserve to be a Writer
You may think your undertaking to write and publish your book is very different from sending a manuscript to a greedy publishing house whose main purpose is to profit from your desire to write, but you have other doubts. You may question: do you deserve to be a...
Just the Facts, Please
The Internet is loaded with misinformation. Make sure you keep your credibility - always check the facts. Professional speakers share stories of people in their audiences who are fact checking them, and raising their hands to refute something the speaker just said....
How to Use Statistics Effectively in Your Blog
If you’re like me, you may have a temptation to shudder at the word, “statistics.” When I found out I had to take statistics in graduate school, I almost didn't go. The thought of algebra turned my stomach. I know, you might find math to be fun and do math problems as...
Recent Posts
The Art of Editing: Refining Your Written Work
As a writer, you’ve invested considerable time and effort in crafting your document, be it a report, speech, newsletter, or …Read More »
Make the Most of Your Writing Time
One of the most frequent complaints of my writing students and clients is “I don’t have enough time. How do …Read More »
Inner Critic or Inner Guide: Who is Talking
At any stage of my writing, I may hear an inner critic, a voice that says things like, “No, that …Read More »
What’s Your Type?
When I write about errors in manuscripts, I usually focus on punctuation, spelling, and grammar because those are my favorite …Read More »
Readers Make Better Writers
I always loved reading more than almost any other activity. It’s no coincidence that my siblings are also avid readers. …Read More »