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Author: Patricia Iyer

Do you have an amazing business success you want to share? Pat Iyer has worked with experts helping them share their knowledge since she first began writing and editing books in 1985. Pat Iyer has written or edited over 800 chapters, books, case studies, articles or online courses. She delights in assisting people to share their expertise by writing a book. Pat serves as a developmental editor and ghostwriter.

Pat built a service business assisting attorneys with cases involving medical issues. After growing that business to a multi-million dollar one, after 25 years, she sold it in 2015 and now devotes her time to mentoring, writing and editing. Get tips for polishing your writing style and gaining business through the material you write: Listen to Writing to Get Business Podcast on the C Suite Radio platform.

Reach her through Patiyer.com|Do you have an amazing business success you want to share? Pat Iyer has worked with experts helping them share their knowledge since she first began writing and editing books in 1985. Pat Iyer has written or edited over 800 chapters, books, case studies, articles or online courses. She delights in assisting people to share their expertise by writing a book. Pat serves as a developmental editor and ghostwriter.

Pat built a service business assisting attorneys with cases involving medical issues. After growing that business to a multi-million dollar one, after 25 years, she sold it in 2015 and now devotes her time to mentoring, writing and editing. Get tips for polishing your writing style and gaining business through the material you write: Listen to Writing to Get Business Podcast on the C Suite Radio platform.

Reach her through Patiyer.com|Do you have an amazing business success you want to share? Pat Iyer has worked with experts helping them share their knowledge since she first began writing and editing books in 1985. Pat Iyer has written or edited over 800 chapters, books, case studies, articles or online courses. She delights in assisting people to share their expertise by writing a book. Pat serves as a developmental editor and ghostwriter.

Pat built a service business assisting attorneys with cases involving medical issues. After growing that business to a multi-million dollar one, after 25 years, she sold it in 2015 and now devotes her time to mentoring, writing and editing. Get tips for polishing your writing style and gaining business through the material you write: Listen to Writing to Get Business Podcast on the C Suite Radio platform.

Reach her through Patiyer.com

Categories
Best Practices Growth Personal Development

Writing Tips for the C-Suite

Executives who write well easily convey their ideas and increase their influence. Poor writing makes you stand out – in an unpleasant way. Here are some tips for smoother writing.

Easily Confused Words: Insure, Ensure, Assure

Insure relates to insurance policies and limiting financial liability.

Assure is something you say or do to make another person comfortable.

Ensure is what you do to guarantee a result.

Here are examples:

I purchased a homeowner’s policy to insure my house.

I can assure you your clients will come away with actionable items.

This program will ensure your employees will improve their customer service.

I insured my car so I could ensure I could fix it and assure my parents.

Who versus That

Present yourself as a polished writer by correct use of “who” and “that”. Who is used with people and that is used with things. I find a lot of people get confused on this point.

Examples

“The client who is ready to buy will need an order form.”

“The plane that was supposed to take me to New York was cancelled.”

 What word goes here?

“It includes firsthand perspectives of people ____are familiar with bullies.”

“Who” belongs in the sentence. Who is used with people.

“This is a sudden crisis ____needs to be addressed.”

“That“ is the right choice.

Correct use of semicolons

These often-overlooked punctuation marks make your writing more professional.

A semicolon joins two sentences when there is no conjunction such as “and” or “but” in between.

The HR department completed an assessment; it showed the need for training.

The VP for Sales completed a sound check the morning of the event; she was horrified by the room’s acoustics.

A semicolon separates items in a sentence that has commas.

The corporation has offices in Philadelphia, PA; Chicago, IL; and San Francisco, CA.

Be Brief

Make your writing smoother with a minimal amount of words.

Don’t

Your clients will find our services delightful, will be amazed and come away inspired by our services.

Do

Your clients will be delighted, amazed and inspired by our services.

Be Consistent

Repeat the same grammatical form to make it easy for your reader to assimilate your ideas.

Don’t

The audience cheered, were getting on their feet, and clapped at the end of the speech.

Do

The audience cheered, clapped, and stood at the end of the speech.

Pat Iyer is an accomplished editor and ghostwriter. She has edited or authored more than 800 books, articles, case studies, chapters, or online courses and thousands of blog posts. Pat is a C Suite Network Advisor. Reach her through her website EditingMyBook.com

Categories
Growth Personal Development

Too Busy to Write? Use These Shortcuts

You’d love to see your name on the cover of a book. You know that a book is a powerful tool for an executive for building a brand. It not only helps to establish your expertise in your market, but it can also exponentially expand your audience.

There’s virtually no downside to writing a book. Except the time needed to write it. If you don’t consider yourself a writer, you may think the benefits are out of your reach, but even self-avowed non-authors have options or shortcuts.

Outsource. If you want a book that’s in your voice without having to do the work? Hire a ghostwriter. A ghostwriter is a writer who you pay to write for you. These professionals will work with you to create a book that is uniquely yours, and in the end, you’ll have a well-written book with your name on it, all without typing a word. A ghostwriter typically interviews the author and creates the chapters from the transcripts. The ghostwriter puts in all the time to eliminate the dialogue and make the content organized and coherent.

A ghostwriter is the ideal person to work with when you are busy or lack the writing skills to create well-written content. The best time to use a ghostwriter is when you recognize you should be producing more content, but you’ve been putting it off. You’re not sure how to fit one more thing into your life. Working with a ghostwriter will take time, but far less than if you wrote the content from scratch.

Repurpose. This easy and popular option makes use of the hundreds or even thousands of pages of content you’ve already created. You will need to create an outline, organize the content and group it into chapters to create a smooth flow. In the process of doing so, you will see gaps in the material that you’ll need to write.

Blogs, white papers, podcast transcripts, and articles are all material that you can repurpose. I completed 2 books last month that were solely drawn from podcast transcripts and blogs. After my assistant edited out the transcript dialogue it took me less than a day to complete each book.

Dictate. If you are one of the people who finds it easier to talk than write, dictating content may be the right option for you. After organizing your thoughts, you record your content, get it transcribed and then start rearranging and filling in gaps. You can also create a book based on interviews you record, which form the basis of the content you expand upon.

Having a published book can work wonders for your business growth. It will bring you clients, expand your audience reach, and even attract some press. But it can’t do any of that if you don’t write the book in the first place. Take one of these ideas and get your book written. You won’t regret it.

Pat Iyer is a ghostwriter who works with authors to develop materials that share their brilliance. She has written or edited over 800 chapters, books, online courses, case studies or articles. See her website at editingmybook.com or reach her at patriciaiyer@gmail.com.

Categories
Growth Skills

Tips for Natural Sounding Writing

You are in a restaurant with a friend. You’ve just seen your company’s third quarter results. As you explain the results, she asks questions which takes you deep into the conversation and to further explanations.

Do you ever wonder if you are setting the right tone with your writing? When it comes to writing memos, sales pages, or white papers, many people freeze in their tracks. They’re afraid if they don’t use just the right (perfect) formula they won’t be effective in communication. But writing is just another form of conversation, like the one you had with your friend.

You have a natural-born talent to communicate – you have that skill already. Leaders have well-developed communication abilities. You would not be in your role if you could not communicate well. Written communication should not be a stumbling block that it is for some leaders.
How to Get Started: Outline or Free Flow?

You are sitting down to write a report. Pretend you’re in that restaurant about to tell a colleague about this great product, or service, or result you have achieved in your company. Think about what you’d say to her. What would she ask you? Keeping your reader in mind as you write helps you focus on the message.

It is usually more effective to write in a rough form than to edit your work as you write. I’ll bet you remember having to turn in outlines of papers when you were in school. Our teachers made us do them because outlines really are helpful for organizing material. Start with an outline and then fill in the concepts under each main point you want to make.

Creating an outline is difficult for some. You might be more comfortable with a style that involves letting your ideas flow and then organizing them. Then polish your writing. The process of refining your writing involves looking at word flow, the length of paragraphs, and the way you’ve connected your thoughts. This is also the point at which you can add headers, sub headers, bullets and numbered lists. Some of your readers love to read all the details. Some want to skim and get the key points.

Readers can sense your energy. It flows through in everything you write. If your writing is stiff you may easily lose your reader. (We’ve been trained to have short attention spans.) Read what you wrote out loud. Does it sound conversational?

While it is true that you need to get it right, don’t let a craving for perfection stop you from writing. Done is often better than perfect.

Pat Iyer is a professional writer who works with others to assist them as an editor, ghostwriter and online course creator. Reach her at patriciaiyer@gmail.com.

Categories
Growth Skills

Overcoming Objections to Writing a Book

How to Defeat Your Objections to Writing Your Book

You’ve had writing a book on your to do list for years. People tell you that you’ve had an interesting path to the C Suite, and you should share what you’ve learned with others.

And yet… you are stalled.

It’s not that you don’t recognize the benefits of having a book, of helping others with your story, of adding to the business world’s knowledge with the lessons you’ve learned.  You just struggle with it, and probably for the same reasons many other people resist publication.

What are your excuses?

You can’t write. Although many people claim they cannot write, yet they prepare reports, articles, speeches, and all of that content can be reused. Are you still trapped in that small wooden high school seat intimidated by prepositions, dangling participles and misplaced modifiers?

I have good news for you. It is not necessary to know how to diagram a sentence. You do need an ear for good writing.

Or are you really saying you don’t like to write? Luckily, you have plenty of options for overcoming this particular hurdle. Hire a ghostwriter. If you can develop a set of questions to create a chapter, you can hire a person to interview you and use the transcribed conversation to create a chapter. The ghostwriter will turn that colloquial conversation into a smoothly written chapter. It takes skill to do the editing. As the author, you have the final say on what goes into the book.

You can also use software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, or simply record using your favorite MP3 app and then have it transcribed. The transcript will still need to be edited; we are a lot more informal when we speak than when we write.

You don’t have time. Here’s a biggie. Everyone is busy. Yes, your job is demanding. But you can overcome that excuse by carving out time. I’ve been the sole author of 19 books. They all started one chapter at a time.

Rather than lamenting your lack of time, figure out when you can write. Do you need to go away for a weekend with your laptop? Will it work for you to get up earlier each day or stay up later? What do you need to give up (like TV or movies) in order to write? In my experience, the most important aspect is controlling your distractions. Turn off your phone and email and write. Set a timer and don’t allow yourself to be interrupted.

The point is, you must make this a priority. Block out the time in your calendar, and treat that time as sacred. Pretend it’s an appointment with your most important client, and do not allow anything to get in the way of keeping it.

Here’s another excuse: you can’t organize a long project like a book. Ok, so you’re great with blog posts, and you don’t mind writing them, but the thought of writing an entire book makes you stare at your blank screen like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

First, if you can write an article, you can write an entire series of chapters. The process is all the same, after all. It’s just putting words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and so on. It starts with an outline that you revise as you go along. You realize some material belongs in one spot instead of another. You chip away at your book, piece by piece.

There is no rule that you have to start at chapter 1 and move through the book in sequential fashion. My colleague and I started on Chapter 8 in the last book I ghostwrote. Start where you have the most material or the most familiarity with the subject matter. You’ll get a sense of accomplishment which will help you move through the project faster.

There are dozens of reasons to write a book. It’s important for strengthening your expertise and building your brand. But none of that will happen if you don’t actually write it. So it’s time to get beyond your hurdles and get your book done.

 

Pat Iyer is a ghostwriter and a C Suite Network Advisor. Visit her website at http://editingmybook.com for more information.

Categories
Growth Leadership Skills

How to Publish a Book

How to Publish a Book – What are the Options?

You have a wealth of knowledge about running a company. You want to share your knowledge in a new way – through publishing a book. You may have a body of work ready to repurpose (such as a blog you’ve maintained for several years) or a ghostwriter at the ready. Or you just really like to write; you find that writing the book comes easy.

How do you share your book? How can you get your book published? There used to be only one option: a traditional publisher. Now you have several choices.

PDF Ebook. Probably the simplest method to publish a book, all that’s required with an ebook is to click “Save as…” in your Word document and choose “PDF.” Then you can sell the resulting file on your own website, or upload it to a number of other ebook marketplaces online.

However, as a member of a c suite, you may want a higher profile product. Ebooks don’t have the authority that printed books carry. But this can be a viable option to get you off the ground. It’s also a great way to share your book with people who will write reviews for you before you publish your book. Advance readers will give you those all-important testimonials.

Kindle. Amazon’s Kindle marketplace makes it easy for you to publish your book. In fact, with just a few minutes of formatting, and another several minutes spent on their step-by-step uploading system, you can have your book on their virtual shelves in less than an hour. You can also readily find people with experience in formatting a book for Kindle. Check out a site I use, http://upwork.com, where you can hire people for a project like this.

With its incredible popularity and the ability to offer “free days” during which anyone can download your book at no cost, Kindle is a great way to build a buzz quickly.

Print on Demand. Print on demand means just that. Someone orders your book and it is printed in response to that order. Print on demand is a more economical model than vanity presses which require you to pay for hundreds if not thousands of copies up front, leaving you with a room full of books to sell on your own.

Create Space is the giant in this industry. As part of Amazon, Create Space makes it easy for you (or your graphic artist hired through Upwork) to load a book and its cover.  I recommend you hire someone to do this. It is not hard, but there are steps best tackled by someone who understands the process.

Buyers order your book from sellers such as Amazon and the book is printed and shipped the next day. This makes it easy and cost-effective for everyone to become a published author. But not all self-published books are well-written. Invest in an editor to polish your manuscript, to catch those embarrassing typos, and to help ensure that what you wrote is going to be clear to others.

Traditional Publisher. The options for self publishing have had a profound impact on traditional publishers. Their world has shrunk, and this affects you as an author if you are seeking a traditional publisher. They are bombarded with manuscripts and are very selective about the ones they take on. There are advantages to signing on with a traditional publisher. Getting your book published with a traditional print publisher will get you the most audience and press. The publisher may hire a publicist to get you on radio interviews, for example.

It is extremely difficult to get a traditional publishing house to take on a new author. An agent can be effective in getting the attention of a publisher. Your name, your brand, your platform (the ability to attract buyers) are crucial and may be even more important to the publisher than your content.

If you do manage to get a publisher, your royalties (the amount you earn from your book) will be very small—maybe as little as 8% of the net cost. The publisher may ask you to purchase a specific number of copies of your book and will rely on you to help promote it.

Indie Publishers. These publishers vary from the pattern of traditional publishers in the sense that they may expect you to make a substantial financial contribution to underwrite some of the costs of producing a book. The publisher spreads the risk to you, knowing the sad truth that the majority of books don’t sell well.

Be sure to thoroughly read a publishing agreement so you understand the terms of a traditional or indie publisher, if you decide to take this option. I recommend having an attorney familiar with publishing contracts give you some guidance.

The important thing is to get your book written, and then publish where you’re most comfortable. The rest will come naturally.

There are an unbelievable number of books languishing on hard drives because the author did not take action to release them to the world. Share all that knowledge you have learned through your experiences in a corporate world!

Pat Iyer is a ghostwriter who has written or edited more than 800 books, chapters, online courses, case studies or articles. Her website is http://editingmybook.com – check it out for more information.

Categories
Leadership Marketing Skills

5 Reasons Every Business Owner Needs a Book

Are you wondering how to expand your business? Has a major segment of the market shifted away from buying your products or services? Are you questioning your marketing plan? There’s one simple answer you probably haven’t considered:

Write a book.

It’s true. This one thing—especially if it’s an actual printed book rather than a Kindle or eBook—has the power to grow your business beyond your expectations. You’ll experience a whole new world of opportunities simply by having your name on the cover of a book.

Authority

Imagine you’re at a conference or local networking group and you meet two CEOs who both specialize in business branding—something you know you need help with.

One CEO says all the right things. She’s been in business for years and worked with some top-notch business owners. She has great ideas for how she can help you solidify your branding and assist you with marketing.

The other has a similar history and story, with one added bonus: she’s just handed you a copy of her latest book. It’s a professionally printed, substantial publication that practically exudes confidence.

Which person do you think shows more authority in her field? The one with the book, of course. There really is nothing better when it comes to establishing your authority in any niche than having a book with your name on it.

At this point, I have written or coauthored more than 800 books, articles, online courses, chapters or case studies. This factor more than anything else helped people in my field get to know me.

Expertise

Why does a book speak so highly of you and establish your authority so well? Because it gives you a platform to show off your expertise. It’s like being invited to present on any topic you choose on the world’s largest stage.

Not only that, but your readers are a captive audience. They’re listening—in that moment—only to you. That’s a powerful position to be in, and one that gives you an opportunity to really show off your stuff.

Market Reach

No matter how many readers Google sends your way, no matter how much traffic your YouTube channel receives, nothing will ever compare to the number of potential readers Amazon and other online booksellers can bring your way.

Positioned correctly, your book can reach millions of new readers, and thousands of potential clients. Combine that with the expertise and authority we know comes with being a published author, and that’s a recipe for success that can’t be beat.

Better Than a Business Card

If you’ve ever been to a conference, you’ve no doubt collected a stack of business cards. You get home and toss them in a drawer, and six months later you throw them out, without ever having contacted the people who gave them to you.

But if one of those people handed you a book instead, what happened? You’ve likely read it (or at least leafed through it). You almost certainly didn’t throw it away. And you remember it—and the person who wrote it.

Press Opportunities

Turn on your television to any interview show, browse through Huffington Post, or listen to any of a number of popular podcasts or radio shows, and you’ll quickly see that most of the guest speakers and interviewees have written a book.

The fact is, interview shows depend on interesting, insightful guests to keep their audiences listening, and there’s no better applicant than an author. Writing a book will open up many, many opportunities for appearances that you may never have without your name on that cover.

Do you have to write a book to be successful? No. But there’s no denying the fact that a published author will find she has a much easier time growing her business than the business person who keeps putting it off until later.

Do you have a book in you? Contact me to discuss my editing and ghostwriting services. I’d love to see your book take shape.