How to write a how-to book
Writing a how-to book is an excellent way to share your knowledge. Not only do you position yourself as an expert in the subject, but you genuinely help people who need clear, concise, practical information.
But if you’ve never written a book before, let alone a how-to guide, where do you start?
Charlie Wilson is a professional non-fiction ghostwriter and book editor, and the author of several books. In this article, she walks you through brainstorming, planning and writing your own how-to book.
Creating the concept
What do you want to write about? Getting into medical school? Growing your own vegetables? Healing from trauma? Filling out your tax return?
There are lots of subjects that can be explored in the how-to format. Remember, the fundamental angle of the book is helping the reader to do something, often by guiding them through a process. In fact, ‘guide’ is a key word here: you, as the author, are the reader’s guide.
So ask yourself: what do you want to help the reader to do? That’s your starting point.
Refining the idea
The next step is to carry out some market research. Head to a bookshop (whether bricks-and-mortar or online) and look at the books in your subject area. How will your book sit alongside these? You want your book to be:
- Original: Taking a new angle on the subject, or a much more practical approach than any other author has taken.
- Marketable: Providing guidance that readers really need, which means they will buy the book.
If you find that no one has published a book like yours, that may well be great news: your book will fill a gap in the market.
But before you start writing, check that the lack of competition isn’t a sign that your book won’t have much of a market. Is it too niche or providing guidance that people don’t really need (e.g. How to Paint a Garden Shed)? If it is, you need to rethink or broaden the idea.
Deciding on a title
Working out your title at the start keeps you focused on the overarching theme as you plan and then write each chapter.
Although you’re writing a how-to book, you don’t have to use that phrasing in the title, e.g. How to Overcome Your Insomnia. You could call your book something like Overcoming Your Insomnia: A Practical, Step-by-Step Guide.
Think of the title as your ‘in a nutshell’ description of the book. You want a reader to be able to tell by glancing at the book cover what this book is about and how it can help them.
Consider each word carefully, because the title says a lot about the content, angle and tone of the book. For example, compare these titles:
- Overcoming Your Insomnia
- Getting Rid of Your Insomnia
- Curing Your Insomnia
‘Overcoming’ is a fairly gentle and empowering word. ‘Curing’ is promising a lot! (Can the book really deliver on this promise?) ‘Getting Rid of’ is a bit clunky and awkward.
Once you have your title – or several options – get some feedback from colleagues, friends or family members. Do they like it? Do they feel they would read this book?
Planning the book
Please do plan the book before you start writing! This is where many authors come unstuck. Planning can seem boring and constraining, but with how-to books, it’s essential, or you can get lost in the writing – and then the reader will get lost too.
A good old-fashioned spider diagram works well as a starting point. Grab a big sheet of paper and some pens, write your book title in the middle, and then branch out into the key themes of the book. These will be your chapter themes.
From there, branch out from each chapter theme into all the content you want to cover. Ideally, you’ll find you can organise this content into themes too – and then each theme will become a section in your chapter.
Sections are important in how-to books, because they help you to communicate your information in a structured, organised way.
Have you ever picked up a non-fiction book, flicked through it and then put it back down because all you saw was a sea of text and it looked like a heavy, laborious read? Yawn!
You want your reader to be able to grasp your information quickly and easily, and sections really help with this. So do subsections, numbered lists, bulleted lists, figures, tables and call-out boxes or sidebars.
If you need some inspiration here, I highly recommend having a look through a ‘For Dummies’ book. These books are so easy to read because the publisher is a big believer in breaking down the text and organising material clearly and logically.
Once you’ve finished your spider diagram, you can turn this into a written plan for the book, outlining the content for each chapter. You’ll keep this beside you as you write (and it will probably end up covered with notes and scribbles).
Writing the book
Now you’re ready to write. You may be excited to get stuck in, or you may feel a bit wobbly at the thought of actually writing now.
If you’re in the latter camp, don’t worry! You can do this. All you’re doing is showing the reader how to do something that you know how to do. Follow your plan, get words down and don’t worry too much about the ‘big picture’ of the book. You can edit later; for now, just get the ideas out of your head.
If, as you write, you find that the plan isn’t working, or you want to add a chapter/section or drop a chapter/section, that’s fine. Keep revising the plan as necessary.
But as you update the plan, don’t lose sight of the overall vision for the book. Print out the book title and keep it visible as you write. Remind yourself: I am helping the reader to do xyz, based on my knowledge.
In my experience, it’s easier to write a book in a fairly intensive timespan. If you try to write your book a chapter at a time over a year, you’ll probably lose track of what you’ve written so far and plan to write next. You may end up repeating yourself, or missing out important content; or you may find that your style or tone shifts about. If you can, clear some space in your schedule to write the book in a matter of weeks or a few months. Then you’ll stay ‘in the zone’.
And finally, on the subject of style and tone, I encourage you to write in a straightforward way. A how-to book isn’t the place for flowery or complicated writing. Just tell the reader what they need to do in a way they can easily understand.
Also consider the friendliness of your tone. Yes, you’re writing this book as a subject-matter expert and you’re showing the reader what to do. But you don’t want to come across as bossy and stern; your reader won’t respond well to this. Aim for a pleasant, friendly, supportive tone.
Editing the book
It’s a huge relief once you’ve finished the first draft and can see the book as a whole. But your work isn’t done yet. Now comes the editing stage, to make sure the book reads well and communicates your messages effectively.
You may edit the book yourself, or you may work with a professional book editor. If you’re taking the DIY route, you probably need to take several passes at the manuscript. Make sure you look at the structure of the book overall and in each chapter, and revise any long or awkward or ambiguous sentences.
Proofreading the book
Whether you’re self-publishing or sending the book to a publisher, the final stage in writing a how-to book is proofreading the manuscript.
Again, you may ask a professional proofreader to check your book, or a friend or colleague, or you may do this yourself. Here are some pointers for proofreading your book:
- Take a break between editing the book and proofreading it. Then you have fresher eyes.
- Change the font in the manuscript so that the text looks different to you.
- If possible, print the book out. It’s easier to see mistakes on paper than on a screen.
- Proofread somewhere quiet, away from distractions.
- To combat your blind spots, read aloud – it’s amazing what you notice this way.
Ultimately, just do your best. And don’t forget to proofread the book title! That’s the place you really, really don’t want a typo (How to Sew Your Own Cloths just won’t have the impact you want).
Once you’ve completed the proofread, your book is ready to publish. Then comes the really fun part: sharing it with readers.
And then, perhaps, writing the next book?
Author: Charlie Wilson is a professional non-fiction ghostwriter and book editor, and the author of several books, including How to Succeed as a Freelancer in Publishing.
