HOW-TO
BOOKS: STEP-BY-STEP
I checked Amazon today for
books in the category “how to….” 655,335 entries came up. We know these books
are popular and there are lots of them, including How to Survive the End of the World as We Know it, and the classic How to Win Friends and Influence People.
As our little secret, a potentially
profitable writing niche, note that “how to build a gazebo” got only 23 hits.
I went beyond Amazon: Googling
“how to” got 3.48 billion results. As with so many such searches, I did not venture
past the first page.
Knowing
something about a topic and knowing how to do a particular thing within that
general topic are very different. Understanding bicycles is not
knowing how to ride one. I’m reminded of the joke told about one of my fellow
physicists, who was said to know a hundred ways to make love to a woman, but he
didn’t know any women. I digress.
Let’s go back to the example I
gave near the beginning of the book and fill in that “how to…” outline:
What
you are trying to do.
Your potential reader is
likely to search for a book or article that starts with “how to…” and continues
to name the particular goal. If you Google some topics, you will be amazed at
the variety you find.
Here, I will show how to walk
your dog, based on my interactions with our rescued Chow-Retriever, Colette.
No, she is not “part Chow” because of her voracious appetite for only the
choicest canned food. She is genetically part Chow and part Retriever, but
fully “Daddy’s girl,” having me wrapped around her not-so-little paw.
Why it
is important to you.
Try to think of all the reasons
why doing this is important:
1. I’d
rather walk the dog then clean up after her because I had failed to walk her.
2. I
usually enjoy taking a bit of a walk, unless the weather is bad.
3. I know
it makes Colette happy, because she makes a big fuss just before we go out.
4. She
looks sad if I don’t take her out.
Note the ordered, numbered
list. People like lists. Specific, clear, finite, lists rule in the how-to
genre.
Materials
you’ll need.
List what is needed and where
to get it.
1. A dog.
Call or capture yours. [See Figure 1, not shown here.]
2. A dog
collar, attached to the dog.
3. A
leash. Purchase one that is strong, hard to chew through. [Figure 2.] (On an
early trek, our part-Chow chewed through hers.)
4. A
little plastic bag to pick up feces. Buy at grocery store. [Figure 3.] (Carry
this conspicuously, to reassure the neighbors, even if you don’t always use it
when you should.)
5. A dog
treat, optional. (To reward good behavior, if it occurs and if it is observed. Note:
praise is almost as effective and does not leave crumbs in your pocket.)
6. Clothing
for dog walker, suitable for weather and neighborhood, and clothing for the
dog, if you have that kind of dog.
Step-by-step
instructions for accomplishing it.
0. Check
the weather, by opening the door or window, or by listening to the radio or TV.
1. Call
the dog. Example: “Come, Colette. Come, Colette. Colette, where are you?”
2. If
calling fails, bring leash with you, attach it to dog’s collar and gently lead
the dog up to and out the door.
3. If
calling succeeds, praise the dog [“Good dog, Colette!”], attach leash to dog’s
collar and gently lead the dog out the door.
4. If
this is a “business trip,” walk the dog where this will not cause angst in your
neighborhood.
5. If
necessary, remove excrement from ground and deposit in bag, praising dog for
urinating or defecating outdoors rather than indoors.
6. Return
home, walking as little extra or as much more as you deem appropriate.
7. Congratulate
self and dog. Example, “Good dog, Colette.”
What
the outcome should be.
1. Dog
will have done her “business.”
2. You
will have obtained exercise.
3. Floors
indoors will not require supplementary cleaning.
4. Your “significant
other,” if there be one, will approve.
Sources
of information and materials.
List them
here, as appropriate. Numbered list, of course.
Surprisingly
to me, how-to pamphlets and videos and books are big sellers, so go to it,
providing somewhat more value to your readers than this brief example provided.
For
extra value, and possibly extra money, produce a video.
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Excerpted from my magnum opus, the recently published Write Your Book with Me, available from its publisher, Outskirts Press and from online booksellers like amazon.com and bn.com in paperback and ebook:
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