Sharing Your "How To" Knowledge
Allen F. Weitzel
November 03, 2008
Where To Start
If you have never written a "how to" piece before and you want experience, volunteer at work to write programs for company procedures or create job function employee manuals. Those tasks will teach you how to communicate ideas and motivate others to act, based upon your words. Produce your own business newsletter providing your customers with helpful tips and facts about your area of expertise. If you speak at a luncheon, write a piece that covers your topic, and present it as a handout. Assemble a list of "how to" article ideas, based upon your expertise. Ask friends for subject ideas, or questions they would like answered. When you locate a possible market, you will have a list of topics ready. Note key points next to your article ideas, so you´ll have a head start when you start a piece. If your company makes business decisions of which you may not completely concur, create an article about the problem and the solution. Let that business episode become an inspiration about how to do it right. Turn your opinions into articles.
Markets
The obvious market is a trade magazine that features articles in your area of expertise. If you are a food manager, you may send articles to food service periodicals. Trade journals entertain submissions from persons who are knowledgeable in that field, and editors always seek "how to" information. Some periodicals do not to pay for articles, believing that the market exposure is of fair value to writers who want their name exposed. Whether these markets do or do not pay, or pay only a small "honorarium", they are a valuable way to gain "how to" writing experience and credits. Most markets have tight word count requirements, so you will gain skill at editing your thoughts down to the bare points. Professional publications often only have space for one-page articles, which equates to 900 words. A 900-word article leaves little margin for wasted words. Search magazine racks to determine whether you have an article idea that might work for a particular periodical. When accessing the Internet magazines, understand that readers can easily copy, paste, and plagiarize a writer´s work. Once you release your words on the Internet, you can never take them back. The positive side to Internet periodicals is that the medium allows prospective editors to see samples of your writing style without having to mail an article copy. You can merely provide a web site address where your article appears. You also have exposure to millions of readers.
The Fringes
All writers submit to the mainstream markets. Consider submitting to publications that might be on the fringes of your topic, by creating an article that is an offshoot of your knowledge. Let us assume you are a Farrier (person who shoes horses). Instead of writing a technical piece on how to shoe a horse, use your knowledge of horses to write about how a family can enjoy a day of horseback riding. Other writers for Farrier articles might not think to address that topic. Once your horseback riding article is complete, submit it to a recreation or family magazine, where an editor can expand the magazine´s readership with an out-of-the-ordinary piece, and still appeal to their core market.
"How To" Details
There are two types of "how to" articles. The most predominant style is the step-by-step article. This method would describe how to shoe a horse. The other approach is the philosophy-oriented article, such as management or leadership pieces. The goal of a "how to" article is to explain, in detail, how a task is performed or doctrine is implemented. Assume your reader will receive no other instruction on this skill. If you are writing about how to shoe a horse, and you know an unusual procedure, be sure you include that tip. Do not hold back. If you are not willing to provide your reader with every tip, trick, and tidbit to do the task to perfection, then you should not be writing "how to" articles. There are several categories of information that will make your article valuable to the reader, some of which could include, the sequential steps to complete a task; sources of information about the topic; cause and effect relationships within the task; related fields of expertise that parallel the craft; uses for the data you are providing; and answers to FAQs on the topic. Give examples of successes using your techniques. Be sure to explain why a tip or trick works. If information about your years of experience will enhance the reader´s writing skill, then include it. Use simple words. Direct your article toward the typical manager, worker, or reader. If you have graphics or photos, include art with your piece. Provide the newest information or technology. If you have an old article that might still be valuable to an audience, revise it and make it current. Never overextend yourself on deadlines or knowledge. Only accept deadlines you can meet. Submit articles on topics you know well. Do not accept an article assignment merely for the sale. If you cannot write 95% of the article from your own knowledge, you should not be writing an article about that subject.
Editing
To be successful, you must be able to perform basic editing. Ancillary editing can come from friends and associates. Send your draft to several acquaintances to obtain their opinions. Let friends know that their advice is a favor, and no response is required if they are busy. Try to incorporate the ideas that you receive from others, unless these changes are not factual or accurate. These volunteer editors will cease to help you if you never use their suggestions. Consider these advisors to be potential readers of a magazine. If your text does not make sense to them, it will not make sense to the target audience. Once the article is complete, ask a friend, who knows nothing of this skill, to read your piece and say whether they can understand how to perform that task. Your article should allow your volunteer to follow your thinking and procedures. Ideally, you want to find one person who possesses both topic knowledge and writing skills, to edit your work. Always refer to your title, which is the target of your article. If a word does not take you closer to your goal, delete it. Extra words might be acceptable in poetry, but not in "how to" articles. If you have vast amounts of text about one phase of the topic, consider crafting that text into a sidebar, especially if you are over the main article word count. Do not get fancy or funny. Concentrate on simplicity and word count. Inserting your personality requires more words. Trade magazines want the maximum number of facts and tips from you, within their word count. Stick to your topic. If your articles will be emailed to the editor, as much as you can, to avoid words with apostrophes in them. Write out the complete word. Many times during transmission through email, those apostrophes show up on the editor´s copy as some other symbol.
Submitting
Do not mass market your articles. Craft an idea, and then shop it to the publication where it will best fit. If it is not accepted, then shop it elsewhere. As a prolific writer, you will have articles constantly being considered in several markets. Write your articles from scratch. You will, occasionally, repeat yourself, and you may have a pet phrase that appears in every piece, but do not insert big blocks of previously published text into a new article. Use fresh phrases. If you must use a section of previous text for the sake of your subject, redraft your words for this new piece. Verify your facts and give credit if an idea is not your own. Cooperate with editors on short deadlines. Submit a solid article within a short time frame and you will get the job over another writer, who needs two more months to finalize his/her manuscript. Allow an editor to change your words to help slant your topic for the readership. If you are cooperative, editors will use you again.
Victim Of Your Own Success
Once you acquire a portfolio of published articles, other editors will begin to see your material. Some publications may purchase reprint rights from you and the original publisher. This allows editors to avoid paying full price for an article, and provides income to you without lifting your pen. Editors might seek you out to create specific pieces for their publication. Once you find an editor who likes your work, keep that editor happy. If it is within your trade, ask to write exclusively for that publication. It is ten times tougher to find a new editor than it is to keep an existing one. It is very rewarding to work with an editor who allows you to say what you want, with only a few changes to your message. It is also gratifying to not be saddled with a market search, when a brilliant article idea hits you. Price your articles reasonably. You might be able to sell your piece for a higher price elsewhere, but it might take two years to locate that market. Offer a bundle price if an editor will purchase multiple articles from you. Negotiate a set price per article, rather than being paid per word. One set price negates the need for haggling over each and every word in the final piece. Editors like having manuscripts show up early and properly edited. If a magazine is using more than one of your articles and you submit the second one early, the editor might print it early (two articles in the same issue), and request more articles sooner than you expected. If you find editors for whom you can write on a consistent basis, you can spend more time writing, and less time searching for markets.
Destination
Work toward becoming a dependable supplier of "how to" articles. Offer knowledgeable, well-written, well-edited articles at a fair price, delivered on time. Always provide several tricks that other writers may not have addressed. Offer unique angles to the normal topic, or a never-before-thought-of topic, which can stand-alone. Provide readers with practical suggestions they can implement without trouble or fanfare. Successful writers always keep both the editor and reader in mind.
Copyright 2008 By Allen F. Weitzel
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