How to Write and Sell ‘How-to’ Articles — Part 1

Years ago, I read an article about writing ‘how-tos’ for magazines and the author stressed this point: the main requirement for selling a ‘how-to’ is first-hand experience. Equipped as I am with two left feet and no green thumb, and being somewhat math- and technology-challenged, that approach was a difficult one for me to follow.

But I am interested in people and what they do. That interest led me to an African violet expert, so I wrote a ‘how-to’ about how that woman grows prize-winning African Violets in her basement. A local home and garden publication snapped up my article.

I took on a business assignment to write a ‘how-to’ about how an employee implemented Statistical Process Control techniques in the manufacturing branch of his company. I had never heard of SPC before and considering my limitations, my article would have been impossible if the employee had not explained the process in a way that was easy for me to understand and I, in turn, could relate that to others. The company’s employee publication ran that ‘how-to’ in its next issue.

And then there was the couple I heard about who used fifteenth technology to start up and run a modern-day printing operation. Using their expertise, I was able to write a ‘how-to’ showing how to put the centuries-old process to work in a modern setting. The article appeared in a national trade magazine.

The point is this: You don’t have to be an expert to write a ‘how-to’ in areas far removed from anything in your experience. I’ve found that editors eagerly grab well-written ‘how-tos’ aimed at their readership.

So, If you’re not an experienced outdoors person but want to write in that field, find an expert who fits the category. I understand that, despite the present economic downturn, ‘how-tos’ are the best selling category for any outdoors article.

And editors of publications in other fields also eat up ‘how-tos.’ Go to any newsstand and look at the covers and contents pages of diverse publications. You’ll find many promoting articles like these:

“How and Where to Paint” (Traditional Home)
“How to Drop 12 Pounds in 14 Days” (Prevention)
“How to Fake Flawless Skin” (Home Journal)
“How to Save on the Cost of Printer’s Ink” (Consumer Reports)
“How to Find Time to Write” (The Writer)
“How to Add Realism to Your Training” (Guns & Ammo – Handguns)

Whatever your the market you want to write a ‘how-to’ for, research well. Spend time examining newsstand publications, looking especially at lesser known magazines — they may receive fewer queries than others. Be sure to read guidelines and back issues of the magazines you plan to target.

Ideas for ‘how-tos’ may come from your own and your friends’ experiences, from your children, newspaper articles, local radio and tv features. If you find things in your everyday life that don’t work and you try to fix them, that may be the basis for a how-to from your own experience. But you still may want to include advice from experts in your piece, and be sure to mention the experts you want to quote in your query. That can help to sell your idea to the editor.

Where can you find experts? The same place you find ‘how-to’ subjects — check newspapers, radio and tv shows, ask friends, relatives and neighbors, look on the internet. Try Expert.com and Profnet.com. Google your subject and see what turns up. WritersWeekly.com has a special section where you can ask for expert help for articles. If you have a college or university nearby, you may find a wealth of experts on campus.

Be sure to come back here for How to Write and Sell ‘How-to’ Articles, Part 2, where we’ll get into the specifics of actually writing a ‘how-to.’

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Researching Profile Articles

Over the years, I’ve paid for lots of shoes and cornflakes by writing profiles.

Among those were profiles on a banker who wrote poetry in his spare time, a physician who fights against the dangers of tanning beds, a ball player who started a popular automobile publication, a restaurant operator who is an expert on Japanese arms and armor, a college professor who is an advocate for children. You get the idea — my profiles focus on one aspect that makes a person unique.

I know there are writers who produce full-blown profiles of people, interviewing them several times, often interviewing their friends, family and co-workers as well. Some writers spend days with a subject before producing a single word of their article. Their profiles may cover many pages in a publication and bring the writers big bucks.

I prefer to write relatively short pieces focusing in on an individual and a particular interest in his or her life. Some pieces run as few as 200 or 300 words; others make require 1,500 to 2,000 words to tell their story. And although the payment is less than some other writers get, editors seem to like my shorter articles. I think they are easy to sell, they can bring in steady income, and sometimes I can sell multiple versions of the article to non-competing publications, all based on my original research.

Usually I had read bits about of these people and wanted to know more. Much of the information I use comes from interviews, backed up with research from news articles, reviews, and internet sources. In every case, I know it’s vital to do my homework before the interview.

Early in my freelance writing career, I soaked up everything I could find about profile writing, especially tips about interviewing. I’ve saved much of that information, including the following that I found in an article by David A. Fryzell, a New Mexico publisher, five or six years ago. I think you’ll find the tips helpful, too.

1. Research your topic thoroughly before the interview, looking especially for background information you can use to focus your article.

2. Outline your proposed article before you interview so you’ll know questions that need to be answered at the interview.

3. Don’t ask questions to which you already know the answers. Ask only those questions that fill in the blanks in your research.

4. When you set up the interview, request a press kit or press release and read previous articles and books about the subject.

5. Try writing a mock headline and subheads to focus the point of your article.

Five great tips. I’ve always found the last two to be especially helpful.

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What Should I Write About?

Here’s a question that sometimes plagues new freelance writers. “What should I write about?”

When article ideas don’t come easily to you, when you’re not tripping over ideas with every step you take, when your creative well seems to have run dry, where do you go for help? Sometimes the answer is as easy as deciding what to fix for dinner tonight.

Scores of magazines offer recipes and menus to help you get a meal to the table on time. The same thing is true for writing subjects. The answer to “What can I write about?” can be as simple as picking up a publication or spending time at a local newsstand checking a magazine’s table of contents.

Here’s one example:

An article by writer Marge Jesberger in the March/April issue of Writer’s Journal offers this gem:

Demand is Great–You Can Supply

Every time you pick up a magazine, you see something on diet or exercise. You also see articles on flea markets in the spring and snow sports in the winter. You feel the market is glutted, so why compete? That is the best reason to submit a well-researched and up-to-date article on these subjects. If something is popular, editors and publishers are on the lookout for more of the same.

That advice holds for most any type of magazine — general interest, specialty, trade journal, health care, business, you name it. Back in journalism school, our instructors used to call the perennial sellers “evergreens.” These are types of articles — much like asters, daylillies and other perennial flowers that emerge for us to enjoy year after year— that come back regularly and never seem to go out of favor with readers.

So if you want to know what to write about next, pick up any target magazine of your choice and look for “evergreens” within its pages. Check several issues, maybe even go to the library and read back issues to find out which evergreens the editors seem to favor.

Then get busy and query with an updated version of one subject that you like. Granted this approach won’t result in blockbuster articles that fetch big bucks, but it will keep you writing, get your name and writing skills in front of editors, and probably add a modest sum to your yearly income.

I think you’ll find that editors welcome queries about the tried-and-true subjects that please their readers. And that can be a quick way to get a byline and a check — and sometimes a regular writing gig with a publication.

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© 2009 by Laverne Daley

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