"Choose a topic that interests you enough to focus on it for at least a week or two. Sit down and write a rough, rough draft. Include everything you can think of. Stay loose, don't get analytical, and enjoy the process of sharing what you know. When you are done, you will have the bare bones of an article that only you could write. Then put it away for a while."

"Some freelance experts say the how-to article is freelance writing's biggest single market. How-to articles accommodate a lot of approaches and related forms of approaches. If you can write 'how-to' articles, then you should also be able to write 'what is,' 'where is,' 'when is,' and 'why is' features also. They each have a common element of authority and expertise that makes these articles appealing to readers needing information about a subject."

"The unspoken message of a how-to article is: 'If you buy this magazine, read this article and follow this advice you'll be better, smarter, happier, thinner, richer' or some other desirable characteristic...Editors like them because they invite readers to get involved and experiment with the advice that the authors share."

"How-to writing must be specific, detailed, clear, and accurate. If you make an error in an article to be read for entertainment, you may be embarrassed, but nobody is harmed (in most cases) by the error. But if your how-to instructions are wrong, the reader cannot complete the project and will be frustrated and angry."

"The best way to wrlte the how-to-do-it story is to move quickly into second person. Even if you don't usually write in that voice, addressing the readers as 'you' will rapidly draw them into your story and establish a connection."

"Ideally, illustrations will accompany your how-to articles. Illustrations will further explain your material and make it easier to understand. You may be able to create some illustrations on your computer or just hand-draw them. The editor of the publication you sell to may have his production department illustrate your work, but at least your illustrations will show what the finished drawings should look like."

"The how-to writing style is paramount in computer programming and gaming magazines. These subjects continuously change and grow in leaps and bounds, generating a constant need for how-to articles...New technology is sprouting up every year, and magazine publishers are looking for experts to decipher that new technology every day."

"Despite their rather mundane existence, how-tos are highly sought-after by gardening, construction, sewing and other magazine types that focus on the do-it-yourself market. These articles are what keep many readers loyal to those publications."

"Need to know how to clean your barbecue for spring? Organize your garage more efficiently? Dry a bouquet of flowers in a practical-yet-creative way? That's the kind of information other people want, too, and you could be the writer who helps them get it. Don't think of how-to's as the newspaper's nuts-and- bolts, meat-and-potatoes, black-and-white, and therefore noncreative, stories. They can be as thoughtful, amusing, interesting, evocative, or thought-provoking as you'd like."

"When writing about physical actions, how-tos are almost always organized in time sequence. Readers must follow directions in order or they won't get the promised results. When writing about intangible actions, it may be harder to decide which comes first...Sometimes it progresses from the general act to the specific, or from easy to hard. Sometimes the most interesting points are interspersed with less interesting ones to keep the reader moving along."

"In writing how-to articles, books, and publications, start with a careful outline to provide a logical order of tasks ... Introduce your topic or chapter; present the problem, challenge, or demonstration you will be writing about; describe each step in detail, and then describe your finished accomplishment. Add resources at the end for readers who want to pursue more information, and do not forget to add your contact and ordering information."

"A how-to article is a great way to make a sale. Certain magazines run how-tos every month. The trick is to research which ones regularly publish them, then get the submission guidelines from the publishers you like. Check out back issues from your local library to see what the magazines' themes were for the past twelve months so you don't send them a pitch about something they've recently run."