I have never been particularly interested in the genre. I like to teach myself things, or learn incidentally, while doing something else. For instance, once someone suggested that I learn grant request writing as a profession. Israelis are always asking for money from the English speaking world and my English gave me a head-start. The idea bored me, but I ended up translating grant requests for a year, and thus learned quite a bit about the subject. Ultimately, I learned what I already knew: that I’d rather do something else.

How does one write a how-to article? One way is by editing others. One reads a bunch of such articles on the web, takes a bit from one, something from another, an idea from a third, and voila – he has a how-to article. I’ve been writing city guides just this way. All facts, nothing original or creative, they tell potential tourists what sites there are in the particular city. It’s a job, that’s about all. The pay is per character rather than per click. I suppose that system allows me to take the time to write for a pay per click website.

The best way to write a how-to article is to be an expert in something, and then simply explain how to do it. The writer already has all the know-how and the tricks learned over the years at his disposal. I am an expert in two fields, and could prepare articles for them.

One, which I developed in the 1990s, is treasure-hunting. I have collected about one hundred coins ranging from…unfortunately collecting such coins is illegal in this and many other countries, the government claiming anything made by man before 1789. Thus, writing an article explaining how to do it would be tantamount to teaching people how to break the law, so it’s better left unwritten.

My second field of expertise is book collecting. I buy second-hand books for low prices and sell them at collector prices. I have been asked, on occasion, where I buy books. Obviously, if I were writing an article about it, I’d have to reveal secrets of the trade, thus inviting competition, the last thing I want. Suffice it to say, that I got into the business so easily, that anybody could do it. It’s easier for city-dwellers, I admit, but they can’t find coins that easily.

Thus, I am left writing an article about how to write how-to articles. I hope this has been helpful.