Instructional books can cover virtually any topic imaginable. Getting organized at home and at the office, building model airplanes and trains, gardening and landscaping, creating a business plan, collecting dolls or coins or stuffed animals, managing your finances or your time, raising and caring for pets — think of an activity, and you have a potential how-to book idea.

How-To Elements

A salable how-to book provides essential information and step-by-step instructions for the reader and often includes lots of photos and illustrations. Your book can be targeted to readers who already have a basic understanding of your topic, or it can be aimed at newbies; the level of information you provide will be dictated by your audience. The volume in your hands, for instance, is intended primarily for new authors who need information on how publishing works and how they can polish their ideas to improve their chances of getting published. Some of the information presented here may seem elementary to experienced authors, but it's essential for the beginner.

How-To Credentials

Many how-to books are written by well-known experts in the field, but being an expert is not necessarily a requirement. In fact, it's possible to build a reputation as an expert by writing a book or a series of books on a given topic; once you've done the research and gotten your book published, the general public usually will assume that you are an expert. After all, the word “author” is an etymological cousin of “authority.”

Publishers' requirements for how-to credentials vary. Some will insist on existing expertise or at least a strong professional background on your topic. Others will accept books written by laymen, as long as they include generally accepted principles or advice from other experts. Much also depends on whom your targeted readership is. If your book about coin collecting is aimed at novices, a publisher probably won't insist that you be certified as an appraiser. If you're trying to reach an audience that already is highly knowledgeable, however, your credentials probably will have to be stronger.