Best use
A how-to guide takes one reader from a problem they have to a result they want, in order. It is the default nonfiction shape and the one most readers expect when they buy an ebook to solve something.
Recommended structure
A short opening that names the reader and the result, then one chapter per stage of the process in the order the reader will do it. Every chapter ends with what the reader can now do. No chapter exists to be interesting; each one moves the reader a step.
What a finished version should include
A clear promise on the cover and in the first page, a contents page that reads as a plan, numbered steps where order matters, and a final chapter that covers what goes wrong and what to do next. Ten thousand words is a sensible target for a single-problem guide.
Worked example
The plan the studio would build for The Weekend Plumber
A how-to guide planned the way the structure above says, in the order its contents page would show. Every line is an editable chapter in the studio.
The Weekend PlumberMarcus DelgadoSample book · Practical guide
- 01
Before you touch anything
Where the stopcock is, what to have in the bag, when not to do it yourself.
- 02
Finding the leak
Reading stains, listening to pipes, the paper-towel test.
- 03
Taps and washers
The most common fix, step by step.
- 04
Under the sink
Traps, seals and the joint that always drips.
- 05
Toilets that run
Flappers, floats and the ten-minute fix.
- 06
When to call someone
The jobs a weekend does not cover, and how to describe the problem.
Other formats
If the job is different
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