Title: Writing for eHow: You're Doing It WrongWritten by: 1How
http://www.ehowbook.com
Price: $10
Rating: 5/5 Stars
It's finally happened! An eHow ebook I can give a full five stars!
Back when I reviewed Janet Ford's eBook I went on a rant about how eHow ebooks lacked personality. The more eHow ebooks I reviewed, the more disillusioned I became. No creativity, no personality, all fluff. 1How must have read my post, because Writing for eHow: You're Doing It Wrong was the perfect cure for my woes.
As you can tell right from the title, this is not your garden variety eHow book. It's equal parts sarcasm, humor and information. While the title almost seems a little mean, the author covers that right in the introduction.
Iʼm writing a book in a market where everything comes off as a get rich quick scheme. Thereʼs an over saturation of blogs that look like infomercials...how-to articles on how to write how-to articles that often donʼt tell you how to do anything. Very few people are interested in actually sitting down and explaining the tricks of the trade to you.
Gladly the book doesn't put style before substance. It covers all the usual staples in the most down-to-earth way I've ever seen them explained. The two biggest chapters are on SEO and article writing. First the author explains exactly what SEO is. He doesn't spend forever pounding mind-numbing details in. It's the core elements and a few lesser known secrets - and only what you actually need to know as far as eHow goes. There's a bunch of examples and the entire tone is very understandable. After you've got SEO figured out, the next chapter covers the article format - specifically how each part of the article can be maximized to help you make money.
The coverage of all that (combined with the brilliaaannntttt presentation) would be enough to make this my favorite eHow book. Thankfully, there's a few extras that really go beyond the call of duty.
There's a chapter on "eHow voodoo", which explains all the things people do on eHow that don't actually make any money. Embarrassingly enough, I was doing a few of these. Another chapter is called "Breaking Up With Google," which talks about creating successful articles outside of the usual SEO tips. There's a really great chapter on writer's block as well, which is a much needed tool in any writer's toolbox.
If that weren't enough, there's also a paperback, kindle, and audiobook version! I just finished listening to the first two chapters and it's fantastic. So far, it contains everything the book does.
Man did this make my day! I think it goes without saying, but this is the best $10 you could possibly spend.
