In a 1954 New Yorker essay titled “Howtoism,” writer and critic Dwight Macdonald declared that how-to authors are to other authors as frogs are to mammals and encouraged people to read other genres . Even psychologists have compared self-help authors to snake oil salesmen who promise ineffective solutions. This particular genre of nonfiction has its opponents.

Despite criticism from academia, self-help has gained popularity in recent years. With more than 15,000 self-help books published each year in the United States, the industry is expected to reach $14.0 billion by 2025.

There is no denying that self-help titles have found a safe audience of readers. So, rather than trying to fight against this genre, we should consider the genre as an accessible starting point for the reading journey and an introduction to other forms of writing and cultures.

Using personal development as an introduction to other genres like fiction is quite old. In 1859, British author Samuel Smiles published “Self-Help,” writing about the industrial revolution and money and promoting individualism through personal development. In addition to enjoying great popularity in the English-speaking world, the text was translated into Japanese in 1871, becoming a bestseller, selling over a million copies and, commercially, greatly influencing the founder of Toyota, Sakichi Toyoda.

Beyond descriptions of middle-class workers and their successes, “Self-Help” also included quotes from the literary works of Shakespeare and Keats, among others, and unintentionally served as an entry point to literary classics English.

In the 2020 book, “The Self-Help Compulsion: Searching for Advice in Modern Literature,” Beth Blum, an associate professor at Harvard, analyzed how the authors mentioned by Smiles were widely translated in Japan, while others remained unnoticed .

Not only is “Self-Help” by Smiles an early example of popular self-help texts, but it also shows how incorporating other genres in an accessible way can be a way to connect readers across countries and of all cultures.

Along the same lines, popular contemporary self-help titles can help introduce readers to more intimidating genres. “The Daily Stoic,” which has sold more than two million copies since its publication, incorporates lessons from Greek and Roman philosophers to teach motivation and productivity. Since philosophy readings can often be difficult, starting with an accessible self-help text may inspire more readers to finally pick up a copy of Marcus Aurelius’s “Meditations.”

Self-help books themselves can walk the line between direct instruction and literature. “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho tells the story of Santiago, a young Andalusian shepherd and his search for treasure. Combining mysticism and folktales with lessons on self-discovery, it was hugely popular, selling more than 150 million copies worldwide – one of only nine books to do so.

Questions arise as to whether “The Alchemist” could be considered a work of self-help or literature, with the New York Times opting for the former. It is, however, an example of a book that, while seeking to instruct, chooses to use a literary format and, for the interested reader, can serve as an entry point into the exploration of different literary genres.

The readership of the self-help book is also linked to a particular age group: young people. A 2023 study by Nielsen BookData found that more than half of self-purchases in 2022 were made by people under the age of 35. With young people looking for advice, self-help titles can be a way to bridge other genres for younger generations. Mortimer J. Adler’s “How to Read a Book” is a guide to critical reading across writing traditions and serves as an example of promoting accessibility.

Besides novels, personal development can also make connections with poetry. John Kenney’s “Love Poems for Anxious People” is categorized as self-help, but his thoughts on anxiety are expressed through verse. Since it can be difficult to begin reading and understanding poetry, Kenney’s poems are a way to introduce independent readers to other types of creative writing.

Conversely, contemporary literature itself can draw on self-help frameworks. Lorrie Moore’s acclaimed short story collection, aptly titled “Self-Help,” uses the second-person perspective for most of its entries, mimicking the way a self-help book would address and instruct one’s drive. The stories use the counseling framework to comment instead on individual relationships and the female experience, showing the potential to rethink the general structure of caring and make it more personal.

Similarly, Charles Yu’s novel “How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe” contrasts “howtoism” with science fiction, addressing themes of how we live, time and memories, centered about a father-son relationship. Connecting the implications of the familiar “how-to” – usually referring to realistic scenarios – with the fantasy world of science fiction offers fiction writers a way to utilize and circumvent the preconceptions associated with the self-help genre.

At the same time, the proposition that underlies self-help titles as offering advice to readers may be another way of looking at literature itself. Literary novels offer examples of lived and constructed relationships that can turn into advice, whether the authors intend it or not. For example, a fan of “The Power of Positive Thinking” may be inclined to learn more about positivity from “Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Self-help and creative writing, whether fiction or poetry, are different, but the reading journeys are also different for everyone. Even if an ardent self-help fan doesn’t always seek out a novel, every reader can benefit from the literary pleasure of exploring another way of writing, especially one that doesn’t present instructions at first glance . Self-help titles, especially those that diversify their advice by borrowing from different genres, can push expectations of what these books can be and serve as accessible jumping-off points for other forms of creative writing.

—Editor Erlisa Demneri can be contacted at [email protected].