We’re Making Conversations about the perfect book Count!
Episode 99 with Mike Capuzzi
Watch the trailer for this episode that’s all about writing the perfect book!
Here’s how you can write the perfect book
(Table of contents)
- Listen now via your favourite app
- Who is Mike Capuzzi and what’s the deal with web TV?
- Wendy’s own experience writing a book (5m48s)
- All about the shooks (9m57s)
- What do you want the book to do for you? (15m21s)
- Mikes’s conversation that counts (30m50s)
- Wendy’s takeaway
- Mike’s links and goodies
Listen now via your favourite app
Making Conversations Count is available in all podcast apps including:
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Spotify
Who is Mike Capuzzi and what’s the deal with web TV?
Before 1998, there was no such thing as a “book coach” for entrepreneurs and CEOs who were looking to leverage the power of being an author.
Today, it’s quite common.
Mike Capuzzi has helped thousands with his trademarked copywriting system “CopyDoodles®” since he started in print media.
That was back when most people still read paperbacks rather than ebooks on their Kindles or iPads!
This successful self-made businessman founded “Bite Sized Books” which offers publishing services exclusively designed around short helpful books.
Mike’s here to try to convince you why you need to rethink that whole plan for your first book.
Before he got into his work as a book coach, Mike was the host of the web TV series 3 in 3.
The show was designed to help people with three helpful and actionable business tips in three minutes.
Of course, we’ve obviously done some digging and found a clip for you….!
Wendy’s own experience with writing the perfect book – “Making Conversations Count!”
In case you’ve been under a smart speaker for the past two years that we’ve been putting this podcast together for you, you’ll know that Wendy Harris, host of Making Conversations Count is also a published author.
Here is her book, in fact.
Wendy shares with Mike Capuzzi just what her own process was for managing to get together thirty years of knowledge and put it into an order of sorts.
And also how she answered the question around “how do I help?” because that’s fundamentally what we’re talking about here.
“And the material quite often is sitting around the place. It’s just a question of compiling it into something that is readable.”
In case you haven’t read the book yet, Wendy offers a framework for understanding conversations and the factors that make them successful in a business setting.
She argues that the key to having successful conversions in a sale, is paying attention to the other person, understanding their perspective, and being responsive to their needs.
Wendy’s approach is based on the idea that conversation is a two-way street, and that both people in a conversation need to be willing to participate for it to be successful.
All about the ‘shooks’
To quote Marty McFly in “Back to the Future”…
“Hey, Doc! WHAT THE HELL IS A *SHOOK?!”
(*Note from Wendy, this *might need fact checking*)
‘Shooks’, quite simply are short, helpful books.
And this is a large part of why we’re here.
Mike’s whole deal is trying to coax the perfect book out of those who might have thought about writing one, but then decided against it due to the pressures of delivering an epic novel.
Mike talks at great length in this episode about the power and impact a shorter book – a ‘shook’ – can have on your brand and your prospects.
“The nice thing about that is obviously it’s easier on the reader, but it also allows the author to market his or her shook’s in multiple ways. Now, rather than just marketing one book to one kind of target reader, now they have three target readers and it gives them even more opportunity.”
What do you want the shook (the perfect book) to do for you?
I mean, we’d obviously all love for us to have written the perfect book that becomes an immediate best-seller.
And we’d love to see that book winning literary prizes, and getting us invited onto TV shows and all that good stuff.
But that’s probably not realistic, is it?
So what can we realistically expect in terms of real world results from the perfect book?
Mike shares just a few of the many benefits of having your own published shook.
Here’s a real world account of one of them to give you an idea.
“He’s a dentist, a longtime client of mine who unfortunately has since passed away.
But he was a very unique type of dentist, and he was a dentist that doesn’t use mercury or fluoride in his practise.
It was a very holistic approach to dentistry.
So he had a very unique dentistry offering and he wrote a Shook about the dangers of mercury, which is the typical malgams they put in your mouth. Anyway.
So you would think the type of person who’s interested in this type of dentistry, they’re probably health oriented, more fitness oriented, they’re worried about their health.
So when he published his Shook, he went around to his community and found, like, the health food store owner, the yoga studio owner, the chiropractor, anywhere where people with health that were interested in health would be hanging out and just put a little display with his Shook to take a free copy.
And within the first month of doing, I think he did like he did a lot.
I think it was like six or ten what we call strategic partnerships, where he just put his book out there and within the first month, Wendy, he had three new patients.”
So how do you write the perfect book? (Or shook)
The first step, obviously, is coming up with an idea.
Something that you are passionate about and that you think other people would benefit from reading about.
Once you have your topic, it’s time to start outlining your chapters.
Think about what each chapter will cover and what points you want to make sure you hit home.
Keep in mind that your goal is always going to be providing value – so make sure each chapter has something valuable for your reader.
Once you have your outline complete, it’s time to start writing!
Set aside some time each day (or week) to sit down and get those thoughts out of your head and onto the page.
It doesn’t have to be perfect – just get it done.
The editing can come later.
The beauty of self-publishing is that there are no rules or guidelines that you have to follow – so write whatever feels right for you and your story.
Mike Capuzzi’s conversation that counts
This week’s heart-warming story is about how Mike got to meet his hero.
A chap named Dan Kennedy.
And it was in the context of Dan being an author.
But it went even deeper than that.
“I won a contest that he was sponsoring. There was three winners to be announced, and I happen to be one of the three winners. And what the winners won was a lunch with him because he was at this conference and he was going to break away and sit down with me, the three winners, and have lunch with him, which is a big deal for the world I was in at the time.
Turns out, Wendy, the other two people who won did not show up for that lunch.
So it was me and Dan Kennedy. This would be like you and Matthew McConnell, literally.
He’s that profound in the business world that I was in.
So we’re in this.. he’s got to this event. He’s speaking at his event. He has lunch. We’re in a hotel where I remember it was like the basement of the hotel. We have lunch. It’s just he and I sitting…
Wendy’s takeaway from this conversation about the perfect book
So, what are the basics of writing the perfect book?
According to Mike Capuzzi, it’s all about keeping things short and sweet – the perfect book should be 100 pages, not 300.
And the most important part is to get the conversation started.
Funny that, eh?
That’s the key to success in any conversation, and the same principle applies to writing the perfect book.
Everybody has something valuable to say.
And what better way to say it than through a book?
But not just any book – a short book.
A book that is easy and quick to read but packed full of value.
A book that can be finished in an afternoon but remembered for years to come.
Why 100 pages?
Mike believes that 100 pages is the sweet spot for these kinds of books.
Not too long, not too short – just right.
Plus, it’s easy enough that almost anyone can do it.
You don’t have to be a Shakespeare or Hemingway level writer to produce a 100 page masterpiece.
So come on, let’s get writing down those conversation starters!
Writing a book might seem like a daunting task but if you start small with a shook, it’s completely achievable!
And remember – your only goal is providing value for your reader.
So as long as you keep that in mind, you’re sure to write something amazing!
Mike’s Links and Goodies
Listener gift link:
Read The 100-Page Book online:
Read the The Magic of Shooks: The Magic of Shooks
Mike’s web sites:
https://MikeCapuzzi.com
https://BiteSizedBooks.com
Mike’s podcast:
https://TheAuthorFactor.com
Previous episodes to check out
If you’ve enjoyed this episode, you definitely want to check out the following episodes below!
Once you start the conversation with your shook, it’s worth thinking about how you’ll make the conversations more worthwhile!
And that’s where Wendy comes in.
This podcast’s host Wendy Harris can teach you how to get better outcomes from any new conversations you’re having, either over the phone or in person.
Book your free chat right now.
