from Nicolas Cole 🚢👻 | by Nicolas Cole 🚢👻

Sweet-Spot Publishing: Writers & creators want their work to be perfect. But "perfect" is subjective. Here is an easy 80/20 framework I use to optimize for "good enough" and maximize quantity without sacrificing quality 🧵👇

Step 1: "The Million-Dollar Test" Let's say you write a book and no one buys it. Is it good? Default answer is: no. Now let's say you publish that same book a year later and it sells a million copies. Is it good? Default answer is yes. There's a dilemma here:

As creators, we think we know what "perfect" is—right up until the market decides. Then, if the market says it's not perfect, we believe that's true. And if the market says it is, we also believe that's true. So: throw perfect out the window. You can't define it.

Step 2: Barbell Invest In Yourself A VC firm needs 1 company in their portfolio (out of 100) to yield a 100x+ return for their fund to be profitable. Same with book publishing companies, record labels, etc. Everything else either breaks even or dies in silence.

In your lifetime, chances are, 1 (out of 100+) of your projects/books/etc., will yield 90%+ of your returns. The problem is: how do you know which one that's going to be? Re: Step 1, you can't. So what do you do? You create as many "good enough" things as you can.

If you only write 3 books in your lifetime (or create 3 products), you only have 3 chances to experience a life-changing outcome. Conversely, if you write 3,000 books, you have 3,000 chances but they are (likely) lower-quality chances. Masterpieces are risky. & Fluff sucks.

The "sweet spot" is somewhere between these two, in any given field. • Not too often where your cook time is so low that everything you make tastes like shit. • But not so long that you only cook 3 meals for your readers/customers in your entire life.

Step 3: Permissionless Creation & Frictionless Distribution If you know you can't define "perfect"... And you can't know which projects in your library will return the lion's share of the rewards... The whole name of the game is optimizing for Creation & Distribution.

Permissionless Creation means: • Getting out of your own way • Aiming for "good enough" • Spending more time thinking about your next idea than obsessing over your last idea

The signal for knowing when you've reached "good enough?" Diminishing returns. When "more time" doesn't equal "meaningfully better," it's time to move on.

Frictionless Distribution means: • Direct To Platform (no need to wait for access) • Direct To Audience (no need to ask permission) Your highest priority should be removing obstacles here: cost, skill, expertise, access, etc. Wait for no one.

If you can successfully create "good enough" products... And successfully distribute those products without impediments... You've created a "when, not if" flywheel. Your success is simply an output of these habits multiplied by time.

For example: if you want to be an author, I don't believe the dream is to write "a book." Your dream should be: "How do I create a flywheel that allows me to write 100 'good enough' books?" More quality swings = exponentially higher likelihood of success.

TL;DR: Sweet-Spot Publishing Step 1: The Million-Dollar Test Step 2: Barbell Investing In Yourself Step 3: Permissionless Creation & Frictionless Distribution

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