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This week: The 80/20 Rule Edited by: Jeff  
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"In three words, I can sum up everything
I've learned about life: it goes on."
-- Robert Frost
Trivia of the Week: In addition to being most commonly known as The 80/20 Rule or The Pareto Principle, this phenomenon is also known as The Law of the Vital Few and The Principal of Factor Sparsity.
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THE 80/20 RULE
In the final years of the 19th Century, an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto discovered something interesting: roughly 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. In the course of his studies, he then discovered that it was also a common land ownership distribution among other countries, and that it could even be found in nature (he found that approximately 20% of the peapods in his garden contained 80% of the peas). Later, in 1941, business management consultant Joseph M. Juran ran across Pareto's work and applied it to quality issues and business efficiency. He developed The Pareto Principle (or The 80/20 Rule as it's also commonly known), which states that approximately 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes.
Or, to put it in terms of personal habits, 20% of your efforts are responsible for 80% of your success.
Imagine you're trying to develop a workout regimen. When you're first starting out, you might try a little of everything (cardio, strength, endurance, flexibility). After a while, though, chances are you'll start to notice that certain types of training yield better results for your personal health and body type. And if cardio, for example, sheds major pounds but flex training doesn't, it probably means you'll more effectively lose weight or get in shape by giving up the yoga in favor of more time running. That doesn't mean that yoga isn't worthwhile or that you should ignore the weight machines at the gym, only that you have a greater opportunity for success by spending more of your time on the activities that provide the greatest results.
Alternately, imagine you're an author (hey, that might not be much of a stretch!  ). Whether traditionally or self-published, most authors these days are expected to do a lot of self-promotion to raise their profile and sell their books. And there are certainly no shortage of activities to undertake in order to raise your author profile. You can write more material, attend book signings or conventions, communicate with fans on social media or via email, participate in podcasts or other interviews, etc. On top of that, if an author is self-published, there are a ton of opportunities to co-promote your work with other authors: one-off collaboration stories, multi-author boxed sets, etc.
There's simply too much for an author to do everything, and that's where the 80/20 Rule comes in.
Authors need to find out those handful of activities that are responsible for 80% of their success. While it's a no brainer to say that writing more material is the #1 activity that yields leads to continued or even greater success, it's amazing how many authors find other uses for their time once they reach a certain level of popularity. Spending all your time on social media, for example, may mean building up a Twitter following tens of thousands strong, or getting hundreds of shares on your Facebook or Instagram posts... but you have to look at whether that popularity is translating into increased writing success. When you tweet out that you have a new book available, how many of those tens of thousands followers actually purchase a copy? How many of your Facebook or Instagram friends share your book promotion posts in addition to your vacation photos? For some authors, the answer is "a lot," and those are the authors for whom social media might be a 20% activity. But for the rest of us, if your 10,000 followers are converting into only 10-100 sales, maybe social media isn't a 20% activity for you.
Similarly, it can be flattering to attend a book signing, or a convention, or accept an invitation to be interviewed on a podcast. But after the event, do you see a meaningful uptick in your numbers that can be tied to the appearance? Did the event lead to larger ones, better opportunities, or reaching new audiences? If you're volunteering a lot of your time on panels and as the subject of an interview but that invested time isn't translating to a significant increase in sales, maybe professional engagements aren't a 20% activity for you.
This is not to say that you should never do any of those things. Not everything you do has to move the bottom line. You're allowed to maintain a social media presence for fun, or to make a guest appearance on a podcast because you think it's an interesting opportunity or that you might be able to impart some advice to others. It's just important to be realistic about what your actions are accomplishing. If writing books and promoting them through online ads is making you money and social media isn't, it makes more sense to spend the majority of your time writing and promoting through ad buys than it does to spend ten hours a day keeping up on your Twitter feed. 
It's also important to note that the other 20% of your success is still valid. Even if the 80% of your other efforts only amounts to 20%, that's still 20%. So this isn't a call to completely discard all the things that aren't in your primary 20%. It's merely a call to recognize what that primary 20% is, and spend a commensurate amount of time pursuing those activities that yield the greatest results.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
"Blogocentric Formulations"
"New & Noteworthy Things" |
This month's official Writing.com writing contest is:
I also encourage you to check out the following items:
| | | Star Trekking [E] #2124003
Short bio on some deceased actors and actresses of Star Trek, The Original Series.
by ~Minja~  |
EXCERPT: Star Trek: The Original Series (formerly called just Star Trek) is the first Star Trek series. The first episode of the show aired on 6 September 1966 on CTV in Canada, followed by a 8 September 1966 airing on NBC in America. The show was created by Gene Roddenberry as a Wagon Train to the Stars. Star Trek was set in the 23rd century and featured the voyages of the starship Enterprise.The Original Series has been nominated for and won a number of awards over the years. Some of the awards include 13 Emmy Awards during its run, but it didn't win any, 8 Hugo Awards for "The Best Dramatic Presentation" winning twice in 1968 and Roddenberry won a special award, the 2003 "Pop Culture Award" in the TV Land Awards, the 2005 Saturn Award for "Best DVD Retro Television Release." In August 2006 the original series' 79 episodes were digitally remastered with all new visual effects and music. The refurbished episodes have been converted from the original film to high-definition video, making it on par with modern television formats.
It's been 50 years since the first episode aired on the TV screens. Thinking about it theoretically, if the original cast and crew were in their twenties and thirties, today they would be around 70 years old. So many good talent was around for so many years. However, many of the original crew passed away though leaving the heritage that will live forever in Star Trek fans. I'm offering short bio of some of the deceased crew below.
EXCERPT: The Earth and man were created from the same elements. A man is not just on the Earth he is of it and is made from the five elements: Air, Fire, Water, Earth, and the Spirit. The upright pentacle, as seen above, is the symbol of the balance of these five elements. The circle touches all 5 points and indicates that the spirit, earth, air, water, and fire are all connected.
EXCERPT: Global Warming is exactly what it says on the tin. It’s the heating of the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and even the surface. Basically, things are getting awfully hot around here. It’s rising slowly but surely, and it’s something we do not want happening.
EXCERPT: The joys of hunting are many. I have recently received my Possession and Acquisition License, and I am working diligently to become a proficient enough shot to go on my first hunt. The adrenaline that courses through your system at actually aiming at a target is exhilarating. The beauty and peace of enjoying the outdoors is breathtaking. I am sure that enjoying a meal that you have caught yourself will be amazing. And we can enjoy all this and still be environmentally conscious-that is the part I found most astonishing.
EXCERPT: As a fellow introvert I understand that sometimes, a person just wants to be alone and in a quiet place. This, unfortunately, is not conducive to making new friends, at a new school, even worse if it's somewhere far from home. Social skills are something you gain through practice, and I personally find this to be the most necessary and also most difficult tool to master when it comes to being successful at college. What I've learned through my years of higher education is how to get around my naturally quiet self and forcefully open up to the world around me.
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Feedback from my last newsletter about analysis paralysis ("For Authors Newsletter (May 10, 2017)" ):
Steev the Friction Wizurd  writes: "Could not agree more with your discussion of analysis paralysis. This is an area where "intuitive" writers have a slight advantage. They can just write about what they feel like writing about and skip over the analysis part."
Thanks for taking the time to write in! And I agree; there's something to be said for just writing.
Mara ♣ McBain  writes: "Awesome subject. I didn't even know that crushing indecision I sometimes deal with had a name. I'm definitely guilty of overthinking and seeking perfection to the point of stalling projects all together. "Perfect is the enemy of good" is going up on the cork board behind my desk. Thanks for the other great suggestions!"
You and me both, Mara! It's a constant struggle to go from "thinking about what to do" to actually doing it.
willwilcox writes: "Exceptional Newsletter"
Thanks, Bill!
Mia - craving colour  writes: "Hi Jeff, I enjoyed your article. It took me back to some of the lessons I've learned about setting limits and making decisions. Thank you also for including my article "Invalid Item" in your newsletter. The exposure to my writing is much appreciated. -
Mia"
You're very welcome! And thanks for taking the time to write in!
hbk16 writes: "I have appreciated a lot such pertinent issue about the most common illness that know most writers and which is "Analysis Paralysis". This problem is most established with professional writers. Indeed they are constantly put in a harsh competition and to impose their writings is and in a certain way a vital matter. However it is exact that all writers professionals or freelances ones are running in order to achieve in this way the perfection and which is in reality never caught."
The realization that perfection is unattainable is a hard one to reach... but once you do, it's remarkably freeing.
RICH writes: "Found this in a 'sales promotion paper' which i have now stuck up against the PC: "Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome." Samuel Johnson"
That's a great quote!
Quick-Quill  writes: "You wrote this at the right time. I'm in the middle of a hole. I've come up with some plot ideas I thought were great. I took them to my writers group and they were analysed to their death. I've decided to keep my new plot to myself. I bounce ideas off my sisters who are supportive readers and not writers. I'm off an writing now. No more over analysis."
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For Authors: June 07, 2017 Issue [#8330]
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