Being a Taleb fan, and also aware of the economics of authorship, I'd say both! Stephen King style. Fast and furious creativity, at affordable prices, with the occasional piece that creates excitement, and anticipation, but is also a premium offer (keynotes? ;)
When it comes to a business, I'd always want to be barbelled!
I believe that's not possible. You cannot serve Michelin-star dinners at the scale of McDonald's. You cannot offer first class Emirates service at the scale of Ryanair. Forget it.
You can only start on one end of the barbell and then stretch yourself as far as you can without breaking the experience.
Ah, but you describe different experiences. The Ferrari experience is not the Fiat experience. For sure, both can be offered by the same producer. But my point is that you cannot offer the same product experience at both ends of the barbell. People will be unwilling to pay high-margin Ferrari prices when Fiats offer the same experience. The whole point of the quality side of the barbell is that customers must feel exclusivity and scarcity or else they won't pay the exorbitant prices.
Exactly. When people want me to write quality fiction (and pay for that), I can start there and try to write as much as I can while maintaining quality (and price level). Otherwise, when people want to reach as much as possible, I can focus on volume and low price first and then raise the quality as much as I can without raising the price.
The other way out of this conundrum is to use two different pen names. Some authors write cheap pulp using one author name and high-quality literature under another pen name. The point is not to confuse the audience and deliver a consistent experience.
Being a Taleb fan, and also aware of the economics of authorship, I'd say both! Stephen King style. Fast and furious creativity, at affordable prices, with the occasional piece that creates excitement, and anticipation, but is also a premium offer (keynotes? ;)
When it comes to a business, I'd always want to be barbelled!
I believe that's not possible. You cannot serve Michelin-star dinners at the scale of McDonald's. You cannot offer first class Emirates service at the scale of Ryanair. Forget it.
You can only start on one end of the barbell and then stretch yourself as far as you can without breaking the experience.
Ah! Interesting thought, but I have examples! :) Ferrari + Fiat can coexist (and they did for a while).
So can 5*, week long immersive experiences, with YouTube videos (Tony Robbins).
These are barbell strategies. Mass audience, low end products + high-end aspirational offerings.
But the fact that you think is not possible will affect your own relationship with your audience. Either way, whatever you choose can work.
Ah, but you describe different experiences. The Ferrari experience is not the Fiat experience. For sure, both can be offered by the same producer. But my point is that you cannot offer the same product experience at both ends of the barbell. People will be unwilling to pay high-margin Ferrari prices when Fiats offer the same experience. The whole point of the quality side of the barbell is that customers must feel exclusivity and scarcity or else they won't pay the exorbitant prices.
Are you then asking, what is the side of the barbell you should "start" with?
I'm guessing I'd know the answer of your audience, but I might be completely mistaken...
Exactly. When people want me to write quality fiction (and pay for that), I can start there and try to write as much as I can while maintaining quality (and price level). Otherwise, when people want to reach as much as possible, I can focus on volume and low price first and then raise the quality as much as I can without raising the price.
The other way out of this conundrum is to use two different pen names. Some authors write cheap pulp using one author name and high-quality literature under another pen name. The point is not to confuse the audience and deliver a consistent experience.