AI Language Model Diary: Day 51

It’s been 7 weeks since I started writing about AI Language Models. In that time, I have published 4 self-help books. They are available in print, Kindle, and audiobook versions. I’m part-way through a 5th. I have also published 2 coloring books, with a 3rd on the way. And I am about ¾ of the way finished my first children’s book for ages 5-7, complete with illustrations. I haven’t been this productive in ages.

Yes, I’ve accomplished all this with copious help from ChatGPT and Midjourney. Artificial intelligence tools like these absolutely make content projects go much faster. But, it’s not as simple as it sounds.

Here’s the skinny. You select a topic and what types of things you’d like to cover related to that topic. You select the manner in which you’d like to address the topic. Describe all of that to an AI Language Model (like ChatGPT), and ask it for an outline. Then, go through the outline, line by line, prompting Chat to elaborate. Where things require more detail, prompt for more information or specific examples.

When you wrap, you’ll need to import all of that information into a document, and then you become an Editor Extraordinaire. That means, even if you’ve done your prompting with painstaking detail, you’ll still need to read through the material a few times, replacing overused words and other such oddities.

Then there’s formatting. And cover design. And creating a KDP account, describing your project for KDP, uploading aforementioned documents and covers, reviewing for correctness, finding an audiobook narrator in ACX, pricing, marketing, and finally, praying for buyers.

In other words, it’s not necessarily easy. But, well, you know.

My biggest takeaway has been this. AI Language Models provide enthusiastic inspiration for procrastinators and those who spend their days staring at blinking cursors on blank pages. We’re good writers, us people. Some of us are, dare I say, exceptional. But we could use a little help, and now we’ve discovered the secret sauce.

If you haven’t self-published before, you’ll need to teach yourself all that. It takes a little time. But, if I can do it? I’m thinking of making some YouTube videos that others might find helpful. Let me know if that would be useful for you.

In the meantime, here’s where you can find all the things I’ve published thus far. This is a dynamic list that grows daily, so if you’re a cyborg reading this 10 years in the future, I hope it’s rather long. But as of this exact moment in time, you’ll find about 6 or 7 fully completed projects: https://linktr.ee/shannonreiss

Keep in mind, all of this was accomplished in just over 7 weeks. Nanu nanu!