Beth Barany’s Take on AI for Authors--Pro and Con

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

I admit that I am super excited by all the AI tools available and possible, while at the same time concerned that they could or might take about my job and passion: writing stories.

So, I started playing with Chat GPT back in November 2022 and was annoyed at how it couldn’t spit out story ideas that I liked.

I don’t have any problems coming up with story ideas and I do understand story structure quite well, so the tool wasn’t helpful to me.

Then I tried my hand at using it for editing. And hated how it would rewrite sentences. So dry. So not… me.

Next, I tried having it analyze my writing. That was helpful. It put words to my style that felt like me, approximately.

Which in turn helps me make choices when I edit.

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time seeing myself.

As Kelly Diels says, “We can’t see the back of our head.”

All the while, I’ve been studying how to write prompts, so that I can give better directions to Chat GPT.

And then I started playing with marketing, and that’s where my excitement level shoot over the roof.

For example, I shared one of my book blurbs and I asked Chat GPT to write 5 Twitter/X posts with hashtags and in a chatty voice.

And I also told it to not invent anything.

I hit “return,” sat back, and was about to take a sip of my coffee, when boom, my results were in!

I re-read the tweets and they were decent.

Ah! Now I had a first draft to work from and smiled. I could go to town polishing them up and getting them loaded in our social scheduling tool.

Just so you know I’ve also had Chat GPT (and similar tools) to write other first drafts for me like:

• writing marketing emails (but not this one!)
• condensing long information
• writing LinkedIn and Facebook posts and Instagram captions
• listing possible sub-ideas connected to a main idea in nonfiction (this is a brainstorming action)

So there you go – a little bit of my take on Chat GPT and the current AI tools.

And a sneak peek of what I might bring to the panel during the AI Writing Summit next week.

Details next!


Join us!

AI Writing Summit, April 8-12, 2024. Free event. Sign up here:

 Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. She is also a marketing consultant, editor, and author of the multi award-winning #HowToDoItFrugally Series (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BTXQL27T/ ) of books for writers including “The Frugal Book Promoter” (https://bit.ly/FrugalBookPromoIII), and “The Frugal Editor” both offered in their third editions by Modern History Press. Others in that series are “How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically,” and two booklets, both in their second editions also from Modern History Press. The booklets, “Great Little Last Minute Editing Tips for Writers” (https://bit.ly/LastMinuteEditsII) and “Great First Impression Book Proposals” (https://bit.ly/BookProposalsII) are career boosters in mini doses and both make ideal thank you gifts for authors. The one on writing book proposals is also available as an Audio Book. “The Frugal Editor “(https://tinyurl.com/TheFrugalEditor), was recently released in its third edition. It is the winningest book in this series for writers.  

Carolyn also has three frugal books for retailers including one she encourages authors to read because it helps them understand what is needed to convince retailers to host their workshops, presentations, and signings. It is “A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions: How To Increase Profits and Spit in the Eyes of Economic Downturns with Thrifty Events and Sales Techniques” (https://bit.ly/RetailersGuide). In addition to this blog, Carolyn helps writers extend the exposure of their favorite reviews at https://TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com. She also blogs all things editing–grammar, formatting and more–at “The Frugal, Smart, and Tuned-In Editor” (https://TheFrugalEditor.blogspot.com). Learn more and follow it to get news on her new releases directly from Amazon at https://bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfile.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is the multi award-winning author of the HowToDoItFrugally series of books for authors and retailers. She was named Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment by members of the California Legislature and was an instructor for UCLA Extension’s renowned Writers’ Program for nearly a decade. Learn more about her writer’s services at https://CarolynHoward-Johnson.com.