I Used ChatGPT to Write a Book. And I Published it | ChatGPT for Authors | Writing a Novel With AI

The video transcript details the author's innovative experiment with AI, specifically using ChatGPT to write a novella titled 'Legends of the Shadow Woods,' which is a collection of stories inspired by Greek mythology. The author shares their process of utilizing AI to generate content, the challenges faced, such as repetitive text and clumsy sentence structures, and the editing process to make the content readable. They also discuss the implications of AI on the future of writing, suggesting that while it may not threaten established authors, it could significantly impact midlist and emerging writers. The author highlights the potential of AI as a tool for storytelling and the changing landscape of the publishing industry due to such technologies.

Takeaways

• 📚 The author used ChatGPT to write a novella titled 'Legends of the Shadow Woods', which is available on Amazon.
• 🤖 ChatGPT is a computer program capable of generating coherent and contextually relevant text based on its training data.
• 🚀 The novella is based on Greek mythology, chosen for its rich background and because ChatGPT already has extensive information on the subject.
• 🎨 The author also used an AI to create the book cover, showcasing the potential of AI in creative fields.
• 📝 The writing process involved generating text in small chunks and required a lot of trial and error to refine the prompts for desired outputs.
• ✍️ The editing process was extensive, aiming to make the text readable while preserving the AI-generated content as much as possible.
• 🔄 There was a significant amount of repetition in the generated text, which needed to be addressed during editing.
• 🚫 ChatGPT has a content policy that restricts the generation of certain types of content, including violence.
• 💬 The program sometimes struggles with sentence structure, resulting in wordy and clumsy text that requires editing.
• 🧠 AI occasionally forgets previously written details, such as character traits, which can introduce inconsistencies.
• 🌟 The author contemplates the future impact of AI on the writing industry, suggesting it could democratize content creation but also pose challenges to traditional authors.
• ❓ There is uncertainty about how platforms like Amazon will respond to AI-generated content in the future, with possibilities of bans or restrictions.

Q & A

What was the author's initial intention with using ChatGPT to write a novella?

The author initially didn't plan on sharing the novella. They were merely interested in experimenting with the technology and realized they had invested a significant amount of time and effort, thinking others might find the process interesting as well.

How did the author decide on the theme for the novella?

The author asked ChatGPT for suggestions on what kind of fantasy world to write about and chose a world based on Greek mythology because it would provide a rich base of information for ChatGPT to draw from and the style of mythological storytelling seemed to fit well with the AI's output.

What was the process like for generating the content of the novella?

The author worked in pieces of three paragraphs or less, prompting ChatGPT for content, copying and pasting, regenerating, making adjustments, and prompting some more until they had a rough draft of a short story.

What was the author's goal during the editing process of the novella?

The author's goal was to make the novella readable rather than to match their personal writing style. They aimed to preserve as much of the generated content as possible to showcase the AI's capabilities.

How long did it take the author to complete the novella from start to finish?

The author started generating content on January 9th and completed editing and proofreading by January 21st, resulting in a final product of just under 25,000 words.

What were some of the challenges the author faced during the editing process?

The author faced challenges such as the AI's tendency to repeat itself, clumsy sentence structure, and the need to carefully edit to preserve the original generated content without overdoing it.

What limitations did the author encounter with ChatGPT?

The author encountered limitations such as content policy restrictions, clumsy sentence structure, excessive verbosity, and the AI sometimes forgetting previously written details.

How did the author create the cover for the novella?

The author used a different AI, DallE2, to generate images for the cover. They then spent a few hours in Photoshop assembling the generated pictures to create the final cover.

What are the author's thoughts on the future impact of AI on authors and the publishing industry?

The author believes that technology like ChatGPT could significantly change the industry, making it easier for people to tell their stories without years of practice. They also consider the possibility of Amazon banning AI-generated content in the future.

How can readers access the novella 'Legends of the Shadow Woods'?

Readers can access 'Legends of the Shadow Woods' on Amazon through the provided link in the video description. If Amazon bans AI content, the author will make the ebook available on their website sydneyfaith.com.

What was the author's approach to naming the stories and chapters in the novella?

The author allowed ChatGPT to name every story, every chapter, and the entire collection, which was part of the trial and error process in the early stages of creating the first story.

How did the author manage to keep the generated content intact during the editing process?

The author focused on making minimal changes, only writing a few lines of transition or fixing dialogue when it was easier than having ChatGPT generate something better. They aimed to preserve the AI's original content as much as possible.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 AI-Powered Writing: The Future of Storytelling?

The speaker reminisces about their childhood wish for a robot to do chores and segues into using AI for work, specifically mentioning their experience with ChatGPT to write a novella. They discuss the process of creating a fantasy world based on Greek mythology, leveraging AI's ability to generate text coherently. The speaker also talks about the limitations they encountered, such as AI's repetitive nature and clumsy sentence structure, and how they aimed for a readable final product rather than a perfect one. The editing process involved a significant amount of time, with the goal of preserving the AI-generated content as much as possible while making the narrative coherent.

05:03

📚 Editing AI-Generated Content: Challenges and Solutions

The speaker details their editing process for the AI-generated novella, which included a rough edit, a detailed pass with editing software, and a proofread. They emphasize the challenges of dealing with verbose and repetitive content generated by ChatGPT, as well as the AI's occasional inconsistencies in maintaining story details. Despite these hurdles, the speaker managed to complete the editing and proofreading within a short timeframe. They also touch upon the ethical and creative implications of using AI in content creation, suggesting that while it might not threaten established authors, it could significantly impact midlist and new authors by changing the dynamics of the publishing industry.

10:06

🚀 The Impact of AI on Creative Industries and What's Next

The speaker contemplates the broader impact of AI technologies like ChatGPT on creative fields, drawing parallels with the effects of AI-generated art platforms on the art industry. They express both excitement and apprehension about the potential of AI to democratize content creation, allowing those with stories to tell to bring them to life more easily. The speaker acknowledges the current limitations of AI in content generation but remains optimistic about its future capabilities. They also mention the possibility of publishing platforms like Amazon banning AI-generated content and their contingency plan to host the novella on their website if necessary.

Keywords

💡ChatGPT

ChatGPT is a computer program designed to understand and generate human-like text based on the input it receives. In the video, the author used ChatGPT to write a novella, demonstrating its ability to create coherent and contextually relevant text. It is central to the video's theme of exploring AI's role in creative writing.

💡Legends of the Shadow Woods

This is the title of the novella written with the help of ChatGPT. It is a collection of tales inspired by Greek mythology, following the hero Ajax. The novella serves as a practical example in the video to illustrate the capabilities of AI in storytelling.

💡AI-generated content

AI-generated content refers to any material, such as text, art, or music, created using artificial intelligence. In the context of the video, the author discusses the creation of a novella and book cover using AI, raising questions about the future of creativity and the role of AI in authorship.

💡Greek mythology

Greek mythology is a collection of stories and legends from ancient Greece about the gods and heroes. The author chose a fantasy world based on Greek mythology for the novella as it provided a rich base of information for ChatGPT to draw from, which is crucial for generating a coherent narrative.

💡Content Policy

The Content Policy refers to the guidelines that restrict the types of content that can be generated by AI, such as ChatGPT. The video mentions these policies, particularly the limitations on violence, as a challenge when generating action-packed fantasy stories.

💡Editing process

The editing process involves revising and refining the generated text to improve its quality. The author describes a three-step editing process for the novella: a rough edit, a detailed edit using software, and a final proofread. This process was essential to make the AI-generated content readable and coherent.

💡Clumsy sentence structure

Clumsy sentence structure refers to the AI-generated text that is wordy, repetitive, and lacks fluidity. The author notes this as a limitation of ChatGPT, which required significant editing to correct and improve the text's flow.

💡Repeating phrases

Repeating phrases is a known limitation of AI where it tends to use certain phrases excessively. In the video, the author points out that this trait of ChatGPT led to extra editing time to remove redundant and verbose content from the novella.

💡AI forgetting content

AI forgetting content refers to the issue where the AI changes details or overlooks previously mentioned information in the text. The author experienced this when ChatGPT altered the color of a character's eyes, which was unexpected and required careful editing to maintain consistency.

💡Future of authors

The future of authors in the context of the video discusses the potential impact of AI on the writing industry. The author contemplates how tools like ChatGPT could democratize storytelling, allowing more people to tell their stories with less traditional writing skill, and the implications this might have for professional authors.

💡DallE2

DallE2 is an AI model that generates images from textual descriptions. The author used DallE2 to create the cover for the novella, highlighting how AI can assist not only in writing but also in other creative processes such as graphic design.

Highlights

The author used ChatGPT to write a Novella titled 'Legends of the Shadow Woods', which is available on Amazon.

ChatGPT is a computer program that generates coherent and contextually relevant text based on input and training examples.

The author experimented with ChatGPT to create a fantasy world based on Greek mythology for the Novella.

The AI was used to generate story options, character names, and even the book's blurb.

The author found it challenging to generate action fantasy stories due to ChatGPT's content policy limitations on violence.

The editing process involved a lot of time-consuming tasks such as merging different text versions and dealing with repetitive content.

The final product was just under 25,000 words, with an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 words generated before editing.

The author aimed for a 'readable' standard for the book, rather than perfecting it to their own writing style.

ChatGPT's limitations include clumsy sentence structure and a tendency to be excessively verbose and repetitive.

The AI sometimes forgets previously written details, such as the color of a character's eyes.

The author spent an equal amount of time generating and editing the content, contrary to initial expectations.

No professional editing or beta readers were used for this project, and only a couple of hours were spent on proofreading.

The author contemplates the future impact of AI on the publishing industry, especially for independent authors.

The ease of use of AI tools like ChatGPT and DallE2 could democratize content creation for those without years of practice.

The author suggests that midlist authors and newcomers to the industry might experience the most change due to AI-generated content.

There is a possibility that platforms like Amazon may ban AI-generated content in the future.

The author's experiment with AI in writing and book cover creation demonstrates the potential of AI as a creative tool.