Thank you so much for attending Tuesday night’s webinar. Hopefully, you found it helpful and inspiring.

Now, I rely on ChatGPT every day to get work done. Actually, later this afternoon I’m going to open it up and get back to work on my book.

Reflecting on the wonders of ChatGPT this afternoon, I wanted to share some thoughts...

You need to remember that ChatGPT has some significant shortfalls.

While you can copy and paste segments of your manuscript into ChatGPT to smooth out your writing, it still can’t write your book. The writing it produces falls far short of the standards of traditional publishing. Not even close.

Sentences are wordy. 

Sentence construction can be awkward.

And it doesn’t apply the Chicago Manual of Style!

You have a computer program trying to guess what interesting and compelling. 

Like I said on Tuesday, ChatGPT is like a chainsaw. You wouldn’t want to use it to remove a spleen.

ChatGPT will help you finish a first draft that’s a dumpster fire. And it can build your dumpster fire real fast! That's why people the first draft a "sloppy copy" or what Ann Lamott calls "the $***** first draft."

The idea of an AI generated book, at least in the foreseeable future, is a pipe dream.

Every author still needs a scalpel in order to craft:

Memorable scenes.

Powerful hooks.

Smooth transitions.

Machines can’t replace authors doing this.

You still need that scalpel to finish your book.

For example, let's say you want to build a cabin in the mountains. ChatGPT is the helicopter that will drop your materials on your property.

But you still need to build the log cabin.

Here’s the bottom line: ChatGPT can help you write your book, but it can’t write your book for you. Nothing can substitute for human feedback on your manuscript.

The sky isn't falling and you aren't being replaced anytime soon.

Because of Zoom’s technical issues on Tuesday, Karen and I are going to re-record the webinar and then send you the YouTube link next week.

More thoughts are coming your way in the next day or two.

And by the way, your ChatGPT Cheat Sheet for Writers is attached.

Let’s bring your book to life!