Your Creative Edge
Figuring Out Tech for Creatives (so you don’t have to)
Blink, and you’ll miss it. Well, here we are at the start of another year. I can’t believe how fast they fly by. I believe it’s a function of age; the older a person gets, the less significant a year is in their life experience. As I enter the last quarter of my life, it’s not the most pleasant thought. Such is life, I suppose. Still, onwards and upwards, no time to waste then.
Last year (okay, last week), I hinted about a new project for 2025: a sister publication dedicated to creativity and how technology can improve our processes while retaining our humanity. Of course, generative AI will be a huge part of this, but I won’t be limited to writing only about AI. I intend to do the slog work, so you don’t have to.
Fortunately for you, I enjoy learning and experimenting almost as much as writing. I’ve always been curious, going back to my earliest memories. I remember sitting in a muddy puddle playing with my toy boats, trying to figure out why they didn’t sink. I was very little, and my mom thought that must have been when we temporarily lived on a farm, which was when I was coming up to my third birthday.
Anyway, this week, I’ll dive into a bit more detail. Here we go.
What’s In A Name?
Choosing a name for the new publication was harder than you might think. Not surprisingly, I used ChatGPT to help. First up was to ask for a general description:
Me: I want to start a new Substack publication based on creative writing and using the latest technologies, such as generative AI. I’ll explore all the tools and features and, where appropriate and useful, document how to use them for various aspects of the writing, publication, and marketing process. Please generate a short description.
With a second or two, I had a pretty rubbish description and an awful suggested publication name (I won’t detail it here as it was seriously bad.) Perhaps this was the best place to start the conversation, but I pushed on and asked for a list of 20 possible publication names, then 20 more. None of which I found particularly riveting. Time for a different approach:
Me: Thank you, some very good suggestions. I prefer a list of 20 possible publication names, using specifically the words creative or creativity and avoiding the words AI and fiction.
Now we were getting somewhere. I now had 60 possibilities, most of which were pretty useless, in my opinion. Doubling down, it was simple to ask which were the most engaging and likely to attract subscribers; ChatGPT picked out the top three from each list of 20 suggestions. From these, it listed the four overall best picks, which was surprising as I hadn’t explicitly asked for this format. These were the top four:
The Novel Machine (Vomit City)
Creative Compass (ok, but is pretty meaningless)
Fiction Rewired (Vomit City, again)
The Creative Edge (pretty good)
It’s funny that the last one was, for the most part, the title of last week’s newsletter; perhaps it was a bit of serendipity. After a brief diversion (no need for details; it didn’t lead to anything new), I plumped for “The Creative Edge. “ Unfortunately, the URL had already been taken. Oh well.
Substack Settings
Another area where an LLM, such as ChatGPT, excels is relieving humans of drudgery and repetitive tasks. I like the wording “Creative Edge,” asking for variations incorporating this phrase, which was a simple rehashing of the prompts detailed in the last section. Not wanting to get my hopes up too soon, this time, I added a caveat to the prompt:
Me: For each suggestion, can you check if the name is unique for the publication?
Only one jumped out at me: the title of this week’s newsletter, “Your Creative Edge.” The only hit was a 2018 book with the same title by Chipo Shiloh Moyo. I can live with that.
Now that I had the new publication’s name, I had to set it up, of course. I needed a good description, some images (including a logo), and a few other things, such as email headers and footers. Now, we were getting somewhere. I thought it would be wise to check how attractive the name might be to subscribers. Now, I’ve found that to get the best answers out of any GenAI tool, sometimes it’s better to give only basic information. For example:
Me: Good morning. I think that the publication name might be “Your Creative Edge.” What is your opinion of this name?
The answer was surprising, not the numbered list of reasons why it was a good choice, but the final sentence. Here is ChatGPT’s response:
Personal Connection: The word “Your” directly engages the reader, making them feel the content is tailored for them.
Focused on Creativity: The phrase “Creative Edge” suggests innovation, progress, and a unique advantage in the creative process.
Clear and Memorable: It’s simple, easy to remember, and conveys the purpose of your publication without ambiguity.
Invites Curiosity: The name sparks interest, drawing people who want to explore their creativity and stay ahead in their craft.
ChatGPT: It’s a name that feels approachable yet professional, making it likely to attract subscribers who are passionate about creativity and innovation. If you’d like, I can refine a description based on this new name!
Of course, I wanted the description; you can find the edited version on the About page. (Please keep in mind the website is still under construction, so things might (will) change, but it’s a start.)
Free Versus Paid
What can subscribers expect? The answer is detailed use cases for creativity. The last two sections are pretty lightweight but begin to illustrate what is meant by ‘use cases.’ Let me explain. I’m working on my first book, a novel, and it’s turning out to be much more difficult than I thought before I started. I need help, and because I lack a supportive writers community, I’m using GenAI for assistance.
What I’m not doing is asking AI to write the book. That’s down to me and me alone; otherwise, I don’t see the point. What I am, and will continue to do, is figure out how to use it to my benefit. You’ll be surprised at how GenAi can help you as a writer with everything from the writing process, editing, publishing (for the independent authors out there,) and, finally, marketing.
For example, in the writing process:
Idea Generation or Ideation,
Brainstorming,
Worldbuilding,
Outlining and Structuring,
Grammar and Syntax (Grammarly, anyone?)
Consistency,
Translations.
These are only the tip of the iceberg; it goes on. Our only limitation is our imagination; the possibilities are never-ending. With each new release, feature, or function, the goalposts are moved. Keeping up with the latest and greatest can be challenging and time-consuming, which is where ‘Your Creative Edge’ comes in. Once something is figured out, it’ll be documented and shared with the subscribers.
While some issues will be free for everyone to benefit from, most of the work should be paid for. I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s only fair, considering the amount of effort it’ll take to resolve them to a stage where you, as creatives, can maximally benefit. Regardless, all issues will have a certain amount of free content before the paywall kicks in.
Final Thoughts
This will be the last time (ish) that I post any detail of my dealings with GenAI in The Everyday Soloprenuer newsletter. As I wrote last week, this newsletter will remain a space to chat and a forum for general discussion about writing craft and the publishing industry. It’s also where I unload my thoughts; I suppose it’s my online journal.
I will, however, drop in links to every post from Your Creative Edge. I’m still unsure of the issue schedule, I was thinking every two weeks or so, perhaps weekly. But I’ll have to plan my time out better first. After all, this will be a serious amount of work. Fun though.
Until next time, have a great creative week, and take care.