Writing AI Prompts: 5 Hacks for New Indie Authors

“AI is going to make us work more productively, live longer, and have cleaner energy.” – Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI

As indie authors, we can harness the power of AI to streamline various aspects of our creative process—from drafting manuscripts to designing book covers. But to truly unlock AI’s potential, it’s essential to be clear and detailed when writing AI prompts. How you ask AI for help directly impacts the output quality.

In this writer’s guide in our series on AI for Authors, we’ll explore five essential building blocks for writing AI prompts effectively to help you get the desired results.

Practical Uses of AI for Indie Authors

Understanding how to write effective AI prompts can save you time, personalize your approach, and spark your creativity. Here’s a breakdown of how to structure your prompts to generate more relevant and helpful content for your writing and publishing journey.

Anatomy of an AI Prompt

Writing a great prompt requires specificity, clarity, and structure. Here are the five recommended building blocks for effectively writing AI prompts.

Writing a great prompt requires specificity, clarity, and structure. Here are the five recommended building blocks for effectively writing AI prompts:

1.     Persona:

Identify your role and set the context for your request. Some experts suggest assigning a persona to the AI tool.
Example of your persona: “I am an indie author preparing marketing materials for my upcoming science fiction novel.”

Example of an AI persona: “You’re a marketing expert for science fiction novels.”

2.     Objective:

Clearly state your goal or objective so the AI understands what you want to achieve.
Example: “I need a compelling book blurb that highlights the dystopian themes of my novel.”

3.     Audience:

Specify the audience, so the AI tailors the language and tone to suit your target readers.
Example: “Write the blurb for readers who enjoy fast-paced science fiction with strong female protagonists.”

4.     Style:

Describe the style, tone, and other relevant parameters to guide the AI’s output.
Example: “Use a mysterious and suspenseful tone, with hints of futuristic technology and societal collapse.”

5.     Format:

Note the desired format of the output, whether it’s bullet points, paragraphs, or even a specific word count.
Example: “Write the blurb in a 100-word paragraph.”

By breaking down your prompt into these five parts, you provide the AI with the detailed information it needs to generate accurate and relevant responses. Let’s take a deeper look at how each of these building blocks works.

Identify Your Persona

Your persona sets the context for the AI. Whether you’re an indie author, a publisher, or a marketer, specifying your role helps AI understand the perspective from which you’re approaching the task. For example, if you’re working on crafting a book launch plan, your persona could be: “I am an indie author planning a book launch for my debut novel.”

State Your Objective

The second step is to clearly state your objective. This directs the AI, allowing it to focus on what you want to achieve. If you aim to design an eye-catching book cover, a prompt like “I need a modern, sci-fi-themed book cover with minimalistic elements” would give the AI specific parameters.

Specify Your Audience

Knowing your audience is critical to receiving an AI output that resonates with the right people. For example, you might specify that you’re writing for “young adults who enjoy dystopian fiction.” This ensures the AI tailors the tone, vocabulary, and style to engage that particular group.

When Ryan, a new indie author, first experimented with AI to help develop his fantasy novel, he started with a vague prompt: “Create a story about a hero who fights evil.” The AI churned out a basic plot about a hero who defeats a villain, but the story lacked originality and depth. Frustrated, Ryan realized he needed to be more specific.

Instead of a general prompt, he tried: “Create a story about a reluctant hero who lives in a small village and discovers they possess a forgotten magical power. Describe how this power isolates them from their community and the internal struggle they face before deciding to use it against a powerful enemy.” This time, the AI generated a rich, detailed outline that gave Ryan a solid foundation. Ryan learned that by being more intentional with his prompts, he could tap into the AI’s full potential to produce creative and compelling story elements.

Describe Your Style

The style sets boundaries for the AI, such as tone, theme, and genre. If you’re working on a mystery novel, you could ask AI to “generate suspenseful, eerie descriptions of a crime scene.” This helps the AI produce responses that align with the mood you want to create.

Note the Format

Finally, specifying the desired format ensures that the output meets your structural needs. For example, you might ask AI to generate “a social media post in three short sentences” or “a bulleted list of five marketing tips for new indie authors.” By outlining the format, you get more focused and useful results.

Adapting Prompts for Various Tasks

Let’s look at how you can adapt AI prompts for different aspects of the indie author process.

• Character Development: “I am an indie author creating a character profile for a fantasy novel. Write a 150-word description of a brave but flawed protagonist with a tragic backstory.”
• World-Building: “I need a 200-word description of a dystopian city for my sci-fi novel. Make it feel gritty, technologically advanced, but morally corrupt.”
• Marketing Materials: “Write a 50-word call-to-action for my mailing list, emphasizing exclusive content and behind-the-scenes updates for my readers.”

The more detailed your prompts, the better your AI-generated outputs will be. You’ll find that tweaking your prompts can lead to richer, more nuanced results as you practice.

Mastering the Art of Writing AI Prompts

Writing AI prompts effectively is essential for indie authors who want to make the most of AI’s capabilities. By mastering the five building blocks—persona, aim, audience, theme, and structure—you can generate precise, relevant, and creative outputs that support your writing, marketing, and publishing efforts. Remember, the quality of your AI outputs depends on the clarity and detail of your prompts, so don’t hesitate to experiment and refine your approach.

We trust you’ve found these strategies both helpful and inspirational. They’re designed to equip you with the tools and insights to bolster your success as a burgeoning author.

The path of writing is one filled with ceaseless learning and enhancement. You are not expected to tread this path solo. We’re thrilled to accompany you on this journey, offering support and motivation at every turn. We aim to deliver foundational knowledge and pragmatic guidance, enabling you to confidently traverse the literary landscape.

For more help, see the first part in this series, AI Empowers New Indie Authors: 5 Best Hacks. You might also like Outcome-Based Management: 7 Steps to Writing Success.

How can we help? To let us know, please fill out our Contact form. Happy writing!

If you have a draft you want to publish with the help of AI, read, Is Your Book Ready to Self-Publish? Lastly, for help writing a non-fiction book, read Write Your First Non-Fiction eBook: a 30-Day Workbook for Getting It Done.

FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about crafting AI prompts for indie authors. These answers will help you better understand how to write prompts that generate the most valuable and creative outputs.

How specific should my AI prompt be?

The more specific, the better. Include details like audience, tone, style, and word count to get more accurate responses.

Can I use AI to help with book marketing?

Yes, AI can assist with everything from writing social media posts to creating compelling email campaigns for your book launch.

What if the AI generates something I don’t like?

AI tools allow you to revise your prompt and try again. The more you practice crafting prompts, the better results you’ll get.

Can AI help with world-building and character development?

Absolutely! AI can generate detailed descriptions, character backgrounds, and even plot twists to help you build immersive worlds and compelling characters.

Do I need to fact-check AI-generated content?

Yes, always verify facts, especially when dealing with historical details or technical information. AI outputs can sometimes be inaccurate.