I recently took on a book editing project that was, admittedly, iffy from the get-go. A Life & Business Coach hired me to edit her client’s book about getting over trauma. We’ll just skip past the mundane oddities that occurred before I started editing.

Back Story – Pre-ChatGPT

I expect that someone offering advice on a topic would establish themselves as a person qualified in the subject and worth the money spent on the book. The text in question did not offer that. The text did not introduce the author in any way.

The text in question did not do many other things, such as:

• Provide a coherent story line.
• Explain who all the people were.
• Clearly define all the events that led to at least one of the traumatic events.

In short, this thing made almost no sense whatsoever.

So, I had to write to the coach and author to explain why what they sent me was not a book. I did not use ChatGPT on that email. I suspect I missed out on something because of that.

The reply to my message was, on reflection, about par for the course. Obviously I’m not a good fit, please return the deposit, maybe you’d like to work on a different project?

Un, no.

What ChatGPT Did for Me

One of my coaches advised that I run my next reply through ChatGPT to make sure it wasn’t overly judgmental. I decided to just get straight to the point and try not to provide further education – I’m positive it wouldn’t have stuck. So, I drafted something simple:

I agree that I’m not the right fit for this project. However, the deposit is non-refundable. I put in a decent amount of effort to reach my conclusions; that you may not like them does not negate the work.

Given the extreme difference in the opinions we hold about the state of [Author]’s book, I’m not sure we will ever be in agreement about your projects. I am honored that you offered me this opportunity and hope you can find an editor that meets your needs.

I thought it was pretty good. And, I know how bad writing can be without an outside opinion, so I went to ChatGPT.

What I asked:

“Edit the following email for professionalism while still expressing that the recipient will not get their money back and was foolish to ask.”

What ChatGPT offered originally:

Thank you for your message. I agree that I am not the right fit for this project. As outlined in our agreement, the deposit is non-refundable. A substantial amount of time and effort went into reviewing the material and forming my assessment, regardless of whether my conclusions align with your expectations.

Given the significant differences in our perspectives on the current state of [Author]’s book, it seems unlikely that we would reach the level of alignment necessary for a productive collaboration on future projects.

I appreciate the opportunity you extended to me and wish you the best in finding an editor whose approach better matches your needs.

Oh, much better. A little buzz-wordy? Yes. Better at stressing that I’m a professional? Most definitely. I also really like how it changed my “thanks and good luck” closing.

Problem: there was no formal agreement – about anything. Part of the mundane oddities I skipped.

ChatGPT’s new version:

Thank you for your message. I agree that I am not the right fit for this project.

While there was no formal agreement regarding the deposit, it was accepted with the understanding that I would begin work on reviewing the material. I have since invested a considerable amount of time and effort in evaluating [Author]’s book and forming my professional assessment. For that reason, I am not able to issue a refund.

Given the significant differences in our perspectives on the current state of the manuscript, it seems unlikely that we would reach the level of alignment necessary for a productive collaboration on future projects.

I appreciate the opportunity you extended and wish you the best in finding an editor whose approach better matches your needs.

Better still. I like that is acknowledges that there wasn’t a formal agreement while stressing that a deposit means that work will be done.

Now, I’m really not into thanking a person for their message when it’s part of an ongoing conversation so I took out that bit. And there is absolutely no way I’m refunding that deposit, so I changed “am not able to” to “will not” and hit send.

The New Tricks of ChatGPT

Awhile ago, I wrote about artificial intelligence (AI) in general, without actually having used it. I still stand by everything I said then. I’ve since used ChatGPT a few times, including when I’m looking for blog images.

For grins, I ran my “this is not a book” email through ChatGPT with the instructions, “Edit the following email for professionalism while expressing that the manuscript submitted was horrible and in no way could be called a book.” The results were amazing; I really did miss out.

Yes, when it comes to AI, I’m not at the front of the pack. Yet, this has been a great learning experience and I do plan to use ChatGPT for this type of thing more often.

– Lorrie Nicoles