RATLINKS: WRITERS BLOCK OF TEXT
Becoming an author with the help of AI
Welcome back readers and hope you made this year one of the best.
It is time to close it out in style as the year comes to a rollicking close and a happy Honda days to all who celebrate.
ARE YOU IN OR ARE YOU OUT
The AI revolution almost crashed despite Skynet's best efforts to become self-aware. OpenAI almost self-imploded, firing its CEO Sam Altman only for his job to be restored when almost every employee threatened to quit.
Before OpenAI’s leadership crisis, the company held a development day or dev day where it showed off a new product allowing anyone to program their own AI in just a few minutes using natural language.
This development will likely usher in a brand economic model - the GPTStore a place where anyone to sell their specific GPT assistants for others to use.
BUILDING IN PUBLIC
How easy is it to create an AI assistant for a specific task?
There is no more mature category than short stories. From their origins etched into the walls of ancient caves, stories help us to make sense of the world, cope with adversity, and find meaning in our lives.
Can AI write original stories better than a human?
Introducing HorrorBot, an AI trained to master the art of horror writing. This category was chosen due to the readily available training material, and renowned horror author Stephen King meticulously outlined his writing process in his book "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft".
HorrorBot doesn't merely automate novel writing; instead, it follows a step-by-step process:
Every author's ultimate goal after completing a story is to see it published. Traditionally, finding a publisher was a daunting task, but thanks to the internet, there are now numerous platforms for content publication. (You're currently reading on one of them!)
My preferred platform for publishing short stories is Amazon's Kindle Vella. Vella offers a unique way to share serialized stories with readers over an extended period, releasing one episode at a time.
This chilling tale is a product of my collaboration with HorrorBot.
In a quaint New England town, the arrival of the serene autumn is disrupted by a strange phenomenon people start to go completely silent, one by one. It starts with an elderly man who loses his ability to speak overnight. Then a mother, a teacher, a mailman follow. They don't go mute; rather, they choose silence, as if compelled by an unseen presence. An intrepid journalist, Ellie, who has a deaf son, becomes desperate to unravel the mystery as the town's silence grows.
Hey! If read this far why not take a break and check out The Sound of the Silent.
Attracting visitors to your online content is the most challenging and costly aspect of any digital venture. In today's saturated market, making your work stand out is no easy feat.
Before determining an advertising budget, let's consider the economics of creation. Crafting the eight-chapter novella "The Sound of the Silent" costs just 18 cents. While the first three chapters are offered for free, the remaining five chapters are priced at 40 cents each. Authors retain 50% of each sale, earning a gross revenue of $0.20 and a net income of $0.02 on the first sale after accounting for production costs.
While this initial profit may seem modest, the low production costs make the venture profitable after just one sale. Subsequently, profit margins increase from $0.02 to $0.20 per sale, as no further capital expenditures are required, instantly 10x-ing the gross profit dollars.
Armed with this knowledge, an author can now decide how much of this potential twenty-cent profit pool to allocate toward advertising.
Leveraging the boundless capabilities of artificial intelligence, writers can efficiently churn out a staggering quantity of short stories, ranging into the hundreds or even thousands. Once a large enough library is written, it's time to initiate a targeted advertising campaign—one that will spotlight a standout story.
This strategic move aims to lure readers into delving deeper into the rest of the extensive catalog available. As this flywheel spins it drives sales to dormant titles ideally creating multiple potential perennial sellers. Each subsequent sale generates ~20 cents in revenue at an almost 100% gross margin, as content costs are minimal and each book is profitable from the very first sale.
The beauty of this business model lies in its recurring royalty stream. You can either collect these royalties indefinitely or sell them for a lump sum based on the projected future cash flow. If this hands-off approach doesn't appeal to you, consider developing a successful GPT assistant for sale on the GPTstore.
Here are the five key elements of this business model:
Content Creation: Leverage AI’s ability to churn out high volumes of short stories or other forms of creative content.
Targeted Advertising: Employ strategic advertising campaigns to drive initial sales and attract readers to your extensive catalog.
Deep Catalog Exploration: Encourage readers to delve deeper into your vast collection, leading to increased sales of dormant titles.
Recurring Revenue Streams: Benefit from a steady stream of royalties from ongoing sales, generating a consistent income source.
Perennial Success: Discover the potential to create multiple perennial bestsellers that continue to generate revenue over time.
FULL COURT PRESSED
Hollywood are you still desperate for ideas after the writer strike?
At the center of our mirth-filled melee stands the newly minted owner of the New York Knicks, Alexandra "Alex" Wexler, who finds herself dribbling through the courts of divorce and basketball business. Fresh off the alimony battlefield, Alex's life swishes from dealing with her tech mogul ex's latest condo-combining exploits to wrangling a directionless franchise with more turnovers than a French bakery.
I.
Alexandra "Alex" Wexler couldn't shake the feeling that she had acquired the Titanic rather than the storied New York Knicks. With every stride through the hallowed corridors of Madison Square Garden, her heels clicked a rhythm of defiance against the hardwood floors—a metronome set to the tempo of grand ambition and public scrutiny.
She paused in front of her new office, the title "Owner" emblazoned on the door, still tasting fresh and surreal. She pushed it open and was immediately met by the clashing odors of vintage leather mixed with the lingering scent of cigar smoke - remnants of the previous owner's tenure.
"New beginning, Alex," she murmured to herself. Her reflection in the glass-framed collection of bygone championship glories seemed to nod in agreement.
Alex's first order of business was a lunch meeting with "Wildcard" Charlie Winters, the Knicks' head coach, whose daredevil reputation preceded him like a comet trailing chaos. They had agreed to meet at the Garden's VIP restaurant under the guise of strategizing, but Alex had more pressing issues to griddle him about than game plans.
Charlie, never one to be punctual or conventional, burst through the doors just as the waiter was about to pour Alex's second glass of sparkling water.
"Alex, darling!" he exclaimed, the cuffs of his Italian suit still fluttering from his hasty entrance. "Sorry I'm - would you look at that," he chuckled, nodding to the TV screen above the bar broadcasting the latest on his gambling drama, "the press has more fantasies than my ex-wives."
"Charlie, we need to talk about—," Alex attempted to corral the conversation but was cut short.
"Save your breath for halftime speeches. I know, I know, my shenanigans off the court," Charlie said, tilting his head with that trademark roguish smile. "But rest assured, I have it under control."
Alex remained unconvinced, especially with rumors of Charlie's debts making more rounds than the Knicks' basketball during a game. No sooner had she ordered a salad than her phone buzzed with an alert. It was a TMZ notification, her ex-husband, Arnold, captured on a double date with their star rookie and twin models at some uptown hotshot club.
"Anything juicy?" Charlie asked, with a glint in his eye, obviously misinterpreting her grimace.
"More like... putrid," Alex replied, locking her screen.
The meeting with Charlie careened on, topics dribbling from the Knicks’ defense strategies to Charlie's reckless personal life. But Alex found herself distracted, glancing at the door every so often, half-expecting her ex to saunter in for a victory lap around her new domain.
Unbeknownst to both Alex and Charlie, watching from the shadows was Skylar Lee, the young and brilliant General Manager whose faith in data was as unwavering as a referee's call. Skylar, along with R.O.B., her one-line spewing sidekick, had a playbook worth of analytics designed to shape the Knicks’ future. But of course, R.O.B. only contributed, "Trust the process."
Their lunch was interrupted by Derek "Double D" Douglas, the star point guard whose gaze flickered between Alex and the exit in nervous oscillation.
"Mrs. Wexler... I mean, Ms.—"
"Alex is fine, Double D," she interjected with a charged smile. "What's the play?"
"Well, you see, I have this thing after the game, and I was wondering if—"
"No," Alex sliced, a glacial firmness to her words. "No side deals under my watch. You're here to play, not network your next failed investment."
Double D recoiled as if she’d crossed him over and faded back to the depths of the Garden.
The tension wafted away when Kyle, their rookie phenom with more energy than a solar farm, bounded up to the table. He was a blend of charm and youthful swagger, all star-struck eyes and unwieldy talent.
"Alex, catch you at the game?" he asked, the social media subtext clear as day.
"Count on it, Kyle. And go easy on the nightlife; our 6th Man can be a real ball hog," she cautioned with a wink.
With that, the lunch disbanded, Alex left in the wake of unspoken words and unfinished business. Checking her watch, she realized it was nearly time for the evening's game—an opening bout that carried more weight than the roster could imagine.
The game clock counted down, and as it did, a palpable unease settled like a fog over the court. Alex's courtside seat felt more like a throne of swords as the Knicks struggled to find their rhythm. By halftime, they were trailing.
Unflinching, Alex turned her icy gaze upon the action—or lack thereof—before her. Charlie's desperation for redemption seemed drowned out by personal echoes of creditor threats. Skylar, her eyes fixed on R.O.B., whispered fervent calculations of probability.
And then, just as the third quarter was about to commence, an unexpected visitor graced the VIP box. It was Arnold, arm-in-arm with a Silicon Valley siren half his age, his smirk stretching as wide as the press coverage that would follow.
The game played on, but the real show was off-court, a silent standoff between ex-spouses with scores to settle and reputations to reshape.
As Kyle launched a three-pointer at the buzzer, Alex felt the tension tighten—a narrative knot that was about to unravel spectacularly.
The ball soared, spinning a story yet to be told, and then, in a moment suspended between victory and vaudeville......the lights in the Garden flickered, plunging the arena into darkness. The fans' roars turned to murmurs of confusion and concern.
Full Court Pressed is a shot clock drama with a buzzer-beating twist, where the only thing guaranteed is high stakes, higher laughs, and the unshakeable belief that maybe, just maybe, the Knicks might have a chance—if they can just stop stepping out of bounds both on and off the court.
Want to read more? Check out Full Court Pressed in its entirety