Recently, I asked ChatGPT to help me 10 X my writing life. First to do this exercise, I had to understand more about what it meant to 10X anything. I found taking a goal setting and journaling course that helped me the most with understanding the concept.
The original idea of 10X your goals however, comes from Grant Cordone’s book of the same name, The 10X Rule.
My version explained as simply as I can, says that just a goal is mundane, ordinary with regular effort but attainable at some point, BUT IF you wanted to get closer to any goal you have, thus closer = realizing the goal sooner, you will need to come up with the ways, not one or two or five, but TEN TIMES the number of tasks and actions that will lead you to realizing that goal sooner, (maybe happier with accomplishing it so much more quickly) than if you hadn’t 10X your goal.
In some respects, at least to me, it sounds exhausting and difficult. What you do now toward your goals, seems doable, step by step. I tried to really zero in on what this meant and for me, it’s the STRATEGIC part of the 10X that’s the difference. For instance, people can cut back to lose weight, start an exercise regiment, but to 10X it, you do all of those “regular” goals but you might add, getting a trainer, meeting with a nutritionist, doing a body scan and eating for your blood type or metabolism. Now you’re doing more 10x-ing it and so you realize your goal faster.
So, ask CHAT, to help come up with the actions to take. There are a number of ways I use chat as a writer with multiple publishing, speaking, writing projects but by far the biggest way I’d say Chat has helped me is to develop all the possible tasks when I supply it with the goals I want to achieve. This cuts down on thinking time, and it can come up with so much that I can then pick and choose what is most in line with my style, personality and ability to put (or not) on my list.
Some things Chat suggests just aren’t for me. But I don’t immediately redact them, they remain for another time/place and another version of Tracee that could (in the distant future) get on board with its suggestions. These are, at the end of the day, suggestions. Take it or leave it and do what’s right for you, right now.
First my goal put simply: “get a book deal at a specific publishing house and how to 10X myself to that goal.”
I should add that I did offer some parameters. I listed a specific house and I also put in a chapter one from an old book and a new book for it to compare and contrast how my writing changed.
One thing I feel people need to learn about Ai, is your first prompt isn’t the end all be all. You keep refining prompts and as you put each one, its suggestions get better and better with each output.
Even though I’m not after a traditional book deal right now, if you’re planning ahead, there’re things you may want to start doing to make yourself more attractive. I have my own list for what I call: “Pursuing the Deal Conditions” and some of those conditions are not in place at this moment. But change doesn’t happen overnight so it’s important to be thinking about the ways and means to a deal if that’s what you’re after. It won’t be immediate and you’ll need to think about your overarching career to move you in that direction.
Side Note: I understand why it might be hard to believe someone doesn’t want something that everyone (every writer) seems to covet, society has a hard time with not right now thinking, and that’s okay. But so many reasons exist, that I’ll save for another blog post.
So, with my prompt, I also gave permission for Chat to be honest and hold no bars. I may regret that but, as you read what it had to share with me, hopefully you might find some things to add to a 10X writing list of your own.
One last thing, I did share one chapter of my seek book deal chapter and a chapter that was rather old writing of mine, and I asked Chat for a brutal comparison.
If you see any things you might use, be sure to let me know in the comments. I’ve also included three prompts you can use in your own Ai.
ALL ABOUT CRAFT – This first set of suggestions is all about commnts on the CRAFT of writing and ways to improve it for an Agent/Editor
1. 10X Isn’t More Words — It’s Fewer
Ruthless cutting and tightening
This means:
- “acquisition-ready” wasn’t creativity. It was restraint.
- Fewer filler phrases
Fewer emotional explanations
Fewer stacked metaphors
2. Dialogue Carries Tension
- When characters interrupt, tease, deflect, and react — the page breathes
- When they monologue — the page stalls
- One of the clearest growth markers in my newer writing was stronger dialogue rhythm. That alone elevated the material
3. Exposition Is a Momentum Killer
- Even interesting backstory slows a scene when dropped mid-moment
- It doesn’t matter how clever the detail is
- If exposition interrupts momentum, it makes the chapter seem longer than it needs to be
4. Emotional Restraint Is Power
- Explaining emotions weakens them
- Trust the reader
- One small gesture can replace three paragraphs of internal processing
- Subtext is stronger than overstatement
ALL ABOUT CAREER/DEAL READINESS – These next ones are about being career ready and improvements to make to get my targeted agents/editors to have a favorable view about me (caveat: when I’m ready).
In this second part about career and positioning, I picked out the top three things I agreed with. It did give me a total of 7 things but some of them overlapped a tad with what’s already below.
Here’s what it said:
1. Output – Currently I’m releasing a book up to 18 months apart. What do agents/editor want to see if you are indie published?
Chat even said, not vague, but concrete numbers, and math, which I loathe.
- How many words per week am I writing now?
- What would 10X consistency look like?
- Am I drafting daily, or waiting for space? (good question, especially for pantsers by the way)
- What is my weekly submission or visibility goal? (The stuff has to be ready if it’s going to land, it needs to be systematic, not splotchy or haphazard -e.g. have a submission plan)
It gave me some possible things to strive for:
- 2 submissions per year → 20 submissions.
- 1 industry connection per month → 3 per week.
- 1 essay per quarter → 1 per week (With this particular bullet, you have to ask yourself is the novel writing the only way or are you looking for ways to expand your contributions/submission numbers, that might be article writing, growing several thousand blog views -which means blogging consistently- or submitting to the short story market, entering more published author contests, etc.? These are all ways to increase writing period but also to build your following and exposure).
2. Visibility: Am I Discoverable at 10X Scale?
Your indie books need more visibility and with that may come more sales.
- How many agents know my name right now?
- How many editors have seen my work?
- How many gatekeepers can vouch for me?
- How often do I publish publicly?
This one is so hard for me as it seems to go back at building relationships, which could be a bullet by itself. I hated networking, I hate putting myself out there. I’m a loaner and to myself often. I’m friendly but I don’t go out and just win friends and influence others daily. I do win them easily when I go out. So do give yourself some credit if you’ve got the instant likability. Exposure can also be a problem in such a profession that finds you often alone in your writing cave talking to your imaginary friends (who don’t have any warm leads either, unfortunately). LOL
What would 10X visibility look like?
- 10X more bylines?
- 10X more podcast appearances? (I actually do a lot of these, they don’t really have a direct correlation to sales or long-term relationships)
- 10X more speaking rooms?
3. Network: Who Is Already in the Room I Want?
This one is similar to the last with some difference and may be better suited as calling it “Access.”
- What conferences produce deals?
- What literary events am I not attending?
- Who has the agent I want?
- Who can introduce me?
10X thinking says:
Don’t ask “How do I break in?”
Ask “Who’s already inside?”
4. Craft: Is My Work Undeniable?
Some hard truths but necessary.
- Is this manuscript agent-ready or emotionally-ready?
- Have I invested in top-tier editing?
- Have I workshopped it outside my comfort zone?
- Would I sign me?
A book deal is rarely about effort. It’s about excellence + timing.
I will say that one of the final things Chat talked about was my energy availability as it relates to not only doing all it suggests and truly relates directly back to my why or why not in pursuing a deal at this time. Chat knows things I have shared not just with it, but publicly as a person with a disability with only so much physical bandwidth. This was good. I liked it, and it could seem like a cop out to some, or a crutch, but you must be real and honest about what you have the bandwidth for in relation to all of your other obligations. You also have to say well if this is what I want, what should be sacrificed?
I love meeting people. Every agent I’ve pitched to, they have genuinely (it seemed, let’s be honest, you never really know) but they seemed to like me, the story I’d pitched, and asked me to send something. One important takeaway for me in all of this, is to ensure an opportunity to always pitch in person or on zoom as a result of conference where my personality has the opportunity to shine through. If don’t do well face to face, then query tracker, submittable and other electronic means to reach out MAY be the way to go.
In those pitches, most of those missed follow up opportunities, is my fault. If you’re serious NEVER do this as word does get around. The literary community at the end of the day is very small.
As you apply this to your own goals, remember that Chat is subjective. It’s using what’s already out there, combing books, blogs and both personal, and professional accounts of those who’ve been successful and wrote about it, as well as those who have not. It’s references are all over the place, with book looks, submission guidelines, agent/editor/publishing news, blogger types and author types that have “made it.” With that data, it makes little room to account for the Divine intervention and favor you may believe in to get you to the right people and in the circles and open doors. I know firsthand, a contest, my effort and I’ve always talked about how my writing (back then during the one and only writing contest I had ever entered) changed so much for me when I ultimately won the grand prize. That writing back then likely won’t get me a deal now. If you don’t change and evolve and believe in yourself Chat can’t do anything about any of that.
These are helpful things to think about as you continue to pursue your goals. Chat is fun, it’s educational but it’s not definitive or all knowing. You can do everything it said and still not reach your goal. Look at it more like a kind and honest friend to offer some things for you to think about and if you agree, to work on changing.
What ways do YOU need to 10X your writing to get to the goals you have, whatever they may be?
Here are three prompts you can use right now to help you 10X you goals in your own writing life. Put them in ChatGPT, Maude.ai, and so many other Ai tools at your disposal.
Prompt 1: Brutal Line-Level Tightening
Act as a Big Five acquiring editor evaluating this chapter for commercial fiction. Identify where the prose is overwritten, where sentences can be tightened, and where exposition slows momentum. Be specific and suggest cleaner alternatives. Do not soften the critique.
Prompt 2: Pacing & Market Readiness Check
Evaluate this chapter for pacing and market readiness. Where does momentum stall? Where is backstory interrupting forward motion? If this were competing for a traditional publishing deal, what would likely be cut or restructured?
Prompt 3: Career Milestones to a Book Deal
What are the top three ways I can get to a book deal in the next 18 months when you zero in on craft, platform, visibility, networking and submission strategy?
