Edit [ed-it]
verb.
: to supervise or direct the preparation of (a newspaper, magazine, book, etc.); serve as editor of; direct the editorial policies of.
: to collect, prepare, and arrange (materials) for publication
: to revise or correct, as a manuscript.
Quick Recap:
Stay in touch w/ Friends
We are building a simple v0.1 of BetterFriend app by using Chatbot to remind people their loved one’s birthday with AI.
How many rewriting is enough?
“60 times.” David Sedaris, New York Times Bestsellers, said in his masterclass.com.
Not editing. Rewriting.
I didn’t do 60 times, but I did at least 2-3 times of rewriting and at least 5-7 times of editing at this point for almost each of the article. Some more than the others like the Day 0. Unfortunately since I’m writing every day, building software, learning how to code, keeping up with new tools, I can’t afford to take his advice. But I’m certainly not spending any less time working on my craft - our goals are simply different.
I am amazed and shocked by the incredible commitments that writers have. It reminds me of the first time I’ve heard about Kobe Bryant starting his first training at 4:00 am and finishing his 4th training by 9 pm.
There are too many people that have forgotten about the meaning of hard work. Greatness is not born, they are earned. No short cuts. No cutting corners. Just day after day, week after week, year after year obsession to be better at what we do.
I’m ready for the work. In writing, in code and in business.
Now I never thought I’d say this but I’m starting to realize that “great writing” might be harder than “great coding”. There are some techniques, but it’s far from black and white. Art is harder to learn than science. Even for AI.
In particular, I’m stuck on how to condense what I’m writing to an one line message for social media / Linkedin / X / Instagram to share with people.
There are some best practices that help:
I help “target audience” who has “x” paint point through “y” service / method to achieve “z” outcome
The key here is to not be too generic and not to be too narrowly focused. Easy to say, hard to nail down. Some of my early examples:
I guide people to find freedom & purpose with AI - too generic
I teach people to find freedom & purpose with AI - too generic
I found freedom & purpose with AI. Building AI Publicly. - a bit more honed in
Learn AI with me to find freedom & purpose. - a bit more specific
Learn AI to Find Freedom & Purpose - more concise
Learn AI to achieve Freedom & Purpose - more aspirational
Learn AI to gain Freedom & Purpose - more value driven
Learn AI to reach Freedom & Purpose - boring
Then I ran out of words so I had to go find synonyms with Claude AI:
Here are some alternatives for "gain" in this context:
Achieve - "Master AI to achieve Freedom & Purpose"
Attain - "Master AI to attain Freedom & Purpose"
Unlock - "Master AI to unlock Freedom & Purpose"
Secure - "Master AI to secure Freedom & Purpose"
Realize - "Master AI to realize Freedom & Purpose"
Create - "Master AI to create Freedom & Purpose"
Build - "Master AI to build Freedom & Purpose"
Find - "Master AI to find Freedom & Purpose"
Discover - "Master AI to discover Freedom & Purpose"
My top picks for this phrase would be:
"Unlock" - suggests these qualities were always possible but needed the right key
"Achieve" - classic and powerful, implies intentional accomplishment
"Create" - suggests you're actively building these outcomes for yourself
With a little bit of cringe, ultimately I took "Achieve" even though it sounds cliché. But what can I do? And my new Linkedin headline became this:
Top Voice | Use AI to achieve Freedom & Purpose | Subscribe to Odd Founders Substack | Building Publicly
Audience Perspective
I even changed the title of this Substack at least 10 times.
Odd Founders: AI Solopreneur & Creators - too long and too specific
Odd: Unfiltered AI Stories - too generic
Odd Founders: AI-Powered Solopreneurs - too many jargons
Odd Founders: Unfiltered AI Stories - long and doesn’t say the content
Initially I landed here.
Odd Founders: AI ‘Vibe Coding’ Stories
I was inspired by an AI workshop that I taught this week. A friend invited me to teach people how to get started on Vibe Coding here in Bali, and to my surprise, the entire room filled up with about 20+ people. “Vibe Coding” clearly has gotten a lot more recognition since a few months ago and it’s not going away now.
Then I asked ChatGPT 4o to really be honest:
”thoughts on this title for newsletter / substack. Be harsh and give me scenarios of how different age groups, professions and level of education would think about it:
Odd Founders: AI ‘Vibe Coding’ Stories
Make this into a chart.
This is the part where we can’t fully trust AI. They don’t have taste. They are always going to please us with answers that are positive.
Take their advice with a grain of salt.
Ultimately with some improvements and using AI as a wordsmith, I landed here:
“Odd Founders: AI Experiments Vibe Coded”
I asked it to focus on memorability. The key to using AI for perspectives is focus.
It’s our job to break it down to what’s the most important. For me it was originality and memorability that could potentially appeal to Gen Z / Millennial demographics.
Decide and GO
Ultimately, we have to make a decision and move forward. I’ve been waiting and postponing the release of this Substack across my social channels because I wanted time to edit. To nail down these descriptions & titles without pressure of an a larger audience.
But there is a point, where we have to say we’ve done enough, so we get out of the loop.
Today is the day.
See ya tomorrow!
(⚡️BetterFriend Project Day 8 - 38)