shem banbury

They say that ‘every life is a story waiting to be told’ and earlier this year I decided it was time to share mine. The journey of writing someone’s biography is usually a deeply personal and reflective experience. Not for me – I was after something quick and easier so I decided to do it using the tool ChatGPT. Yes, I wrote my own biography using ChatGTP and it only took my 6 weeks.
In this blog post, I’ll take you through my process, from the initial spark of inspiration to the final publication of my life’s story.

The Spark of Inspiration
The idea to write my biography had been floating around in my mind for years, but I was daunted by the sheer magnitude of the task. Then along came ChatGPT which I had dabbled with in my job as a way of writing mundane emails and that perfect comment in a Thank You card. I felt it was time to see what this tool could do!

STEP ONE – SETTING UP ChatGTP
My first task was getting ChatGPT on board. So, I started a new thread and put in the prompt:
Hi – can you help me write my personal biography.
Its reply was immediate.
Of course! I’d be happy to assist you in writing your personal biography. To get started, could you please provide me with some information about yourself?
Perfect, I had my computer on board and the first step was done.

STEP TWO – CREATING A FRAMEWORK
I began by making a detailed list of the major events in my life. These milestones included my birth, to personal milestones, a mixture of significant career achievements and family moments. Armed with this list, I prompted ChatGPT with information about each event, providing context, emotions, and anecdotes.

My first prompt was this one

The result was impressive. ChatGPT transformed my average list of ideas into cohesive and engaging narratives. It was as if my life was unfolding before my eyes, and I was simply documenting the journey.

So, from here it was just a case of coping each of Chat GPT’s answers into a word document. With each answer my biography grew and grew. By the time I got to the end I had around 20,000 well-constructed words.

STEP THREE – FAMILY COLLABORATION
For the most important people in my life, my immediate family, I wanted their stories to be told authentically and also to be historically accurate. So, I asked each of them to write down their date of birth, important places they had visited, and significant events in their lives. With their input, ChatGPT generated narratives that were heartfelt and genuine, adding a layer of authenticity to my biography.

STEP FOUR – PERSONAL TOUCHES
For humorous anecdotes and heartwarming memories, I prompted ChatGPT with specific details, and it responded with text that captured the essence of those moments. Sometimes I had to ask ChatGPT to tone things down a little or expand on ideas. I am particularly proud of my opening chapter which my wife asked me to tone down and my mother replied with – Oh you can’t write that!

My next stage was to weave these into the stories and years within my document.

STEP FIVE – ADDING PHOTOS
With ChatGPT’s assistance, I had amassed a wealth of text, approximately 60,000 words, detailing my life’s journey. Organizing this into coherent chapters was my next step. I carefully arranged the text to create a narrative flow, allowing readers to embark on my journey chronologically.

To enhance the reading, I decided to include images that corresponded with different phases of my life. These visual aids added depth and context to the text, making my biography a multi-sensory experience.

STEP SIX – PRINTING MY BOOK
After searching the internet, I settled on working with the Copy Press team in Nelson. It proved to be a smooth and hassle-free experience. Their valuable input and suggestions helped fine-tune my text to ensure it was ready for print.

My daughter, Milli, helped by creating the front cover using Canva. Copy Press was able to take the design and optimize it for printing.

Cost is always a thought and something I was concerned about. It cost me about $320 for the printing of the first 2 books. This includes the printer set up and making sure everything is in order. These two books also serve as final proof before the final copies are produced. Any further book comes in at about $30, although if I get more done the price comes down.

Overall, your journey from starting to a printed book took around 6 weeks. Working out the time I put into this is difficult, but I think I probably did 3-4 hours a week.