You already use AI.

But sometimes you ask for something simple and get an answer that's generic, too long, badly formatted, completely wrong for your situation-or confidently wrong.

So you try again.

And again.

You don't necessarily need a better prompt. You may need a better brief.

Stop Prompting Like It's 2023 shows you how to give AI a clear job, supply the context it can't guess, set the constraints that matter, diagnose bad answers, and verify what needs checking.

Less prompt wrestling. More useful work.

This book is for you if…

You use ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for actual work and you've ever thought:

Why does the answer sound good but still feel completely wrong?
Why do I have to keep rewriting the same prompt?
Why does it keep giving me generic advice?
Why does it assume an American context when I'm not in America?
How do I get it to use the document or information I've actually given it?
How do I know when an AI answer needs verification?

If any of those sound familiar, this book was written for you.

STOP ASKING. START BRIEFING.

The internet is full of prompt lists and “magic” formulas.

This book takes a different approach.

You will learn how to think about an AI request as a brief:

What needs to be done?
What does the AI need to know?
What constraints matter?
What should the result look like?
What should happen if the first answer isn't right?
The goal isn't to write the longest prompt.
It's to give the AI the information and direction that actually matter.

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN

Understand modern AI

What these tools actually are, what they can do, and where their limitations matter.

Write better briefs

Turn vague requests into clear instructions without relying on complicated prompt formulas.

Give AI what it can't guess

Learn why relevant context, documents, examples and constraints can matter more than clever wording.

Separate useful techniques from prompt folklore

Learn which approaches are worth using—and which ones have survived mainly because people keep repeating them.

Work with AI beyond simple text

Use documents, images, voice and newer AI capabilities more deliberately.

Diagnose bad answers

When an output is wrong, generic, too formal, too long or simply off-target, learn to identify why before trying to fix it.

Verify what matters

Know which kinds of information deserve particular scrutiny and why asking the AI again isn't the same as checking the answer.

WRITTEN FROM A NIGERIAN REALITY

Most AI advice quietly assumes a user with unlimited data, reliable power and a context that looks like the author's.

This book doesn't.

The examples take Nigerian realities seriously:

Nigerian business English.

Naira.

Local institutions.

Local audiences.

Local constraints.

But the underlying lesson travels:

AI cannot reliably account for a situation you haven't given it.

Whether you're working in Lagos, London, Nairobi or New York, the principle is the same:

Give the AI the context it needs to do the job.

INSIDE THE BOOK

01 - What These Tools Actually Are

Understand the modern AI tools you're working with.

02 - How AI Works, Simply

Enough technical understanding to use AI intelligently without becoming an AI engineer.

03 - The Anatomy of a Great Prompt

Stop asking questions. Start writing briefs.

04 - Feeding It What It Can't Guess

Context, documents, examples and constraints.

05 - Strategies That Work (and Ones That Don't)

Separate useful techniques from outdated prompt folklore.

06 - Prompts for Writing, Learning and Work

Put the principles into practice.

07 - Beyond Text

Images, documents, voice and newer AI capabilities.

08 - When It Goes Wrong

Diagnose failures instead of blindly re-prompting.

09 - Verification, Ethics, and Staying Current

Know when to check, what to check, and how to stay current as the tools change.

YOU ALSO GET

The complete book

144 pages across nine practical chapters.

12 practical prompt templates

Including:

Draft
Angle Finder
Surgical Rewrite
Diagnose
Actions Out
Compare Sources
Teach Me
Examine Me
Plan With Failure Modes
Decide
Red Team
Find Problems

These aren't presented as magic formulas. They're starting points you can adapt to your own work.

Practical exercises

Test the techniques rather than simply reading about them.

Verification checklist

A practical reference for checking important AI-generated information.

Glossary

Plain-language explanations of key terms.

PDF + EPUB (For most e-book reading Apps)

Choose the format that works best for you.

LIFETIME FREE UPDATES

AI changes quickly.

When the book needs updating, you won't have to buy it again.

Updates will be made available to you through Selar at no additional cost.

ABOUT HUMPHREY A.P.

Humphrey A.P. writes in two directions at once.

There's the fiction: The Confluence, a thriller, and The Arokin's Gift, a collection of African children's stories.

Then there's the practical work on AI and computing, most recently Stop Prompting Like It's 2023.

The prompting book came out of a habit of explaining technical things to people who arrived with no intention of learning anything technical — plus irritation.

Nearly every guide he'd read assumed cheap data and steady power. His don't hold, so the book treats a wasted attempt as something that costs airtime and battery rather than just patience.

Humphrey A.P. is Nigerian and writes under a pen name.

humphreyap.com

STOP WASTING ATTEMPTS.

GET BETTER AI ANSWERS IN FEWER ATTEMPTS.

Stop Prompting Like It's 2023

A practical guide to prompt engineering for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.

PDF + EPUB · Lifetime free updates