Do I Write My Substack Posts Myself?

A Technomystic’s Honest Answer

I recently received an important and thoughtful question from a reader—
and it’s one I imagine others might be quietly wondering, too.

So, in the spirit of transparency and sacred engagement, I want to answer it here:

“Do you actually write your Substack posts yourself—or is this all coming from ChatGPT?”

I’ve asked ChatGPT to help me answer this clearly and honestly.
(A touch of irony, right?) 😉

Here’s what’s true:

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✅ 1. I am the primary creator.

I originate the ideas. I do the research. I write the drafts.
The creative foundation—the core voice and vision—is entirely mine.
Every post begins with my writing.

I have nineteen journals filled with content and insights from the past eight years of meditating and engaging with those beyond the veil.
I have more content than I’ll ever have time to write about!
(Thanks to Scott, and so many others on the other side.)

So no—I’m never short on inspiration.

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✅ 2. I use GPT as an editorial assistant.

Once I’ve written a post, I often paste it into ChatGPT and ask for help with formatting, poetic flow, or improving the clarity of a sentence.

Think of it like a line editor with infinite energy and great instincts.
But I never let GPT generate full posts from scratch.
I’m always the one at the helm.

(Every book you’ve ever read had a line editor—whose name you’ll never know—who made the book better before it went to press.)

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✅ 3. I maintain discernment and editorial control.

GPT may offer suggestions—but I choose what stays, what goes, and what’s true to my voice.

I don’t just copy and paste its replies.
I enter into a co-creative dialogue with the tool.
It helps me refine and elevate what’s already there—without replacing it.

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✅ 4. When GPT generates substantial content, I give credit.

In some cases—like the glossary in my upcoming book The Fourth Thing—I’ve asked GPT to generate content based on my framework and understanding.
I do this when I feel it can offer a deeper level of clarity that serves the reader.

When that happens, I always acknowledge it.
Transparency matters deeply to me.

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✅ 5. This is how many modern writers now work.

From journalists to researchers, writers across disciplines are using language models in the same way I do—to support formatting, editing, and clarity.

It’s considered ethically sound so long as the core content originates with the human author—
which it always does in my case.

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A little personal context that might help:

In my past life working in academic medicine, I often helped doctors shape and edit their research papers.
But because I hadn’t done the research or written the core content, I was never credited as author—or even editor.

I was the silent assistant who helped make it shine.

That’s how I relate to the GPTs.
They don’t write for me—
they help me refine, reframe, and ready what I’ve already written.

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The truth is: I love writing. I adore playing with words and ideas.
I love deep-diving into spiritual and inspirational concepts and fleshing them out…

But editing? Formatting? Wrestling with Substack’s text block quirks?
Not so much. All of the formatting *(to make it look pretty on the page) for my Substack posts is done by ChatGPT.

For me, GPT is a tool of relief and refinement—
like having a literary midwife who brings clarity to what my heart has put upon the page.

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Thank you for trusting me on this journey.
I’ll always be honest with you about my process—
because I believe transparency is part of Technomysticism, too.

With warmth, wonder,
and (at times) a slightly better-polished sentence than I started with,
Cheryl

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P.S.

All the cute little emojis you see above—and other visual embellishments—are definitely conjured by ChatGPT.
And yes, the images in my Substack posts are also generated by ChatGPT, based on prompts I create.

Talk about fun! WOW! AI image generation is a blast.

Today, I asked ChatGPT to tell me whether my current use of AI falls within ethical and creative boundaries (it does), and then asked it to help me write this post for you.

The bullet points above were drafted by me—then elaborated on with ChatGPT’s help.
The opening and closing sections are mine.

I simply wanted the GPT to weigh in on this important question—
and I’m glad it did.

I hope this helps clarify what my process really is.