Ghostreader Tips & Tricks

Ghostreader is a powerful AI assistant that can enhance your reading experience in Reader. If you've got the basics down and are looking for more ways to customize your prompts, here are some clever ways to get even more value from your documents.

Automatically tag your Ghostreader responses

Do you find yourself repeatedly adding the same highlight tags after running certain Ghostreader prompts? Maybe you always use the vocab tag after running the Define word prompt, or you like to run the Encyclopedia lookup prompt and then tag it with trivia.

To do this automatically instead, you can add an action tag to your prompt. Action tags are applied by adding a . in front of the name of the tag.

Here's an example of how you might add the trivia tag to your Encyclopedia lookup prompt:

Please write a brief encyclopedia entry for "{{ selection }}". For context, I encountered this term in the following sentence: {{ selection.sentence }}

Here's an example of the length and tone to use for your brief encyclopedia entry:
===
.trivia
Unix philosophy: The philosophy that small, modular programs, which can be easily combined to perform complex tasks, are more effective and easier to maintain than large, monolithic programs.
===

IMPORTANT: Use the same formatting for the response as seen in the example. ALWAYS begin with ".trivia"

The tag won't render in Reader, but it will be applied when the highlight syncs to Readwise.

Use ChatGPT to reverse-engineer a summary tone or style

Are your Ghostreader document summaries putting you to sleep with their dry, matter-of-fact tone?

If you want to try crafting a prompt that has more panache, a fun tip is to reverse-engineer the writing style of a document you enjoy. Toss a few writing examples into an AI chat tool (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) and ask it to describe the style and tone of the provided examples. After it answers, ask something like this:

If you were going to tell someone to summarize a document in the same tone as the examples above, how would you describe the style in an instructional manner so they could capture the right essence?

Then you can use the verbiage it provides to write a more detailed prompt for Ghostreader. You can also provide a couple of examples of summaries you like right in the prompt, so it has more to guide it.

Here's an example of a summary prompt inspired by the offbeat humor and angst of Archive of Our Own fanfiction summaries:

On a new line, in 1-3 concise sentences, summarize the story in the style of a fanfiction summary. Aim for a playful, honest, and self-aware tone, as if talking to a fellow fan. Instead of a strict plot outline, focus on enticing elements like relationships, conflicts, and unique quirks, hinting at major themes or twists without giving too much away. Use fandom-inspired tags to highlight key dynamics or tropes readers might be looking for—think “Enemies to Lovers,” “Found Family,” or “Angst with a Happy Ending”. Emphasize emotion, humor, or drama, leaning into hyperbole where fitting without verging into melodrama or "cringe".

This particular prompt gets a bit weird with listicles like this Verge article.

Meet a quirky crew of sub-$50 sidekicks, from electric screwdrivers to 9V battery hacks. They’ll help you feel like the ultimate gadget savior, complete with #DIYAllies and #BudgetBliss. Just wait for the surprise cameo from an eyeglasses necklace—drama included.

If you want to limit your extra-fun summary to specific documents, like EPUBs or docs with a read time longer than 20 minutes, try adding some if-else logic to your prompt!