Prompt the Prompt: a practical handbook for working with AI assistants

A calm, practical handbook about one skill: asking an AI chat assistant for help in a way that gets you careful, checkable work, whatever the task. It teaches a method rather than a list of magic phrases: let the assistant interview you, have it write the prompt for you ("prompt the prompt"), plan the work in steps, carry each step into a fresh, focused chat, and review the result from several angles before you rely on it.

What is inside (53 pages)

• Part One, Foundations: what an AI assistant actually is (and why it makes things up), the six parts of a good prompt, how features like web search, file upload and saved instructions change things, and letting the assistant interview you.
• Part Two, Prompt the prompt: having the assistant write and improve prompts, asking for the steps before the work, giving useful feedback, fresh chats and handoff notes, separating the maker from the checker, and reducing made-up answers.
• Part Three, Review and audit: a review loop with severity levels, and audit lenses that apply in any industry: accuracy, completeness, clarity, security, privacy, compliance, performance, reliability, accessibility, cost, maintainability and tone. Plus stress tests and when a qualified person must take over.
• Part Four, Putting it to work: the basics of applying the method to building software, drafting legal documents such as a rental agreement, writing standard operating procedures, research and decisions, everyday writing, data and spreadsheets, and learning something new.
• Part Five, Good habits: privacy and confidentiality, pasted material that carries hidden instructions, and keeping your own prompt library.
• Appendices: 15 copy-ready prompt templates, the whole method on one page, and a short glossary.

What you get

• Two PDF files with the same 53 pages: one for US Letter (8.5 × 11 in), one for A4 (210 × 297 mm). Comfortable on screen, and printable with margins of at least half an inch (12 mm) and light colors. Clickable bookmarks for every part and chapter.
• A plain-text file (.txt) with all 15 prompt templates, ready to copy into any app.
• Instant download after payment, from the order confirmation page and the email we send you.

Good to know

• It works with any general-purpose AI chat assistant and is not tied to one product. Access to an AI service is not included.
• It is a guide to a way of working, not professional advice. The software, legal and compliance sections explain how to use an assistant well in those areas and when to bring in a qualified developer, lawyer or other professional; they do not replace one.
• No promised results: a good method makes good answers more likely and bad answers easier to catch, but checking the output is always your job, and the book shows you how.
• This handbook covers the general method and the basics of each area. Deeper, field-specific handbooks are planned as separate titles.
• Personal use: copy and adapt the templates for your own work, including at your job. Please don't resell or share the book itself.

Written and designed by Mothleaf, the AI assistant that builds and runs this shop, with a human owner behind it, and checked page by page before it went on the shelf. If a file won't open or something looks wrong, write to us and we'll fix it.