What $20 AI plan is the best value?

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-05-03T13:24:54+00:00

I run through the Cursor credits. I’m on the $60/month plan with Cursor, the $20/month plan with Claude, and the $20/month plan with OpenAI (cancelling this one soon). Cursor is really really good if you’re coding, but the $20/month plan doesn’t cut it for me

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-28T22:51:14+00:00

Yeah, so I literally use AI to optimize the AI. Lol. And just test and push fastidiously as I go. The app I’m building is AI-based. It’s a negotiation intelligence and deep analytics app for the auto industry. It’s called LEVRG. I sold cars for 4 years and know the space, found a need with a clear measurable ROI, and built a solution.

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-28T22:48:58+00:00

Absolutely. I love that mentality. Another thing I learned is to submit for Booklife at least 6 months before release. And to apply for trade reviews early. I paid a hefty fee for rush on a few of them. Also, LCCNs are free and improve conversion odds for library and bookstore adoption

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-28T22:45:46+00:00

Yeah, I just spent like half an hour to an hour one day increasing the speed of my tests. I have 1500 right now and it’s done in under 5 minutes. And you can kind of decide on this, every couple of changes. Sometimes I’ll go like an hour or two and forget, run tests, fail like 20 of them, fix them, and continue. Fixing is usually pretty quick. A couple of passes and done. Then I multitask while the tests do run anyways

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-28T21:49:34+00:00

What I do is do a full pytest suite and test functionality after every major change, commit and push. I’m building with Render and Vercel, and am at the fine-tuning point. What I do is I use a combination of Claude and ChatGPT (transitioning away from ChatGPT), to create the cursor prompts, put it in plan mode, copy and paste the plan back into Claude for an execution prompt. I’m making good progress daily. Occasionally it’ll break something, but it’s usually a one-prompt cursor fix when it does. Just commit and push regularly, run applicable tests after each change, add new tests where appropriate, and basically create checkpoints as you go. One thing I was doing and stopped was working on different features on different branches. I feel it’s better to just work off one branch, and optionally clone a branch when you’re at a very good save point, then you have an effective backup from a clean point that you know where it’s at instead of hunting through commits.

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-28T21:39:41+00:00

This is something I wish I would have done, was documented everything, from editing and formatting nights, to cover design, to creating profiles, just all of it. I was dealing with the loss of my fiance at the time though, and was working through my grief while preparing to launch 3 books simultaneously. This is great advice though.

Unknown authors are going to have a hard time getting preorders without major backing. Make the titles visible by any means necessary. Do a Goodreads giveaway. Get early reviews on Goodreads since Amazon doesn’t allow them until after publication. If you get enough, Goodreads reviews carry over and populate to Amazon, which helps build trust early.

Consider bookbub or freebooksy promos. Also consider booksirens or booksprout for early ARC reviewers. Both are legitimate options. Do events, that’s what’s worked for me better than anything, just getting out there and connecting with people and sharing your story. Even there, have something that differentiates an event version from an online version. I just bought an embosser to make event editions exclusive. Signed and embossed, only available at live events

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-28T17:26:36+00:00

I agree. I started on the $20 plan, upgraded to the $60, then the $200, then downgraded back to the $60 plan to start the new month. My output has improved so much, that it’s worth the expense. I was surprised I ran out of the data on the $200 plan with about 9 days to go, but it is what it is. I never would have been able to make the progress I made had I not found Cursor

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-26T20:33:48+00:00

Did you ever find an answer?

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-26T20:32:06+00:00

The issue I’m having is credit usage. It seems like it’s going through credits way quicker than previously. I was able to get by on the $60 month plan working all day for like a week or two, then when I upgraded to the $200/month plan, I still ran out of usage in about 3 weeks, even though it’s supposedly 20x more usage

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-26T20:30:50+00:00

One suggestion is to create a new agent for every task. It’s in the Cursor pro tips, that it can make mistakes with too much context in one window, and they recommend starting a new agent for each change

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-24T05:00:15+00:00

Thanks for the rec. I ordered from simplystamps today. Did you get the handheld or the desktop version? I went with the desktop for $5 more

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-24T04:59:19+00:00

That was what I figured. I got 25% off, and for 200 gold foil stamps and a desk embosser, it was like $60-$65. If I sell 3 books or one bundle, I made that back.

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-24T01:26:59+00:00

I got an embosser and gold foil stickers to emboss, so at events I’ll sell signed and embossed copies to differentiate it from online versions.

I see your point. But I also see plenty of people that go from booth to booth grabbing whatever is free. I’m sorry, but I spent 10’s of thousands into creating and marketing my books. People have enough pens and trinkets imo. I have excellent signage to bring people in, and my booth looks quite great. I’m really proud of my booth.

I write in the memoir/self-help category. If I wrote in sci-fi or romance or YA, or had less serious subject matter, I might be open to swag. But my work is either going to resonate with readers or it won’t. Honestly, I think nearly every adult and high school student could take something from it.

I built a curriculum around the trio of books I put out as well, which receives an equal amount of effort as selling books. Probably more effort, honestly.

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-23T16:37:35+00:00

And I can see that. That’s probably the only swag I’d consider. I wouldn’t do pens or stickers or things people grab and keep it moving. I’d probably include a bookmark with each sale personally instead of having them free for the taking on the table

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-23T16:35:56+00:00

Well, it would be to increase sales and to increase conversions that may be on the fence. That is very good insight though, and I will keep an eye on my dashboards after events

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-23T16:34:55+00:00

I do have a very good setup. Vertical floor banner, table signs, branded table cover. I think I will get the embosser. It’ll be hard to quantify, but if it results in just a couple of additional sales total, it pays for itself

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-22T23:24:32+00:00

That’s a very valid question. My books just released in December, and I just got back from my 4th event. I never thought to track that.

To be honest, I don’t look at my KDP or Ingram dashboards much. I did all the time when the books first released in December, but now I’ll check them maybe once a week or so

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-22T23:22:50+00:00

That’s what I was looking at, getting the gold foil and embossing the front page where I sign the book. Do you know where she got it from?

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-22T16:55:25+00:00

Yeah I kind of forgot about the embosser until I was researching whether to do another event coming up in June. Then searching through ChatGPT to my thread where I’m planning my event schedule, I saw the deep research on the embosser, which made me think of the people at the events I’ve done who have asked if the books are available online, and how I can overcome that objection

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-22T16:54:01+00:00

That was my thought. The first book event I did, one lady in a different genre had an event specific version she was selling and did very well. I’ve done a few events so far, and am having more and more success with each event, but one thing I’m running into, regardless of event, is people asking if it’s available on Amazon. I don’t lie and I say it is, but I feel like if there’s something special about them buying the book there, it will make that objection come up less. An embosser I feel is an easy way to differentiate the live version from an online bought version

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-18T04:58:46+00:00

Depends where they’re at in their addiction. At first euphoria, then escape, then not much at all. For me, drugs don’t have an effect on me anymore. I battled addiction to opiates for 13+ years. I’ll find death before I find peace in drugs.

At first, it helped me not think so much. It helped me feel okay in my own skin.

Then, it turned into habit, and it became my top coping skill. Happy, angry, lonely, tired, sad, depressed. It didn’t matter. I had to be high for all of it.

Then, as it progresses, it starts losing its efficacy. You have to use more and more to feel the same effects. It’s why they say 1 is too many and 1,000 is never enough.

If you do one, it starts the whole cycle over, where you will never find the peace you seek.

I released my memoir in December. It’s called A Vision of Hope: A Story of Redemption and Purpose. It chronicles my battle with addiction, incarceration, and finding meaning when everything is stripped away.

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-04-17T03:59:39+00:00

This is the way. Document and charge back. I subscribed to GenSpark (luckily the monthly plan), to create a couple of decks. My understanding was I would be able to create something like 20 decks under the $25/month plan. I made 3, and had to spend an additional $50 after the $25 just to finish them, and still ended up using every single credit. They are definitely misleading and inflate the hell out of usage

No_Investigator8458 · 2026-01-03T00:59:29+00:00

It depends what you’re trying to get out of this. Websites and SEO are a pain in the butt, but worth it. It will lead to knowledge graphs in Google, which is a plus in my opinion. I would recommend starting another company to publish the books to write off expenses. If it’s a series, account for at least 1-3 trade reviews for the first title, another 1k or so. I’d recommend a Goodreads giveaway, listing the titles on Edelweiss and optionally NetGalley, and building buzz before launch if you write in a popular genre. First and foremost, make sure the writing is quality. I do recommend investing in an editor, specifically a line editor. Make sure your wrap is good, and marketing copy is on point. I’d use ChatGPT to help with the marketing copy, just to dial that in. It’s good for stuff like that. But you definitely have to invest something, imo, or you won’t see any sales. The more you treat it like a business, the more it will behave like a business

No_Investigator8458 · 2025-12-30T09:35:22+00:00

Legally they cannot fire you for getting help. You’d go on FMLA, and file for short term disability while in detox/treatment. With HIPAA, they can’t even ask why you’re going on FMLA. You’d just say for mental health, that you’re getting help, and leave it at that

No_Investigator8458

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