AI is a tool for authors, not a threat

Authors are telling me worries about the AI revolution are affecting their mental health. I’m not surprised with all the talk about plagiarism and the ‘end of creativity’. This hasn’t been helped by recent AI guidance from The Society of Authors (SoA), which focuses mainly on the negatives of AI for authors, with hardly any mention of the benefits. This is all creating an atmosphere where authors fear backlash in the community for admitting even an inkling of curiosity about AI.

But AI isn’t going away. As Joanna Penn said in her recent podcast episode, The AI-Assisted Artisan Author, “we need to move forward into curiosity and adaptation, as generative AI is not going back in the box.” I’m one of those AI-curious authors. I’ve always preferred to look past the angry noise and embrace opportunities during times like this, as many authors did when the Kindle revolution happened. Here’s how I do that.

Rather than fear AI will drain creativity from book-writing… I focus on how AI tools could make authors more creative. 

Authors who experiment with AI are finding they’re freeing up more time to do what they love: Write. For example, using ChatGPT as part of research can drastically reduce that initial research phase. Yes, there’s no guarantee facts are accurate, but this is the same with a Google search. Authors should always try to verify information with experts. 

Then there are AI editing tools like ProWritingAid which can save authors’ time by quickly weeding out not only spelling and grammatical errors, but also clumsy sentence structures. Image generation tools like Midjourney have helped me turn imagined characters into visual reality for my mood boards, adding more depth and richness to my character descriptions. 

This is just the tip of the AI iceberg in terms of tools that can help free up more time for creativity. 

I prefer not to waste time worrying about a literary apocalypse when I could be exploring how these new tools can help me survive in a market that was challenging way before AI arrived. 

Rather than worry publishers will replace authors with AI… I have more faith in publishers and think they will use AI tools to help their authors.

We’re all aware that publishing staff are being stretched too thin, and the subsequent impact on authors. This feels like a much more pressing issue then the negative ‘what ifs’ of AI. In fact, what if AI could hold the key to addressing these problems? 

The truth is, publishers have been using AI for a while to as part of their data analysis, editing processes and more. And now many are seeking even more new ways to use AI. I was really pleased to hear Bonnier Books UK and Pan Macmillan are setting up internal working groups to explore how AI can help make workflows more efficient, while also keeping an eye on the potential negatives. It’s this balance of caution and curiosity from publishers that gives me hope publishers will use AI to help authors. 

Rather than focus on accusations that AI tools plagiarise books… I’m exploring how AI tools can aid the fight against book piracy. 

When AI is brought up in author communities, the plagiarism accusation is often thrown about. But until I see proof that whole sentences written by others are regularly being passed off as original by popular AI tools, the plagiarism accusation feels wrong to me. 

Copyright is a less clearcut. While the teams behind tools like ChatGPT insist they only use writing samples to train models in language patterns, not to copy work, they are still learning from copyrighted work without citation. So this can be a grey area. 

But one area that isn’t grey is how AI tools are revolutionising the way duplicated content is detected, strengthening the fight against book piracy. Take Harvel for example, which not only detects pirated work but also initiates automated takedowns for authors and publishers. 

Rather than worry AI bots will strip the book industry of its humanity… I’m much more confident human authenticity will win.

The abundance of low-quality content on Amazon is nothing new. Sure, AI will introduce even more waves into the ‘tsunami of crap’. But as was the case when people bemoaned the advent of indie publishing, the authentic talent (whether that be sheer writing talent or a canny understanding of what sells) will dominate, regardless of who wrote it, how they wrote it and how it was published. 

In fact, I’m optimistic that the more AI-produced novels there are out there, the more likely human work will stand out, like gemstones among pebbles. 

Maybe you’re reading this thinking it sounds like I’m burying my head in the sand. Maybe you’re even angry. But I’m not naïve and I’m not here to rile you up. I just prefer not to waste time worrying about a literary apocalypse when I could be exploring how these new tools can help me survive in a market that was challenging way before AI arrived.

I believe if authors want to thrive, we must take a more curious approach to AI. But more importantly, we need to make sure we don’t get so bogged down in fear and negativity, we forget to do what we human authors do best: Write bloody good books.