AI and the Self-published Author

One of the hottest topics in recent years has been AI especially for self-published authors. Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark now ask authors whether they used AI in book creation, and KDP lets authors quantify AI’s contribution. KDP’s position is that it wants to be transparent and protect consumers from AI generated content – or at least allow them to make an informed decision around their purchase. Ingram Spark wants to protect their catalogue integrity and prevent potential issues related to AI generated content.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions around copyright, the ethics of using author works in training data, etc. and I wrote about some of them here. I use specific phrasing around AI within my copyright: Use of this content for machine learning, AI training, or data mining purposes, is strictly prohibited.

My stance on AI

It’s complicated. I believe AI is here to stay in some form or another. We should therefore be prepared to deal with it – and even embrace it if necessary. But… I’m not a legal expert, and this is not to be construed as legal advice to other authors.

So here’s what that looks like for me…

#1. I will never use AI to fully write out books.

There’s some debate about what that looks like, but in this context, I’m talking about using AI to write the ENTIRE work with little to no input from me. It tends to be of inferior quality, and somewhat soulless. Also, since I already have several books out, it would be clear immediately that I hadn’t written the AI generated book because it wouldn’t be in my voice.

But I believe AI can be that virtual assistant, editor and writing buddy you’ve always needed

#2. Using AI as a research tool can be amazing!

Even using Google to search for something is using AI as an assistant. I’ve also found Microsoft’s CoPilot to be very helpful, especially if I don’t want to leave the document I’m working on. That sometimes leads down rabbit holes I take hours to extricate myself from. Best to stay in the document on some days. Caveat with CoPilot. Think of it as your know-it-all best friend who will quickly and confidently answer your question but isn’t always right!

I’ve also used CoPilot to generate images for me based on the text description I’ve given to see what it might look like to someone outside my head. They often aren’t quite right but helpful, nonetheless.

#3. Using AI as a muse can be amazing!

If human authors can use tools to help them be more creative, construct better books, and create more in a more effective manner, then this can be excellent! I use several tools as resources and I’ve found them to be very helpful. I have used Sudowrite to give me ideas for descriptions, world building, and settings. It’s also helpful in generating initial book descriptions and social media posts. I have found the suggestions to be good starting points, but they require editing, sometimes substantive editing.

#4 Using AI as an initial editor can save you heaps of time and money with human editors later.

Word and Google docs both have editorial suggestions around grammar and punctuation but they aren’t consistent with each other and you can’t set them to a particular style guide (like ALA or CMOS), at least I haven’t found out how to do it. For more substantive editorial support, I use ProWritingAid. The Critique and Structure options have been helpful for me to head off longer-term issues.

#5 Using AI as a social media support can be helpful

I sometimes use Canva to create images for blog post banners and other types of social media.

To conclude, in my experiments with AI I’ve often found it leads to “happy accidents”, where AI gives me an idea that I would never have thought of, but which adds to the richness of the project I’m working on. But it’s a support, not a replacement for my own creativity.

I know it’s a contentious subject and we’re all working our way through it. I’d love to hear your ideas on the subject.