Writing is the fun part of this game—of being an author!! I wouldn't give that up for all the money in the world, and I sure as hell wouldn't give my voice or name over to AI. It's abhorrent.
"Was I ever reading their work? Now I’m editing a machine. I don’t want to be editing a machine. What am I doing?" Exactly! Although, I have to admit I play bridge against a robot and think that is fun. For writing or anything I believe came from a human it boils down to honesty. Where is the honesty of putting your name on writing when it was generated by a computer? Okay, yes, you gave the computer commands. Not the same, I say. I want to appreciate the creativity of YOU, not a machine.
Terri, this is so true! I heard Ann Patchett say once that she can't read other writers while she's writing, because they all sound terrible. I'm not sure why that is, other than perhaps she just has such confidence in her voice, honed over so many years, that any deviation sounds wrong. I do know that if I moved to London, I'd have a British accent in two weeks! That's why I hate reading anything AI generated, and why I will never let it mess with my voice. It would infect and distort my voice if I let it in.
Love that you keep beating this drum, Brooke. I have never, and will never, allow AI to even EDIT a sentence for me, let alone write one. I either figure it out on my own, or go home. No place in the writers' world for me otherwise. I will freely admit to using AI for research. The novel I am writing now has a significant amount of military material, from specific uniform and medal information, to weapons systems. (I now know the range, weight, cargo capacity and the size and type of runway needed for a C130, for instance.) This saves me time that I can better use for writing, polishing, rewriting. But I have told the AI I use (ChatGPT) that I do not want writing assistance, and have asked it not to offer that help, which has worked, mostly. The other day, it said, "I know you don't want writing assistance, but if you do, I am happy ..." etc. Poor old Chat wants to be a writer, too. :)
Thanks for sharing this, Kathy. I have Claude. I use it to ask questions like I would ask Google, and a lot of times I end up fact-checking Claude because I don't trust it. So sometimes I wonder why I have it. It is a bizarre thing to interact with. I can see why people delight in it, too. But who knows where we'll be with it in five years. The future is opaque and scary...
True. You have to fact-check all the AIs. I've noticed recently that I'll get an answer, and I'll send back conflicting info and ask for a clarification, and Chat will say, "You are right. On further examination ..." But I suppose inaccurate information was more prevalent when I used just a search engine, and less robust. I just heard an interesting snippet of an interview with the woman president of Dartmouth, who is collaborating with Anthropic to create Dartmouth-specific LLMs around mental health for students. Interesting, and scary. You might find it interesting. I don't have a link. Was just listening in my car.
Great article. Honestly, I find it shocking how many "authors" are using AI. Writing is the good part. It is the reason to do it in the first place. It's all about process not some outcome, and to the extent it is about an outcome, that outcome is the thing you gain through the creative process (including the emotional aspects). I've worked on the craft of writing 7 days a week for decades. It's how you create your style, voice, etc. I believe so firmly no one else could ever tell my stories the way I do, and that the same is true for every other creative in the world, because they come through our human filter which is as original as a fingerprint. I'm so proud of my work and wouldn't trade that for anything. I know I'm preaching to the choir! Just a vent.
Great piece Brooke. Thanks for tackling this. When writing my first novel (an SWP book), I went through scores of drafts (and a developmental edit) to hone what I wanted to convey. I've written numerous travel guides but fiction was another animal. Now working on my second story in the series, my "novel" voice is much easier to access. A friend who is an acclaimed novelist coached me through the process -- he said keep writing until you figure it out. I'm glad I did. There is nothing better than those Ah Ha moments when you come up with a good plot point. That said, I do use AI minimally for marketing copy ideas and some instructions (but even those can go awry -- told me to use BookSirens for my audio promotion and BookSirens doesn't cover audio).
I do see people using AI as a tool to good outcomes so I'm not trying to mount a coup against AI, which is of course pointless. But I really really want it out of people's creative process, or at the bare minimum that bright line: out of people's writing. Thanks for this share!
Yes, totally agree that all AI should be out of our writing (and that includes those "editing" programs, templates, etc.). Won't go near any of that stuff. I don't want AI in the graphic process either -- like collaborating with an actual designer. I have found AI helpful for marketing copy (i.e. ideas for the subject line) and use it when I'm trying to figure out how to do stuff (it was useful in reprogramming an internet modem, of all things). But that's it.
As an author in a time that feels unhinged with respect to AI, it is comforting to have a publisher come out so strongly, unequivocally, and publicly against AI as a stand-in for writing or editing.
I don't really understand what there is to respect given how AI exists—having been trained on stolen writing. It's fundamentally upsetting. I'm just trying to make peace with it, and doing so unsuccessfully.
One use you didn't mention that I have some understanding for is ESL writers. I'm working with one now, and we came up with a process: they write a first draft in their native language; they get an AI translation, they rewrite in English, then they send to me to edit. It's complex but it does feel ethical as long as their rewrite is thorough (which it has been).
Interesting. I haven't worked with someone in this capacity yet. So the idea being that they don't want someone to just translate their work? Is it a cost reason?
Not cost. They want to write in English rather than have book that was perhaps published elsewhere and available only in a translation that would likely lack their voice. Ironically, the AI-assist can help with that.
Back in August 2024 I wrote a tiny (but mighty) 38-page book just to see if I could write a book. This tiny book sold well. And I am grateful, as it was in my own voice and before the AI world exploded.
Luckily for me I am not a professional writer, unless you make me take your memoir class!! Then who knows what you will unleash!😜
With 4-5 million books being published annually it’s extremely challenging for a book to stand out, to be noticed, to be read and to get more sales. Visibility is the new game in town. And I understand that it is critical for every author.
We even created an AI tool, we now use along with other tools, including relationships in the media, with booksellers, and of course relationships with hotels to compound the visibility of an author and her book.
For me, I believe that AI has a place in publishing. It’s in book marketing as a tool to help authors amplify their original voice.
Yes, I definitely know a lot of people are using AI in these capacities and clearly it's helping, or helpful. My authors are using AI as a tool in lots of capacities, and in our own policy for SWP we say we're fine with that. Just trying trying trying to hold the line of original writing. I know undoubtedly that we have published AI writing. There's just no way around not doing it with the way things are these days. Anyway...yes, take my memoir class. 🥰🥰🥰
Yes! Same goes for applications/personal statements. I am the program director for a physician subspecialty fellowship. It’s recruitment season… so I’m reviewing applications. Every time I get to one that was clearly written by AI my heart sinks. I want to know you as a human. Not a robot.
Hi Brooke, just thanking you for writing this piece. Like so many of the responders below, I use AI all the time for research but would rather be shot dead than use it to write a single sentence in my novels and short stories. It's beguiling and gets into your head and shapes your thinking without you even realizing it as it 'suggests' all kinds of 'helpful' things. But because of that I think you're on a dangerous slippery slope as an author if you give 'your' AI any hint of what you're working on in a novel or story. What's encouraging is how many people have commented in similar fashion! Humans, band together and protect 'our' space (human to human art and communication).
AI gives me the creeps. I feel it viscerally when someone tells me about using AI for anything. People use Claude like Google these days. I expect Google to use AI when I'm searching for something, though it's irritating when I need to bypass the explanations when I just want to dive into some articles. My voice is me. I would rather not write than have a robot do it for me.
Appreciate your deep dives into this topic, Brooke.
Years ago, seeing AI use in writing really bothered me. But I realized that by letting it bother me, it was leaking a little of my energy every time. And as my most valuable resource, no way am I giving that up that easily.
Now, I see it as an opportunity to put up new boundaries.
You're spot on — writing IS the fun part. What a JOY that we GET to write.
And get to know and refine our God-given voices every day. What a gift!
Thank you, Brooke, for keeping us apprised of current events and issues in the publishing industry. I honestly never used AI for ANYTHING until about a year ago, when I experimented with it to see if it would help me meal plan within my family's budget. It was "okay." I now use it for more complicated questions than I could ask Google or a search engine, and I do ask it to help me form an outline for my essays (but NOT generate the writing itself), or offer line edits for current essays I've drafted. I still struggle with knowing if that is okay, or if I've become more lazy in that aspect of my creative work. I have no issue in creating a "vomit draft" of a manuscript or essay on my own, because stream-of-consciousness writing has been a practice for years, probably over ten at least. It's the matching my work with a potential publisher or literary magazine, sometimes marketing stuff for my freelance/entrepreneurial work too that I find myself turning to AI for help/assistance.
It's really tough to know if I should basically throw it all away.
Writing is the fun part of this game—of being an author!! I wouldn't give that up for all the money in the world, and I sure as hell wouldn't give my voice or name over to AI. It's abhorrent.
"Was I ever reading their work? Now I’m editing a machine. I don’t want to be editing a machine. What am I doing?" Exactly! Although, I have to admit I play bridge against a robot and think that is fun. For writing or anything I believe came from a human it boils down to honesty. Where is the honesty of putting your name on writing when it was generated by a computer? Okay, yes, you gave the computer commands. Not the same, I say. I want to appreciate the creativity of YOU, not a machine.
Exactly. And I read to connect to another human… we read to know that we are not alone, after all!!
I have zero interest in feeling connected to a machine.
Cogent. And depressing. I, personally, never touch the stuff. It took years to develop my own voice - I'm not messing with that.
Terri, this is so true! I heard Ann Patchett say once that she can't read other writers while she's writing, because they all sound terrible. I'm not sure why that is, other than perhaps she just has such confidence in her voice, honed over so many years, that any deviation sounds wrong. I do know that if I moved to London, I'd have a British accent in two weeks! That's why I hate reading anything AI generated, and why I will never let it mess with my voice. It would infect and distort my voice if I let it in.
These excuses are all versions of "My dog ate my homework." I ran out of time? Seriously?
Love that you keep beating this drum, Brooke. I have never, and will never, allow AI to even EDIT a sentence for me, let alone write one. I either figure it out on my own, or go home. No place in the writers' world for me otherwise. I will freely admit to using AI for research. The novel I am writing now has a significant amount of military material, from specific uniform and medal information, to weapons systems. (I now know the range, weight, cargo capacity and the size and type of runway needed for a C130, for instance.) This saves me time that I can better use for writing, polishing, rewriting. But I have told the AI I use (ChatGPT) that I do not want writing assistance, and have asked it not to offer that help, which has worked, mostly. The other day, it said, "I know you don't want writing assistance, but if you do, I am happy ..." etc. Poor old Chat wants to be a writer, too. :)
Thanks for sharing this, Kathy. I have Claude. I use it to ask questions like I would ask Google, and a lot of times I end up fact-checking Claude because I don't trust it. So sometimes I wonder why I have it. It is a bizarre thing to interact with. I can see why people delight in it, too. But who knows where we'll be with it in five years. The future is opaque and scary...
True. You have to fact-check all the AIs. I've noticed recently that I'll get an answer, and I'll send back conflicting info and ask for a clarification, and Chat will say, "You are right. On further examination ..." But I suppose inaccurate information was more prevalent when I used just a search engine, and less robust. I just heard an interesting snippet of an interview with the woman president of Dartmouth, who is collaborating with Anthropic to create Dartmouth-specific LLMs around mental health for students. Interesting, and scary. You might find it interesting. I don't have a link. Was just listening in my car.
Great article. Honestly, I find it shocking how many "authors" are using AI. Writing is the good part. It is the reason to do it in the first place. It's all about process not some outcome, and to the extent it is about an outcome, that outcome is the thing you gain through the creative process (including the emotional aspects). I've worked on the craft of writing 7 days a week for decades. It's how you create your style, voice, etc. I believe so firmly no one else could ever tell my stories the way I do, and that the same is true for every other creative in the world, because they come through our human filter which is as original as a fingerprint. I'm so proud of my work and wouldn't trade that for anything. I know I'm preaching to the choir! Just a vent.
It's a good vent! It's important to keep talking about the "why!" The journey is 99% of it.
👍
Great piece Brooke. Thanks for tackling this. When writing my first novel (an SWP book), I went through scores of drafts (and a developmental edit) to hone what I wanted to convey. I've written numerous travel guides but fiction was another animal. Now working on my second story in the series, my "novel" voice is much easier to access. A friend who is an acclaimed novelist coached me through the process -- he said keep writing until you figure it out. I'm glad I did. There is nothing better than those Ah Ha moments when you come up with a good plot point. That said, I do use AI minimally for marketing copy ideas and some instructions (but even those can go awry -- told me to use BookSirens for my audio promotion and BookSirens doesn't cover audio).
I do see people using AI as a tool to good outcomes so I'm not trying to mount a coup against AI, which is of course pointless. But I really really want it out of people's creative process, or at the bare minimum that bright line: out of people's writing. Thanks for this share!
Yes, totally agree that all AI should be out of our writing (and that includes those "editing" programs, templates, etc.). Won't go near any of that stuff. I don't want AI in the graphic process either -- like collaborating with an actual designer. I have found AI helpful for marketing copy (i.e. ideas for the subject line) and use it when I'm trying to figure out how to do stuff (it was useful in reprogramming an internet modem, of all things). But that's it.
As an author in a time that feels unhinged with respect to AI, it is comforting to have a publisher come out so strongly, unequivocally, and publicly against AI as a stand-in for writing or editing.
I don't really understand what there is to respect given how AI exists—having been trained on stolen writing. It's fundamentally upsetting. I'm just trying to make peace with it, and doing so unsuccessfully.
“the desire not to use AI to write for us has to come from within.” Yes!!!
Once again, thank you!
One use you didn't mention that I have some understanding for is ESL writers. I'm working with one now, and we came up with a process: they write a first draft in their native language; they get an AI translation, they rewrite in English, then they send to me to edit. It's complex but it does feel ethical as long as their rewrite is thorough (which it has been).
Interesting. I haven't worked with someone in this capacity yet. So the idea being that they don't want someone to just translate their work? Is it a cost reason?
Not cost. They want to write in English rather than have book that was perhaps published elsewhere and available only in a translation that would likely lack their voice. Ironically, the AI-assist can help with that.
Brooke,
Back in August 2024 I wrote a tiny (but mighty) 38-page book just to see if I could write a book. This tiny book sold well. And I am grateful, as it was in my own voice and before the AI world exploded.
Luckily for me I am not a professional writer, unless you make me take your memoir class!! Then who knows what you will unleash!😜
With 4-5 million books being published annually it’s extremely challenging for a book to stand out, to be noticed, to be read and to get more sales. Visibility is the new game in town. And I understand that it is critical for every author.
We even created an AI tool, we now use along with other tools, including relationships in the media, with booksellers, and of course relationships with hotels to compound the visibility of an author and her book.
For me, I believe that AI has a place in publishing. It’s in book marketing as a tool to help authors amplify their original voice.
(Not written with AI). 🥰
Yes, I definitely know a lot of people are using AI in these capacities and clearly it's helping, or helpful. My authors are using AI as a tool in lots of capacities, and in our own policy for SWP we say we're fine with that. Just trying trying trying to hold the line of original writing. I know undoubtedly that we have published AI writing. There's just no way around not doing it with the way things are these days. Anyway...yes, take my memoir class. 🥰🥰🥰
Yes! Same goes for applications/personal statements. I am the program director for a physician subspecialty fellowship. It’s recruitment season… so I’m reviewing applications. Every time I get to one that was clearly written by AI my heart sinks. I want to know you as a human. Not a robot.
Hi Brooke, just thanking you for writing this piece. Like so many of the responders below, I use AI all the time for research but would rather be shot dead than use it to write a single sentence in my novels and short stories. It's beguiling and gets into your head and shapes your thinking without you even realizing it as it 'suggests' all kinds of 'helpful' things. But because of that I think you're on a dangerous slippery slope as an author if you give 'your' AI any hint of what you're working on in a novel or story. What's encouraging is how many people have commented in similar fashion! Humans, band together and protect 'our' space (human to human art and communication).
Guess I'm five years in the past!
Stay there! :)
AI gives me the creeps. I feel it viscerally when someone tells me about using AI for anything. People use Claude like Google these days. I expect Google to use AI when I'm searching for something, though it's irritating when I need to bypass the explanations when I just want to dive into some articles. My voice is me. I would rather not write than have a robot do it for me.
Appreciate your deep dives into this topic, Brooke.
Years ago, seeing AI use in writing really bothered me. But I realized that by letting it bother me, it was leaking a little of my energy every time. And as my most valuable resource, no way am I giving that up that easily.
Now, I see it as an opportunity to put up new boundaries.
You're spot on — writing IS the fun part. What a JOY that we GET to write.
And get to know and refine our God-given voices every day. What a gift!
Thank you, Brooke, for keeping us apprised of current events and issues in the publishing industry. I honestly never used AI for ANYTHING until about a year ago, when I experimented with it to see if it would help me meal plan within my family's budget. It was "okay." I now use it for more complicated questions than I could ask Google or a search engine, and I do ask it to help me form an outline for my essays (but NOT generate the writing itself), or offer line edits for current essays I've drafted. I still struggle with knowing if that is okay, or if I've become more lazy in that aspect of my creative work. I have no issue in creating a "vomit draft" of a manuscript or essay on my own, because stream-of-consciousness writing has been a practice for years, probably over ten at least. It's the matching my work with a potential publisher or literary magazine, sometimes marketing stuff for my freelance/entrepreneurial work too that I find myself turning to AI for help/assistance.
It's really tough to know if I should basically throw it all away.