Data, a character on Star Trek: The Next Generation, was an android. His superhuman brain and other strengths made him an invaluable crew member. But, as a computer, he had no emotions and try as he might, he could not master the nuances of humor. Would you delegate writing your book to Data?
You want your book to be a way to reach and speak to your audience. When you take care to build trust, connection, and credibility, your message will be received. Your desired impact will be made.
Here’s the truth – Chat GPT or any AI is not what you should use to write your book. Some of the reasons that’s a bad idea:
- Lack of authentic voice
- Lack of creativity – you’ll end up with generic formulaic writing
- No nuance, deep insights, or humor
- You’ll disappoint readers instead of building connection, trust, and credibility
- Readers are becoming savvier about picking up on AI stock phrases, such as “in a fast-changing landscape” and the like. And although the writing (usually) makes grammatical sense, you still need to carefully proofread and copyedit it.
Using AI as a support tool, such as for brainstorming, can be valuable. In fact, I created a demo video that steps you through using Chat GPT to help come up with the best title and subtitle for your book. I wouldn’t mind my author clients using the Hemingway App, for example, which gives your writing an instant “readability level” score.
So AI has its place—but the heart and soul of a book must come from the author.
By the way, if you want your book set up on Amazon, they require you to disclose AI use.
How do you feel about authors using AI when you invest money and time into a book to read?
Here’s a strong opinion offered by Adam Nevill, a renowned horror fiction author:
“This is aimed at people who are using AI, and who intend to use AI, in the creation of books. It’s also for readers.
If you use AI to generate ideas for stories, you are not a writer. Similarly, if you need AI to rewrite your sentences and paragraphs, or restructure your book, or even produce any portion of a written work, then you’re not a writer.
If, by some combination of keywords, the AI produces something that appears competent, you didn’t create it; nor does this make you creative. The technology can only perform this function at your prompting because it has been illegally trained on the work of real writers. Tinkering with the output, editing it, and rearranging it doesn’t make you a writer either…
If you truly love books but use AI to make them, you are destroying what you love. And once you have destroyed what you love, what then?
Very few people master anything. To master anything, innate ability is required, as well as a significant investment of time and a sense of purpose. To be original, you also need vision. There are no shortcuts. Any other method is cheating. The constant promise of tech companies that their apps will “unleash your creativity” is a shameful lie.
So, if you are taking shortcuts and cheating and destroying what you profess to love, what is your motivation? Laziness, self-deception, competitiveness, greed, uncertainty about what you are doing with your life?
Of equal importance…are the readers. They’re hard to attract. Their appearance and interest and appreciation is a magical process. Once they appear, they invite other readers to read the same books. To keep readers reading your books, you need to build trust with a readership and you can’t let them down. This can take decades (in my case). It’s a contract and connection so precious, it is sacrosanct. AI-produced/part-produced books betray and cheat readers and kill all of the magic. Forever.
…But when I look at the vast repository of great works written and published before the advent of the AI plague, I take immense comfort and solace in the fact that I will never be short of something good to read that was written by a human.”
If you’re a human reading this who would like help from another human to flesh out your book idea, hone your message, proof your grammar, and polish your manuscript, give me a call. We’ll work on your book together, heart-to-heart.
