I haven’t wanted to discuss this. AI is such a controversial subject, and I would rather not have any more drama than I already have, but the fact is… AI is here, and it’s infecting all digital bookstores (and print stores…) near you.
What is an AI book? An AI book is a story, informational piece, or any form of media that is created by a computer following a prompt from a human. So, someone can write a “book” by telling a piece of software to “tell a story about a dragon named Bob romancing a human named Clara.”
(My apologies in advance for any authors who might have a story about a dragon named Bob who happens to romance a human named Clara.)
The software, after stealing “learning” from legitimate authors, regurgitates text that might, if you tilt your head and squint, be thought of as a book.
For the record, I do not use AI in any fashion on my books.
1: I do not use ProWriting Aid or Grammarly, both of which use AI tools under the hood.
A: If I’m going to introduce mistakes, they will be introduced because I made them. I don’t even use Microsoft’s grammar tools beyond checking if it DOES flag something. (Half the time, Microsoft is incorrect. Same with ProWriting Aid and Grammarly.)
B: I want humans working on my books, and my editorial staff has been instructed to never use these types of tools on my novels.
I want humans working on my books.
I want every single typo and error to be attributed to a human.
The only thing I do use is basic spellcheck, as that is not AI. (All it is doing is comparing a word to a dictionary. If the word is not found in the dictionary, it applies a squiggle.)
2: I do not use AI to write the books.
If I have trouble with a description? I sit there and fucking figure it out. People are paying to read books I wrote… not that some machine wrote.
There are now plenty of books out there should people want books written by machines with no substantial input from humans.
3: I do not buy outlines or plots for my novels.
Everything I write is from me.
Feel characters are similar after sixty-six books? There’s a reason for that. I wrote all sixty-six of those books, and I am a sole entity, me. I think a certain way.
That means while I try to give variances to my characters, my characters are still a product of my imagination.
It would be stranger if there weren’t similarities.
And while I try to improve my writing with every book, a huge part of my time is spent making sure anyone who reads my books knows I wrote it.
That’s what it means when an author “has a style.”
I like my style and do not wish to change it. Those who like my style… I love you, let’s play together for a long time, okay?
Those who don’t… may I recommend Ilona Andrews, Faith Hunter, Lynsay Sands, Shelly Laurenston, or perhaps Grace Draven? I enjoy all of their books very much, and they are not like me in terms of style, although we have overlap in some fashions or another.
I, personally, will not read authors who are “writing” their books with AI in any fashion right now. (Once I know they’re doing it, I simply walk away from them and add to my little black list of books. I’ll support ACTUAL authors writing their books.)
I’m not counting ProWriting Aid or Grammarly; if they want to lose rights to their books feeding the software so the software can be trained, so be it; that’s their problem. If they want to introduce the plague of problems I’ve seen testing both pieces of software, that is also their problem.
But the terms for Grammarly are abusive at best, and ProWriting Aid does not disclose what rights their third-party software (AKA their AI tools) claim.
Neither of these programs will be used on my books.
I write my books. That’s the beginning and the end of this story.
And I will continue to be the one to write my books, until the day comes where AI completely floods out the market and the real authors have to go find something else to do, as we simply cannot compete against something that takes a computer no more than twenty minutes to churn out.
We are already seeing the crunch. Advertising is already costing more as AI “authors” push their “books” on Amazon and other vendors.
I suspect that it will become a system in which books are only promoted by word of mouth, because the actual authors will be drowned by the relentless crush of mediocracy.
For now, I will go into my corner and cry while eating biscuits slathered in butter, as there’s little else I can do.
Also, if you see a book that uses my name and you don’t think it’s me, because you haven’t seen it on my blog or elsewhere… this is a thing that AI “authors” are doing. I haven’t been hit yet, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.
Scammers gonna scam. That is one of the few truths of the world.
Wish all us actual authors a whole lot of luck. We’re going to need it.
I’m in a battle against this in my workplace as well. Bravo to you. (Also the people rushing this AI stuff have obviously never read a sci fi book in their lives!)
Regarding AI scams, i have read about other authors who have had the problem of a book written under their name and sales sites refusing to remove the book. However, i have also read recently, in the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) newsletter, that the FTC is aware of this occurring and is in support of the real authors, not the AI scammers. So if you do have a problem with this occurring and can not get satisfaction from the sales site, go to the FTC. Well, go to the FTC anyway, because the more files they have on this stuff, the easier it is to do away with it in a timely fashion.
I hear a huge lawsuit in the making with them “companies” refusing to delete or add a disclaimer blurb in their author listings… I’d really recommend going to the federal courts for this as it’s crosses state lines when they’re “selling” a falsely named author… just a thought as I’m not an attorney but… still seems only fair they either pay up or stop claiming false claims imho
Yeah, I can’t afford that bill to say the least.
Teachers Too! (Hands over the butter)
Yes, your style/voice is distinctive. And I love it! After reading every one of your books (except the Rift King books, sorry), I think I could recognize a piece of your writing at twenty paces in the fog. Your books are where I go when nothing on my Kindle sparks interest, and I’ve re-read all of them, most multiple times. To me, that’s the highest compliment I can pay an author – your books are good enough to be worth re-reading. Thank you!
This topic is so interesting to watch from the sidelines. It seems to be hitting every industry, but the creative industry is especially impacted. From the strikes in Hollywood to singers/songwriters to authors, AI is threatening the livelihood of millions.
Personally, I have less than zero interest in consuming anything created by AI. While I believe it could be a useful tool to help with routine tasks (see complaints about having to proofread a book many times to find grammatical and brain-fart mistakes), too many companies/people are rushing into a technology without considering the consequences. The government will have to do something to protect people and their creations. In the meantime, if Amazon and the like are unwilling to do it, there will be someone who creates a platform for people to purchase content verified to be human-created.
Already happened to “pop music.” These days I follow serendipity down rabbits holes on YouTube. Fortunately, I have found some gems.
Well, I love your style. I have and have now read 65 of your books. I’m saving one for dessert. And I must say: color me stupid and ashamed. I had not read the Royal states novels because I thought they were another vampire romance series, (not sure where I came up with that). And I had only read one Bernadette Franklin story. Well, in the last 8 days I have read all of the Royal States books and all of the B Franklin books, including the previously read one again. In fact somewhere between Captive King and Runaway, I needed to go back and re read that scene where Jessica arrives outside Pat’s apartment, and of course wound up re reading the whole book again. I finished Vampire Of Montana last night.
I am amazed by your writing. You definitely have a style. Maybe several because of all of your different pen names. I am so glad that I finally decided to read the Copperfield and Franklin series. I have preordered Trikster King and hope hope hope that you continue the Agents of the Royal States series. But you need to do what is best for you, Stay safe and sane.
And Thank You for writing. Everything
Honestly, I always question why people hesitate to try different things from authors they like. What’s the worst that happens? You don’t like one of their books? (and you supported them even if not your jam.)
There are series I don’t read by my favorites, but only because I tried them and they weren’t to my taste, and I always try to pick them up if they go on sale just to throw some pennies in their jar. Will I read them? No, already know it’s not for me through having tried one (or several) of them… but pennies in their jar!
How do we know if a book is written by AI? Should there be a label on the book the same way foods are labeled whether they’re natural, or artificially created?
Unfortunately, people are lying about AI right now. If the book feels / sounds lifeless and has shit characterization and absolutely PERFECT spelling/grammar, it’s probably AI.
Humans make mistakes. AI doesn’t.
AI DOES make consistency errors with plot and things like that, though… but one thing you probably won’t find with AI is a spelling error, because it uses dictionaries for the spelling of words.
It also makes a lot of mistakes in what is a “fact” and things like that. But if it feels stilted, lifeless, etc… probably an AI.
Yes this, pretty much. You are probably doing the right thing by not using tools that have inbuilt ai, Nobody knows where the current spate of AI cases will end up. But if you want to be 100% that your copyright is still yours in a dozen years then avoiding AI is the safest option.
I have no idea of cost but have you investigated trade marking your Pen names, sadly you can not trade mark your real name.
Trademarking is really unnecessary, expensive, and pointless… you have to defend the trademark.
Thank you for no AI.
I look forward to another 66 books written by YOU.
I’ll just be in the corner reading and re-reading the innovative, imperfect books written by humans.
Same, same.
I do not develop AI, but I know people who do. I have been underwhelmed by what I have seen and heard.
I love Ilona Andrews, Shelley Laurenston & Faith Hunter!(All are on my “A+” list, right beside you.) I like Lynsay Sands a lot.(She is “merely” on my “A” list.) I haven’t tried Grace Draven yet. I guess I need to go hunt her books down. Thank you for the suggestion!
Take care of yourself and please do whatever you need to do to maintain your spirit and your delightful style of writing.
I have read at least one book in almost all of your series and all of your pen names and have noticed that you have a certain style that comes though no matter what the genre. And I appreciate that distinction. You have certain turns of phrase that are distinctly yours. Your books are more than something I simply read, they become friends that I savor spending time with, comfort when I need a way to unwind, clear my mind, or simply escape into another world. I’m grateful that I found your books and that you work so hard to write such fun, interesting, and sometimes slightly twisted stories. This is why I decided to be a Patreon participant.
Thank you!! It’s really appreciated.
And yeah. I want to write books that people know I wrote, yanno? Like… I want to do my own thing and write what I want to read, and yeah… the number of linguistic regions I’ve lived in DOES mean I have a unique way of phrasing things.
Where I have lived, and the economic branches I’ve lived in, all factor.
I’ve lived below the poverty line… and that definitely changes things. (I’m no longer below the poverty line… but I’ve never forgotten.)
Scammers gotta scam; just the other day I forwarded a phishing email to PayPal. I have zero interest in AI generated books as a class, and should I run into any taking a real authors name in vain I’ll report it every way I can think of. I’ll just keep on loving real author’s works.
And oh, my stars and garters, but I just had a crazed thought — given that CGI ( a term I had to search) is creating new movies with dead actors, will AI be used to write ‘new’ books from dead authors? And if, say, a new play from Shakespeare were to be created, would it be set in The Bard’s England, or perhaps in today’s Detroit? Or Monaco? Or perhaps New Delhi? AAAAaaaarrrrgggghhhhh, someone stop me now!
Love your books. Please keep writing them as you have been. Your method works for me.