Love your perspective and grounded advice, as always. I finally posted on my editing page that I accept AI-assisted writing from clients. And I feel good about it. You're right, things have just changed significantly.
I just listened to an interesting TED Talk on the TED Talks Daily podcast, given by a journalist and called something like "AI will probably take job... And I'm okay with it." You might find it interesting if you haven't already heard it.
Thank you for this! I somehow missed the bookbub survey results but am not surprised by the number of authors using AI. (Like you, I assume it’s actually higher than that.)
Really appreciate you creating a space (and a podcast!) for authors using AI. Lots of anti-AI groups waving their pitchforks around on social media. It will be interesting to see when/how those anti-ai folks make the eventual shift to using AI.
You did make a mistake - it should be nearly half the authors "surveyed" use AI. A much more telling statistic is that there are almost 8000 authors in the AI Writing group and the YouTube creators who are experienced using AI in fiction get more than that in views for every video they publish. Didn't I see somewhere that the AI presentations at last year's AuthorNation had a few standing room only sessions?
I would say the overall percentage of successful, published authors using AI to draft has crested over the 10% mark. It is impossible to get exact numbers because of all the points you bring up. A successful author leveraging AI will still be publishing the same level of quality content they were before starting down that road so they can't be "discovered" using AI unless an "oops" occurs.
Readers consume books "written" by AI every day. They are all over the Top 100 charts. While we don't know for certain that PRH/DelRey had published an AI book, not having an author picture is very suspicious for a modern book. I know Harlequin has no stated policy against AI that I could find.
The anti-AI crowd are loud but they are fighting a losing battle. I've seen the leaders lamenting that even their "followers" post AI images and memes. They've lost income because of their bullying and harassment had become too much for a lot of their supporters.
Your articles continue to inspire me and keep the fear away. But even when the fear is under good control, it is my daily collaboration with AI that pulls me back to it again and again. It's become such a part of me that I really miss it if I don't do it. I haven't been able to say this about writing in general. Sometimes I think I don't like writing much at all. At least not what writing was before AI collaboration. But I can and DO affirm the tremendous joy that AI collaboration brings me. And I'm so grateful to authors and teachers like you who make this movement feel so possible, so inevitable, so REAL and fulfilling. Thank you again.
This is a thoughtful take on the matter. I’d just like to offer a slightly different perspective.
You write, “It's the authors stuck in the uncomfortable middle. They've developed some skills, published some books, and worked hard to reach their current non-expert level. But they're not making good money yet, and they see AI as threatening to make their hard-won progress worthless.”
That may be true for some, but I don't think it tells the full story. The recent open letter on Lit Hub paints a more complex picture.
To be clear, I completely agree that fear-mongering around AI and the future of writing is way out of hand. Actually, I don’t think for writers who are committed to craft, nurture their creativity, and push deeper into their work, AI is a real threat. If anything, I think the value of authentic human writing (especially when it’s voicey and original) might actually increase.
Photography went through something similar. (For context: I was a photojournalist in my past life). When digital cameras came in, people worried that the automation and accessibility would push professionals out of work, forgetting that great photography was never about having the right equipment. It's about the eye, the timing, the ability to create something meaningful regardless of conditions. The same might happen with writing. Perhaps, the existence of AI could even become the motivation that pushes writers who care about the journey as much as the result to go further into their craft, to become better, to grow above what “machine” can do.
Where I do think there's a real risk is for writers who are just starting out. It took me eight years to write the kind of novel I’d want to read. And it took everything I had to keep going when facing the blank page was painful; when I knew, deep down, that I wasn’t writing on my desired level. What made it even harder was that I often couldn’t tell when what I wrote wasn’t good. My skill level wasn’t high enough to be a good judge of my own work. And that’s a common thing when you’re learning any art.
Most people don’t fall in love with classical music or grasp the nuance of jazz the first time they hear it. Or the second. Or the third. It takes time to develop both taste and the ability to notice what’s working and what isn’t.
That’s where AI gets tricky. For someone just starting out, it might be too tempting. It could offer an illusion of progress, a quick fix, which is dangerous because it might shortcut the struggle that real growth requires. And without that struggle, the creative muscle never really develops. Like with any muscle, you either use it or lose it.
I love this so much. You’re far more informed than me, but I believe that AI is definitely here to stay and will be a major part of the creative process more and more. I’m out and proud about it personally. You got a sub.
Love your perspective and grounded advice, as always. I finally posted on my editing page that I accept AI-assisted writing from clients. And I feel good about it. You're right, things have just changed significantly.
I just listened to an interesting TED Talk on the TED Talks Daily podcast, given by a journalist and called something like "AI will probably take job... And I'm okay with it." You might find it interesting if you haven't already heard it.
Agree !00%
I remember someone at a conference a couple years back stated no book created with AI will ever make a bestseller list.
My thought at the time, challenge accepted.
Thank you for this! I somehow missed the bookbub survey results but am not surprised by the number of authors using AI. (Like you, I assume it’s actually higher than that.)
Really appreciate you creating a space (and a podcast!) for authors using AI. Lots of anti-AI groups waving their pitchforks around on social media. It will be interesting to see when/how those anti-ai folks make the eventual shift to using AI.
You did make a mistake - it should be nearly half the authors "surveyed" use AI. A much more telling statistic is that there are almost 8000 authors in the AI Writing group and the YouTube creators who are experienced using AI in fiction get more than that in views for every video they publish. Didn't I see somewhere that the AI presentations at last year's AuthorNation had a few standing room only sessions?
I would say the overall percentage of successful, published authors using AI to draft has crested over the 10% mark. It is impossible to get exact numbers because of all the points you bring up. A successful author leveraging AI will still be publishing the same level of quality content they were before starting down that road so they can't be "discovered" using AI unless an "oops" occurs.
Readers consume books "written" by AI every day. They are all over the Top 100 charts. While we don't know for certain that PRH/DelRey had published an AI book, not having an author picture is very suspicious for a modern book. I know Harlequin has no stated policy against AI that I could find.
The anti-AI crowd are loud but they are fighting a losing battle. I've seen the leaders lamenting that even their "followers" post AI images and memes. They've lost income because of their bullying and harassment had become too much for a lot of their supporters.
Thank you for this.
Your articles continue to inspire me and keep the fear away. But even when the fear is under good control, it is my daily collaboration with AI that pulls me back to it again and again. It's become such a part of me that I really miss it if I don't do it. I haven't been able to say this about writing in general. Sometimes I think I don't like writing much at all. At least not what writing was before AI collaboration. But I can and DO affirm the tremendous joy that AI collaboration brings me. And I'm so grateful to authors and teachers like you who make this movement feel so possible, so inevitable, so REAL and fulfilling. Thank you again.
This is a thoughtful take on the matter. I’d just like to offer a slightly different perspective.
You write, “It's the authors stuck in the uncomfortable middle. They've developed some skills, published some books, and worked hard to reach their current non-expert level. But they're not making good money yet, and they see AI as threatening to make their hard-won progress worthless.”
That may be true for some, but I don't think it tells the full story. The recent open letter on Lit Hub paints a more complex picture.
To be clear, I completely agree that fear-mongering around AI and the future of writing is way out of hand. Actually, I don’t think for writers who are committed to craft, nurture their creativity, and push deeper into their work, AI is a real threat. If anything, I think the value of authentic human writing (especially when it’s voicey and original) might actually increase.
Photography went through something similar. (For context: I was a photojournalist in my past life). When digital cameras came in, people worried that the automation and accessibility would push professionals out of work, forgetting that great photography was never about having the right equipment. It's about the eye, the timing, the ability to create something meaningful regardless of conditions. The same might happen with writing. Perhaps, the existence of AI could even become the motivation that pushes writers who care about the journey as much as the result to go further into their craft, to become better, to grow above what “machine” can do.
Where I do think there's a real risk is for writers who are just starting out. It took me eight years to write the kind of novel I’d want to read. And it took everything I had to keep going when facing the blank page was painful; when I knew, deep down, that I wasn’t writing on my desired level. What made it even harder was that I often couldn’t tell when what I wrote wasn’t good. My skill level wasn’t high enough to be a good judge of my own work. And that’s a common thing when you’re learning any art.
Most people don’t fall in love with classical music or grasp the nuance of jazz the first time they hear it. Or the second. Or the third. It takes time to develop both taste and the ability to notice what’s working and what isn’t.
That’s where AI gets tricky. For someone just starting out, it might be too tempting. It could offer an illusion of progress, a quick fix, which is dangerous because it might shortcut the struggle that real growth requires. And without that struggle, the creative muscle never really develops. Like with any muscle, you either use it or lose it.
I love this so much. You’re far more informed than me, but I believe that AI is definitely here to stay and will be a major part of the creative process more and more. I’m out and proud about it personally. You got a sub.