As much as I love to read, I also spend a bit of time watching instructional YouTube videos and, unfortunately, seeing commercials that irritate me. Like the ones that suggest making money on Amazon by producing books with AI.
Sadly, some people are actually doing it. Spitting out content into the world that has already been published in a near-identical way. For the passionate writers of the world who delight in the organic joy of putting words together on a page, this is unthinkable. Yet, the lure of AI is strong. According to Bookbub, authors are split nearly 50/50 about using AI in their writing. Among those who don’t, the most often cited reason is that the practice is unethical. I agree that it definitely can be. However, there are still many very respectable authors using AI ethically, not to write their entire book.
If you are an aspiring author wondering whether you should use AI to write your book, know that it is possible, within the limits of acceptable usage. In other words, can AI write a book? Can AI write YOUR book? The answer is yes, but don’t let it. Because what kind of book will it be?
AI doesn’t think originally, but instead is, as one professor put it, inherently regurgitative: At its essence, AI fashions the ideas and perceptions that are in the world already. And it does it very well, and very quickly. You can ask AI to write a book about any existing topic, and it will spit out chapters and text at a breathless pace that will leave you flabbergasted. You can put your name on it and voila! You’re an author. And if you think this only applies to nonfiction, it doesn’t. If you ask AI to write a story, you’ll be quite surprised.
But please DON’T DO THIS because the world doesn’t need more of the same. The world needs YOUR voice, YOUR originality, and most of all, YOUR passion. I beg you not to claim for yourself that which has been created from other people’s work. Not only is it unethical, but copyright infringement is always a possibility.
That said, the answer to “Should I Use AI to Write My Book?” is actually this: You can, but only for specific functions.
When to Use AI
Like all tools and great inventions from the wheel to the internet, AI can be used responsibly for good or destructively for bad. When writing your book, there are plenty of ways AI can help you produce an original work. So, when should you use AI to write your book? In the following ways:
Brainstorming
Have you ever sat down, wanting to write, only to meet a blinking cursor looking back at you like a mocking chimp? AI breaks the silent misery with ideas. LOTS of ideas. These are great jumping-off points for your own originality to shine through. Take those ideas and twist them. Shape them. Make them your own in some way. AI is the perfect creative partner to brainstorm titles, outlines, slogans, subject heads, etc., because you won’t have to explain your choices or edits! Just ask for more ideas in a different direction, or allow the suggestions to fuel your own writing and brainstorming. AI can expand your sandbox, but you must still build the castle.
Research
This is where AI can really outperform humans. In case you haven’t heard, AI can process massive amounts of text data and scan thousands of websites for the information you need within seconds. In the days before AI, it took me much longer to find the information I needed from the same source that AI can provide upon request. I truly believe research is the best place to use AI, and authors who use AI in writing their book agree. About 81% of them surveyed use AI in the research phase. Just always be sure to ask AI to provide sources, and then you, as a human, must decide whether they are credible for your purposes.
Organization
Another good use of AI for authors is in the book’s organizational process. As your creative partner, AI can produce suggested outlines and content structure for your book and each chapter. It can help you refine your plot points and create a good flow for your book. While AI can help with this step, as you’ll read below, it cannot replace a human developmental editor who can tell you whether the suggested organization will resonate with readers in the target audience.
Grammar
This one is a no-brainer, and the original use of AI for authors for many years. From classic spellcheck to apps like Grammarly and now writing assistance with Microsoft Copilot, should there be any more typos in the world? Sadly, there still are, but AI is a great help in reducing them. If you’ve got great ideas but stumble on execution with spelling and grammar, AI is a reliable resource for you.
When to Use a Human Editor
Developmental Editing
When you’re writing a book, you read and reread your text. It’s fatiguing, and at that point, it’s easy to miss gaps and weaknesses in your work. You may not remember to include important elements, or you may start using jargon the audience doesn’t know. A developmental editor will read your work with fresh eyes. From a human point of view, they will tell you what resonates with them emotionally, what made them curious, what upset them, and what they longed for more of/less of, etc. Their feedback is based on human emotion as well as their skill in identifying a story and flow. There’s no substitute for a human reading your book with a critical eye.
Adding Original Thought
A good editor will be looking for ways to improve the human experience as they read your book. If it’s a nonfiction book, they may recommend you make it more interactive by adding reflection questions or a QR code to a resource. They may even have some graphic design advice on the layout of the book. They may ask you to explore a topic from a different direction, or brainstorm the topic of your follow-up book based on what you’ve written. Or for a fiction book, they may suggest a richer character backstory or a new character development element. They may come up with a historical context for one of your characters’ experiences. In other words, they are adding that special “human sauce” of original thought to your writing. You won’t get that from AI.
Impact on a Specific Audience
Every author wants their writing to be liked, but it’s just as important to be impactful without alienating anyone in their audience. When authors write for a specific audience, they should know the language and what will positively and negatively resonate with that audience. For sensitive audiences, how something is expressed is just as important as the idea itself. Is the information presented with unfair bias? A human editor, reviewing your work while wearing the shoes of someone in your specific audience, can be your most impactful judge of how your work will be received.
Adding Thoughtful Details
We humans have quirks shaped by our background and human development. We have neurodivergence, bad habits, routines, personal challenges, religious beliefs, personality flaws, and other imperfections that make us fully human. All of them provide interesting ways to create metaphors and present ideas in non-fiction books and memoirs, or develop relatable fictional characters with realistic human traits. A human will add these thoughtful details to improve your writing and the experience of your readers.
In summary, using a human either as a ghostwriter or editor to write your book will challenge you in ways AI won’t. They will make suggestions and add to your work so that it is written for humans and has the impact you want. AI, as in all endeavors, should be a tool to assist, but not replace humans, especially when it comes to creating and publishing a piece as permanent as a book. If you are looking for a real, AI-assisted human to help edit your book, reach out to Karen at karen@bigideaswriting.com.
And by the way, this article was written by Karen with AI assistance for research and proofreading.
