Authors Should Write Their Own Books Instead of Relying on AI to Do It For Them

I have been giving this matter some serious thought over the past few weeks. Though I have put writing books on the back burner for now, I still like to keep up-to-date on what’s happening in the world of writing. With AI becoming more and more popular, this is going to lead to the debate over whether or not authors should use AI to do the job of writing books for them. When I say “write books”, I mean typing in a sentence or two and then letting AI write an entire scene around it. (An author does enough of these, AI will essentially write the book.) Even if the author tweaks things, it’s still not a story the author is writing.

My primary concern over using AI to write the story (and even in creating the story) stems from how AI is getting the material. AI is not a creative entity. It needs to take material from already published books. I realize AI is not going to take these books word-for-word when it throws out a few paragraphs, but the raw material from other books is still there. This has the potential of leading to copyright lawsuits. What happens when an author with enough money finds out that someone has been using AI to write a book that is “way too similar” to theirs? Sure, I haven’t heard of this being a problem yet, but authors using AI to help them write their books is still new. We don’t know what ramifications could pop up down the road, and I see no reason to take the chance.

In my opinion, authors are much better off writing everything in their story. I can see using AI for help with the minor stuff, but this is stuff we could do during a brainstorming session with other people. For example, AI would be okay if you’re looking for a synonym or antonym for a word. Or AI could work to help with a plot point you’re struggling with. Say, you get stuck, and you’re trying to decide what would happen if a character did X or Y. You could run the scenario through the AI program to help guide you on the best course. (Just as you could talk the scenario over with another person who could give you ideas.) Simple tasks like this should be okay because it doesn’t involve actually writing the story out.

(This is where I ramble…) The main barrier I can see to authors writing their own stuff is the possibility of burnout. If you’re making your living primarily from publishing books, then you need to keep getting books out to stay solvent. This puts a lot of stress on the author. My books have always been my source of income. I never cared to get into making covers or editing because I’ve heard way too many horror stories of the way cover artists and editors got treated by authors who should have known better than to treat these people like crap. (Please treat cover artists and editors well.) There are other ways authors make additional income (kickstarter, workshops, podcasting to name a few), but all I ever wanted to do was write. I am awful at marketing. I guess there is the possibility of hiring an assistant, but would you believe I was quoted, “$30 an hour” with NO possibility of seeing their references? If I’m going to spend $30/hr, I want to know what other authors these assistants worked for. How do I know if these authors benefited from their assistance or not if I don’t know who these authors are? For all I know, these assistants are doing a lousy job and getting paid handsomely for it. (…end rambling.)

I doubt I’m the only author who relies mainly on their writing income to keep money coming in. I have always written my own stuff. I did not hire out ghostwriters, but that was a personal preference. I went into writing because I loved my characters and their stories. If I were to put my name on something I didn’t write, I wouldn’t feel a connection to the book, and it’s the connection to the book that makes it so much fun to go back and reread it. I primarily wrote books I wanted to read. Back in 2006-2007, I searched high and low for a romance author who wrote stories I specially wanted to read but couldn’t find any except for Carolyn Davidson, and she was only one author. I wanted more books. So I wrote them myself. I am a horrible business person because this writing thing is not “business” to me.

I understand for a lot of authors, this is a business. Even if this is a business, I would advise you to not use AI to write the stories. Be careful with using ghostwriters, too. You don’t want to use a ghostwriter who uses AI, nor do you want a ghostwriter who plagiarizes other authors. Vet these ghostwriters. I don’t know how to vet them, but research on how to do it and then do it. We are in the wild west of AI. I can see authors struggling with burnout (like me) and choosing to rely on AI in order to put books out there. I have been in groups where authors celebrate all of the “words” AI helped them “write” that day. While this is exciting on the surface, it has its share of risks.

I think the best thing an author can do is write the book yourself. If you want to hand over the marketing to an assistant to help clear out time for you to write, that $30/hr is way better spent than using AI to get “words” in the story for you. If you can manage it, look for additional sources of income to help supplement your writing income. I have decided to take time off from writing while I recoup from burnout, but not everyone has the ability to choose the path I did. Whatever you do, it’s best to buffer yourself from any problems AI could generate for you down the road.

Also…let’s not forget the emotional (non-business) angle of this equation. I would think that your readers are reading your books because of “you”. There is only one you on the entire planet. You have your own creative spark that brings that special something to your books that your readers love. AI can never replace that spark. No ghostwriter can replace it. I have read ghostwritten books, and they are not as good as the authors’ work. Maybe they sell better, but the quality just isn’t the same. It’s better to write less books with the “need to read it again” factor than to write something that’s only read once.

Yes, the money is nice, but it’s not a guarantee. My writing income has dropped so much over the years that it won’t be long before my family will actually start getting tax refunds again. At first, I panicked over the continual dropping of my writing income, but now I’ve come to accept it. And guess what? I still have those books I spent those years writing, and I love these books. I enjoy them as much as I did when I wrote them. I don’t regret writing them. I chose to write for passion, and it paid off. It didn’t just pay off for me. There are some readers who let me know how much they enjoy them, too, and that’s the icing on the cake that very few authors think about. When you are writing the story, you are crafting something you love. That love shows up in the work. That love can’t be replaced. So write your own books. In the end, it’s worth it.