Thanks for this discussion. I’ve been to a couple of interesting AI workshops lately. The bottom line is that AI is here to stay and as Lucinda said, we can’t get left behind. We need to use it to our advantage. Not to write our books for us, that would defeat the purpose of being a writer, but how about using it for research or marketing purposes. The other thing is that we already use AI and have been for some time. Grammarly, Canva etc are all AI tools. It won’t kill our creativity, but it just might free up some time for us to be able to create more.
There are a couple of companies out there who promise to use AI to help marketing — with tremendous success, of course. I’ve thought of giving one of them a try, just to see what would happen. But that is the only way I’ll ever use AI. No AI will ever touch my cover or the content of the book.
We have to decide where to draw the line. The trouble with consumer AI is it’s designed to be flattering and “helpful.” Also, I’m sure, to set up a relationship with the user.
You show up as “Anonymous,” btw.
You’re welcome, Darlene, and thanks for your comments. I have used Canva’s AI to generate some character images, but I’ve heard some readers or self-appointed critics pounce on covers they even suspect are AI-generated, and rate books accordingly. Right now I’m not in need of a cover image, but I will have to decide how to handle this when I come to that point.
I have a cover designer who is great. Again, these people need to earn a living too. I, myself, wouldn’t use Canva to design a cover, but I may use it to get ideas.
I use the free online Scribbr and Grammarly grammar checkers as part of my proofreading procedure. I use Google’s, D2D’s, and Amazon’s text-to-speech offering to produce audiobooks. All where around before AI became the thing, though all now fall under the AI umbrella. They make the books I write better and more accessible to readers. I think in my case their use is a win for everyone.
I know of a MFA, who uses AI to proofread his writing. He has it go through his piece, highlighting, but not changing typos, and suggesting what may be unclear or need punching up. He makes his own changes with that feedback.
There are, I think, legitimate uses of AI in the creative process. Everyone has to draw their own line.
I rarely get reviews, and few ratings. For me, I don’t think it matters. I don’t think most of my readers, readers of free books, are all that into the social aspect of book culture, i.e. the Goodreads crowd.
On a side note, the AI companies buying and destroying books, do so by slicing off the covers and binding so that they can automate the scanning of the pages.
I didn’t use any AI in the production of this post. All the mistakes are mine.
I looked and discovered that I have only 4 of those offers in my spam folder. I’m crushed.
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😀 it’s “better” than I’ve got.
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Hang in there. Give them time. You’re still young.
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Thanks for this discussion. I’ve been to a couple of interesting AI workshops lately. The bottom line is that AI is here to stay and as Lucinda said, we can’t get left behind. We need to use it to our advantage. Not to write our books for us, that would defeat the purpose of being a writer, but how about using it for research or marketing purposes. The other thing is that we already use AI and have been for some time. Grammarly, Canva etc are all AI tools. It won’t kill our creativity, but it just might free up some time for us to be able to create more.
LikeLiked by 2 people
There are a couple of companies out there who promise to use AI to help marketing — with tremendous success, of course. I’ve thought of giving one of them a try, just to see what would happen. But that is the only way I’ll ever use AI. No AI will ever touch my cover or the content of the book.
LikeLiked by 2 people
We have to decide where to draw the line. The trouble with consumer AI is it’s designed to be flattering and “helpful.” Also, I’m sure, to set up a relationship with the user.
You show up as “Anonymous,” btw.
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re welcome, Darlene, and thanks for your comments. I have used Canva’s AI to generate some character images, but I’ve heard some readers or self-appointed critics pounce on covers they even suspect are AI-generated, and rate books accordingly. Right now I’m not in need of a cover image, but I will have to decide how to handle this when I come to that point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a cover designer who is great. Again, these people need to earn a living too. I, myself, wouldn’t use Canva to design a cover, but I may use it to get ideas.
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I used Canva for several covers, including print ones, but that was before AI. Next time I may just go back to hiring a designer.
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The cover of your last book was awesome! I can give you a name if you need a designer.
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Thanks, Darlene. I’ll keep that in mind.
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I use the free online Scribbr and Grammarly grammar checkers as part of my proofreading procedure. I use Google’s, D2D’s, and Amazon’s text-to-speech offering to produce audiobooks. All where around before AI became the thing, though all now fall under the AI umbrella. They make the books I write better and more accessible to readers. I think in my case their use is a win for everyone.
I know of a MFA, who uses AI to proofread his writing. He has it go through his piece, highlighting, but not changing typos, and suggesting what may be unclear or need punching up. He makes his own changes with that feedback.
There are, I think, legitimate uses of AI in the creative process. Everyone has to draw their own line.
I rarely get reviews, and few ratings. For me, I don’t think it matters. I don’t think most of my readers, readers of free books, are all that into the social aspect of book culture, i.e. the Goodreads crowd.
On a side note, the AI companies buying and destroying books, do so by slicing off the covers and binding so that they can automate the scanning of the pages.
I didn’t use any AI in the production of this post. All the mistakes are mine.
LikeLiked by 2 people