I’m not going to lie, my books aren’t perfect. There’s so much that goes into writing a story, especially when you’re just one person. Never did I think I would use that line in my defence. It never occurred to me that I might feel the need to defend myself.
I was in a Facebook group where someone asked how they could tell if a book was written by AI. The discussion that followed was fascinating, and worrying.
Around the same time, I discovered AI packages that invite you to ‘become an author’. They promise to generate a story, edit it, format it, and even provide a beautiful cover, all ready to upload to Amazon.
So how can you tell if a book is written by AI? There isn’t a simple, reliable answer.
One suggestion was that if the cover is AI-generated, the story probably is too. Another was that anyone publishing more than two or three books a year must be using AI to write them. Neither is a reliable way to judge.
I know authors who use AI covers because they cannot afford a cover designer, but the stories are entirely their own.
I publish more than two or three books a year. That’s partly because I write novellas. I also have lots of short stories written over the years that I’ve recently published to sell and giveaway in the World of Stories Bookshop.
I don’t want to spark a big debate. There are plenty of opinions and strong feelings about this issue. But the discussion made me feel that I wanted to clarify my own position.
I like AI and use it for all sorts of things, as well as some for graphics and teasers for my books. I also use it to help spot typos and mistakes in my shorts. I edit my own short stories and work with a human editor for my novellas and novels.
What I don’t do is ask AI to write my books, or any part of, for me. The stories and words come from my own imagination. They’re ones I’ve poured over, edited and proofread multiple times. My covers are either made by a graphic designer or put together by me in Canva.
Despite all those checks, errors still slip through, which I find embarrassing. But mistakes aren’t proof that a book was written by a person, any more than a polished book is proof that it was written by AI.
What I can tell you is that the stories you’ll find in my shop are all mine written by me. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.
Visit Karen’s World of Stories bookshop! Browse my 27 plus titles from tempting short freebies or book you can lose yourself in.
