Writers everywhere are debating over the value of AI in writing. Here are some ideas:

Writing Tip for Today: What are some advantages and disadvantages of using Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

Pirates

As artificial intelligence gains popularity, writers are hearing of authors’ published works being pirated to train AI systems. I personally know a few authors whose books have been used in this way. It’s definitely something to watch out for.

The main reasons writers are on edge about AI are 1) books already published that are taken without permission or compensation used to train AI systems and 2) AI-generated books. The first concerns writers more—copyright laws prevent book piracy. Yet some AI companies are going beyond public domain (so old that copyright has run out) books to current titles. These companies generally don’t alert or ask authors. Many have to use search tools to know if their books are pirated to AI firms.

• Some examples of search tools to learn if your book is among the pirated works are below. Search The Atlantic’s Tool: The Atlantic created a searchable database to find books included in the LibGen dataset used for training.
• Search the Books3 Dataset: Many AI models (LLaMA, GPT-J) were trained on the Books3 database of, in part, pirated books. You can search this dataset directly to check for your works.
• Check the Anthropic Lawsuit List: Authors can search the official Works List for the Bartz v. Anthropic settlement to see if their works are part of that class action.
• Use the Authors Guild Resource: The Authors Guild provides tools and letters you can send to AI companies if your work was used.

Proposals

So far AI feels adversarial. But there are ways to use it that can be helpful. When you prepare a book proposal, you research comparable or books that are similar to yours to show a publisher that your book is unique or will stand out.

By choosing a topic and typing keywords into AI, results are fast and accessible. For instance, if you’re writing a book about cars, you can use AI to show you which books, how many books as well as their star reviews and rankings. The search results save time and cut down on the tedium of finding the best comparables for your proposal.

Proposals are necessary but hard work. Impress agents or editors with the kinds of details that AI can produce quickly and without as much effort. A way to make AI work for you is by learning how to identify and use keywords with online book sellers. Keywords are what potential readers use to find (nonfiction mainly, but also fiction) the type of books they’re interested in reading.

By choosing a topic and typing keywords into AI, results are fast and accessible.

Platforms

As you build your platform, your ability to market your work is crucial. In the same way you used AI to identify other books in your genre or category, you can also research trending hashtags on media outlets such as X, Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok. Find out what hashtags are popular and include them in your own posts.

In times past, writers often marketed their books in groups of writers or authors. This method usually fails—all the participants want their books sold. Instead, use AI to identify specific areas of interest, research topics or affinity groups.

AI is still new—and many are leery of its possibilities. Students cranking out papers written by AI aren’t acceptable, but if the tool cuts hours off your research for your own original work, it can save time and money. Use AI wisely. And don’t forget to check if your existing book has been pirated. If so, you may have standing for a lawsuit.