How Can Authors Protect Themselves From Being Accused Of Using AI To Write Their Book

Authors are facing a turbulent time. Everywhere we look, creativity is being threatened by generative AI (Artificial Intelligence). Sadly, it’s not just the written word being threatened, but all the creative arts. Books, graphic design, voice acting and voice over work, journalism, photography, illustrations, animation, music, and more. The list goes on. 

Daily, authors who have poured their heart and soul into their writing are being accused of using generative AI to write their books. It feels like a witch hunt and if it happened to me, I would feel like throwing it all in. It’s so disheartening. 

Generative AI has been trained using the stolen work of human authors, so it’s not surprising that these accusations are occurring more often.  The humble em dash along with the word padded (She padded down the stairs) are prime examples where hard-working authors are being viciously attacked and vilified for supposedly using AI. Em dashes have been used by authors since writers put pen to paper.

What can we all do as authors to protect ourselves from these false accusations?  Here are my thoughts.

• Keep all your rough notes and paper drafts. Be sure to keep proof of things like plot points, world building ideas, and character development 

• Write in programs such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word that track changes. It will show your history of deletions and rewrites

• Save multiple versions of your manuscript, showing the development of your ideas

• Change up your sentence structure. Have a mix of short, punchy ones with longer, complex ones. AI sticks to a consistent pattern throughout the generated document

• Include anecdotes and personal experiences if you can. Throw in specific, niche details from your own life, career, or hobbies that AI wouldn't think to include

• Avoid over polished generic phrasing. Use your own unique voice

• Keep detailed notes on any research you painstakingly conducted for your story

• Share excerpts from your WIP on your author website or blog, as this will be dated

• Focus on the internal thoughts of your characters. AI struggles with the messy state of human emotions

• If your own life experience or your work inspired your story idea include a ‘What Inspired This Book’ in the back along with the acknowledgements

Unfortunately, we now live in a world where these accusations will become more common place, and if you find yourself falsely accused of using AI to write your book these tips will help you prove it was written by a hard-working human. The human voice we bring to our stories is so important. So, lets continue to bring our own unique voice to our readers and tell AI to go jump.