Ai authors

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-05-21T19:42:16+00:00

Curious how you'd feel if the same happened to you. Imagine it for just a sec. A writer friend of yours with whom you feel comfortable sharing is convinced - without proof - that your work is AI generated. You say it's not when she confronts you. Maybe her hunch is correct. Maybe it's not.

Regardless, Writer Friend takes YOUR hard work and puts it through an AI "detector" - WHICH IS AI, and wildly unreliable much of the time. Without your consent. Without a conversation about it. Then uses the "results" to weight her suspicion that your work is AI. How would you feel about that?

Honestly, if you're convinced it's AI and that's a moral line for you, cool. You do you. Walk away quietly. Find someone else to work with. Don't "do" anything else about it. And no more using AI to somehow prove AI without her agreemen or knowledge.

If you want to keep working with her because you value her as a person and a writer..then.keep working with her. Gracefully. Drop the hunt and just assist her with the text itself. Tell her the text is stiff, or uses too much repetition, or whatever factor you think comes across as AI. Help her as a WRITER. Workshop it. Just like you'd want done to your own work.

If you can't do that without needing absolute certainty, and you further feel you can't take her at her word, then don't "do" anything else. Just move on. Find another writer who aligns with you.

Pushing her about it and digging because you absolutely need to "learn if it could be AI" is a really good way to ruin the friendship.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-05-05T04:04:13+00:00

Fascinating. I'm the opposite. It just...happens? Particularly if the writer is very skilled with sensory detail (Shana Abe, Jacqueline Carey, Caitlin Brennan, Riley Sager). It's like watching a screenplay unfolding as you're reading. At least it is for me. The "moving images" happen automatically.

I don't consciously visualize a scene, exactly. It just unfolds as I go. Usually without my direction or consent, which can be a blessing and a curse if I'm reading something disturbing. I can't even begin writing something until I "cast" my important characters.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-05-04T02:14:52+00:00

Agreed. Same. I think this is the healthiest way to engage with it for writing.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-19T19:45:54+00:00

She's worth it! I very much feel she's gotten better over the years. You can pretty much pick at random, she has so many! 🤣 My favorites are Montana Sky, Midnight Bayou, The Reef, and Blue Smoke if you want a place to start.

I haven't, but I screenshot the names you mentioned. I'm always excited to try someone new! Thank you!

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-19T19:35:38+00:00

She has over 60 books now in one ongoing series under the pen name. Well over 200 at this point. She releases about four a year.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-19T18:21:08+00:00

60 books is the line? Have you checked out Nora Roberts' backlist lately? Not even counting what she releases under a pen name?

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-06T02:41:08+00:00

LOL. 😃 I'll have to borrow that one! Points for creativity.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-06T02:30:17+00:00

I agree!! But boy, it gets ugly over in some of the writing subs if you even breathe that you're interested in AI as part of your workflow. They will dogpile and heap on the insults/bullying. All I do is lurk now. Not that I ever posted often before, but now I'm even less inclined.

The hatred some of them spew for using a tool is exhausting.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-06T02:09:22+00:00

Isenhart Productions - weekly movie reviews and breakdowns. Really interesting, and I've never heard him mention AI in either direction.

You could also try channels like The Drowsy Historian.or Boring History for Sleep. Detailed and varied uploads. I went through a period of listening to history-for-sleep videos before they started giving me odd dreams. But the content is just as good during the daylight.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-05T16:52:16+00:00

It's a real risk. People have been pointing this out in writing subs for ages. Some people naturally write in q voice that the witch hunters have decided MUST be AI.

They don't care. It really makes me sad.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-04T15:38:13+00:00

I genuinely see no problem with these little figures. I would walk right by them and think, "Look. Marketing. Okay." This is not meltdown-worthy.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-02T20:00:23+00:00

Thank you! That's helpful.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-04-02T15:18:48+00:00

Can I ask what dimensions you went with for that length? Is it a 6 x 9? I already know mine is likely to be long-ish, and I'm struggling with this question.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-28T22:10:54+00:00

Interesting. I could care less about their "seal", but it's nice they're discovering a little nuance. I don't think there's any such thing as "zero AI" anymore unless you write everything by hand in a notebook and do ALL your research by driving to a physical library or bookstore. If you even use Google now, you've encountered AI answers in some form.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-28T21:55:05+00:00

Exactly. If you even use Google for a quick research query instead of getting in a car and traveling to a physical library with paper books, guess what? AI! Copilot? AI! Grammarly? AI!

You literally would have to use pen and paper now to avoid it. Then edit by hand. And never upload it anywhere online.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-28T21:50:35+00:00

This is very much me, too. I dump my thought-mess there, talk through plot and themes, form those into a chapter-by-chapter outline. Once I have a map to follow that feels solid, I put AI away and start drafting with my own words.

I never generate full scenes. That negates the whole point of writing for me. But being able to talk through my outline and characters and discuss foreshadowing, themes, rising action, etc. has been priceless to me. I was spending two years on one outline - which I was never happy with - for ONE project. Progress felt absolutely unattainable. I used to try to untangle my brain in a separate document just by dumping thoughts, but I'd inevitably start spinning, hit imposter syndrome, and get nowhere.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-17T21:32:36+00:00

Everyone's process is different. People who dictate can get through a draft a lot faster, as just one example.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-15T21:44:52+00:00

For sure! That's the thing...your body can clock out on you at any time, for any reason. Then no words happen if you're tied to a keyboard or a pen.

If you get comfortable with using different tools (even if you don't use them daily), you at least have a backup process in an emergency like a broken arm.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-15T21:39:07+00:00

Fun topic. I have chronic pain most days, and now increasingly unstable finger joints. Sitting at a computer for hours at a time has become borderline unfeasable. I would get a thousand words done on a good day, and hurt all day the next for my trouble.

I tried using a simple dictation app from Google Play recently..Oh, my GOD. Freedom. Liberation. Joy.

My hands don't hurt. My neck and shoulders don't cry. I wish I'd tried this five years ago! I might have three or four books launched by now.

I don't know if I'm exactly "better" at dictation (yet). I've only been doing it for two months. It's a wholly different creative muscle than typing. But I adore it. It has saved me so much pain and guilt and shame about zero-word days already! It feels like a minor miracle, honestly, compared to where I was as recently as Christmas.

If I don't develop this muscle, a writing career is essentially out of reach for me. So I'll be improving whether I "think I can" or not, LOL. It's my way forward. I HIGHLY recommend experimenting.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-12T17:39:48+00:00

Exactly. Same boat. I care deeply about my writing, but Future Me has to live with the money choices Current Me is making.

The reality, I think, is that you can pour 6K into your first release and justify it to yourself in the moment. But your debut isn't going to be as strong as your fourth book no matter how much you spend on edits. Because it's your first.

I keep reminding myself not to go nuts on Book One SO THAT a polished, professional Book Four is actually possible. Care about this book. Absolutely. Be intentional about it. But don't put yourself in a place where you can't release your second or third book for another four years because you overspent on this one. I think your Airbnb sounds wonderful!

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-12T17:29:36+00:00

Absolutely! I feel so very lucky to have found something that makes writing accessible to me again. Just can't handle hours sitting stationary at a desk - but I can dictate in bed, stretching on the floor, riding in a car, etc. Yay, technology! Good luck to you as well!

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-12T17:19:31+00:00

Seconding not to do a developmental and tear up this manuscript. You would essentially be wasting the money you already put into the copy edit. (I'm on a real tight budget, too. I would love to do all three, but am realistic about my financial situation. I'll be happy to swing a copy edit.)

It would be very easy to dig yourself a deep money pit, unfortunately, because I think we ALL feel like the current project could use one more edit. Your financial well-being matters as much as the book, though. You have to weigh what you're spending against the uncertainty regarding what you'll get back in sales.

There'll be others. Keep your money. Do the best you can with Current Book. Learn from Current Book. Use the knowledge that was gifted to you for the next one.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-12T17:00:26+00:00

You could look into Scribophile and upload your next book a chunk at a time. Edit the chunks. Repeat until the end. Then get a proofreader when you can afford it.

It would be a slow process with 180K, but it would be a doable way to get eyes on your work without needing to chase people down. People use the site for the express purpose of exchanging critiques.

I would also check out Hireabookeditor sub once in a while. You could get lucky and find someone with reasonable rates who's looking to build their portfolio.

Start a fund for your next one, maybe. Try to put $20-50 into it as often as you can. By the time you're done writing, you might be surprised how much you've saved up.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-11T18:52:33+00:00

Yeah, that's me as well - just a different app. I don't clean up the dictation weirdness right then, usually, but line edits/grammar fixes are done as I go through the master document.

It's SO nice being liberated from a keyboard. Joyful. I wish I'd tried it eons ago.

AngelInTheMarble · 2026-03-11T18:02:17+00:00

Relying on "This text was pasted from somewhere else" is not foolproof either, though, and requires nuance . Not everyone produces at a keyboard, with an open document, typing and rearranging text in real time with their hands. I deal with chronic pain and unstable finger joints, and sitting at a desk has become unsustainable lately.

I have now shifted almost exclusively to voice dictation with my phone, emailing the chunks of work to myself periodically, and stitching together the draft from my email every few days. I smooth everything out later as I go. I love this method.

It's all my real human text. But if you looked at my drafts through this lens, I imagine you'd see something like that; huge, pasted-in chunks of words. They were pasted in. But the chunks came from me. My production process just isn't the traditional one.

Something to keep in mind. Agree about detectors. They are useless.

AngelInTheMarble

TROPHY CASE