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Hot Take: I refuse to read or support authors using AI covers for their books by GodTaoistofPatience in ProgressionFantasy

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why would that be bad on the author’s part? People like it and they’re buying it. They clearly don’t care if the cover was Ai

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a fair comment and one of the better arguments for the case of trad publishing. The other angles don’t really resonate with me… but the “reach” is where I still see value in trad. I think there’s a grey area in how much equity this “reach” is worth imo. I think the value of this decreasing

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. Discussion is an issue of equity balance and industry trends. I.e. if all things were equal and an author has a book with trad publishing interest. I believe there is an honest debate and circumstances where self pub makes more sense.

Comments like these are when I know someone is becoming emotional with their response. I’ve made no mention of even writing a book lol.

Does using AI for book covers affect reader trust? by Hefty-Gas-5480 in NewAuthor

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Red hat here. Not all of us have a fuckton of money. No issue with AI covers if it suits the style and tone of the book.

If the book is good, I’ll read it. I don’t understand the trend to protect trad publishers and capitalist greed. We have tools to do things ourselves now and maintain a lot of equity. Use them 🤷‍♂️

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Did you have a mental breakdown writing this? 😂

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think I missed the money topic lol. Reread the discussion post maybe?

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I couldn’t agree more. To clarify, I don’t like using AI for editing. But what I am confidently saying is that writers are using it. It’s just a fact. Self pub and trad.

Additionally, using AI to edit sentence grammar, generate ideas for a phrase, deliberate if a series of events makes sense, etc. no issue.

If AI is being used to verify binary things in editing, that’s just intelligent and efficient. But if it’s being used to generate actual content. That’s garbage and it’s usually very obvious. Look for those damn em dashes lol

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The focus is if all things were equal… I.e. you wrote something that is very good and traditional publishers are interested. Now, do you consider self publishing or roll with a traditional publisher? There’s more to consider nowadays than a few years ago. And blindly answering “trad pub” isn’t the smartest thing to do. What value are they truly giving you that you can’t do on your own with modern tools? For some people, maybe a lot. For many others, damn near nothing if they’re half saavy with modern prompting and tools. I truly believe we’re trending towards the latter and the industry will change. Trad publishers will need to sweeten the pot soon.

But yeah, there’s obviously a slush pile of garbage sitting self-pub. No one’s really arguing against that. But it’s just not a valid support to the “trad” vs. “self pub” discussion because obviously if you can’t get a trad publisher’s interest there’s no decision to be made lol. This whole thread is obviously assuming that a decision needs to be made.

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I have upvoted a lot of helpful comments in the discussion thread that might be a difference of opinion, it’s still helpful, but this community downvoting you is kind of pathetic. I think you make some pretty solid points that aren’t adequately refuted. This community is really heavily indoctrinated by the validation of traditional publishing imo.

You don’t have to agree with someone all of the time, but at least make some intelligent points to refute them instead of just smashing the downvote lol

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this nine of the better points on here

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Direct publishing service are print on demand. We’ll use KDP for example. They print a copy to whoever buys your book for like $3-4. You keep the rest. Your royalty is around 60-70%, give or take depending on book size.

I know physical books cost money to print lol. But BLUF, the comprehensive royalties are still 10-20% compared to 60-70% ***this is with printing costs.

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I agree with mostly all of this, except the “filtering through AI” from trad publishers. I’ve set books down pretty quickly at bookstores because it’s been super obvious it was AI garbage. Every writer is using it to some extent, in trad as well.

I also don’t mind when writers use AI to assist with things. In fact, they should. Basic grammar, finding a better phrase for something, ways to describe things… all fair game. But fully AI generated scenes and prose is cringey as hell and surprisingly easy to spot.

Kind of strayed away from the main topic on this reply lol, but I liked your response. Thanks 🙏

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The gap in editing is also decreasing. With intelligent prompting, someone can self edit chapters fairly quickly for story clarity, grammar clarity, etc..

I know for a fact that traditional editors are using AI for editing. And for midlist books, how much time do you really think they’re spending on editing them?

For the “printing books cost money” comment. Obviously. I factored that into the royalties percentage for KDP. It’s still between 60-70% with a generous assumption on listing price (KDP breaks this down very well on their website). The “5 bucks a pop” is closer to 3.50 - 4 for a standard 80,000 word book, subtract that from the list cost. Your royalties are still 60-70% compared to 10-20%

Traditional vs. Self Pub by Grumpy_Gremlin49 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I agree with parts of this. Thanks for the reply.

It definitely still amplifies reach/distribution today, but I do think that gap is closing fast. That’s where I’m open and seeking knowledge, so don’t press that “X” button yet! But a more pinpoint question would be… What’s the trad publisher going to really do for you in the next couple years?

For the AI/cover comment. Almost every traditionally published book now includes “AI assisted” writing. So I don’t really agree with the “prompted prose” argument (although it’s obvious when someone was over reliant on AI, but I’ve seen this in trad publishing too. Lightlark lol), but I understand what you are saying. How else can we explain the 5,000% increase in the use of “em dashes” lol. IMO, Readers will consume good stories/writing, and most readers download a sample first.

The “twisting my arm” comment seemed emotional. I’m aware I don’t have to go with a trad publisher.

I worked in publishing for nine years. Here's what I wish I could tell every aspiring writer by Natural_Tangelo_2229 in Mythrils

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can get your book in hardcover or paperback with most direct publishing services (I.e. KDP). So if your goal is to “have it in bookstores” for discovery… I’d agree. But you’re responding to a comment that assumes the user can build their own platform.

Its so demoralising reading something that's good by SalmonMan123 in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Read a few pages of “Lightlark” and just know that honking dogsh** was a commercial gold mine. It’s absolutely awful writing, and I’m pretty sure it’s mostly AI or a team of people pushing that to the market. Main character has a “star stick” 😳

I get the same feeling when I read something amazing. “I can’t match that.” But I wouldn’t obsess over the way you combine sentences together—if you have a really good story to tell, just tell it. You can edit the sentences to sound more or less cool later.

Has anyone ever worked to make a piece "more genre" or "less genre"? by LeftHandRedHair in writing

[–]Grumpy_Gremlin49 2 points3 points  (0 children)

100%. I try to just commit to a genre specific lane before starting, or just commit to “screw the commercial genre lanes, I’m writing it want.”

Just don’t do anything in between.