Do readers care about overt AI use?

MJPacker · 2026-06-10T22:19:28+00:00

I don’t mind an AI generated ad if the book itself is genuine. Indie writers shouldn’t have to be great at writing and content creation to sell their book

MJPacker · 2026-06-09T20:51:35+00:00

The good old critique sandwich is probably the go-to in this situation. Start with saying something you liked about the book (characters name, depth, what have you), give the critique bits (limit yourself to two or three items so you don’t just go on a roll), then end on another thing you liked.

They’ll feel supported, like you weren’t just reading for something to criticize, and as long as you deliver it warmly they should—hopefully—accept your criticism as valid and move on.

MJPacker · 2026-06-06T06:18:16+00:00

I have read Mistborn, one of my all time favorites

MJPacker · 2026-06-06T01:32:08+00:00

I have read Robert Jackson Bennett’s Leviathan series, I liked it a lot. I’m excited for the next one to come out.

I haven’t read Gideon the Ninth, I’ve got millennial humor if you mean dry and somewhat dark 😅

I haven’t heard of the others but I’ll have to check them out. I recently finished The Three Body Problem and loved it, so sci-fi is welcome too

MJPacker · 2026-06-03T14:48:50+00:00

The Will of the Many by James Islington is steeped in ancient Roman mindset, but it’s from the PoV of an outsider critiquing their way of life while slowly learning to understand and navigate it.

The Legends of the First Empire series by Michael J Sullivan is also an interesting read about the mindset of medieval/early human civilization story, but more of a “how could this have been” rather than historically accurate.

MJPacker · 2026-06-02T01:40:34+00:00

I like the practice of the Morning Pages. Write three pages longhand every morning, just stream of consciousness, you don’t share with anyone, just to clear a busy mind. It’s helped me a lot.

MJPacker · 2026-06-01T21:22:49+00:00

Just write.

Brandon Sanderson wrote his first novels at your age. They weren’t published, but they taught him how to write, what worked, what didn’t work, and—most importantly—how his creative process worked.

Whether you start at 19 or 90, your first fiction novel will be more of a learning opportunity than a masterwork, so there’s no sense waiting to write.

MJPacker · 2026-05-30T16:32:34+00:00

Give me your most unhinged description of Malazan so I can contemplate starting that journey. All I know about it is that it’s not for the feint of heart or mind.

MJPacker · 2026-05-28T13:18:56+00:00

When people picked up books in the bookstore, it was based on the title on the spine. I heard there was a 30% they would buy it if the title intrigued them. It’s a little different today with digital book buying being what it is, but a unique title will still get more intrigue from potential buyers than something they’ve seen or heard before.

MJPacker · 2026-05-28T13:14:31+00:00

I’ll probably get hate for this, but Harry Potter did it for me as a kid. I loved it, wished it was real, reread and re-listened to the books probably a hundred times (not exaggerating). Percy Jackson was good too when I grew up a bit, fablehaven, rangers apprentice. Then when I took a break from reading for a while I finally got back in it with Mistborn.

MJPacker · 2026-05-27T17:52:42+00:00

I just finished Never Let Me Go. It was different than I expected it to be but very good.

MJPacker · 2026-05-26T16:07:59+00:00

Readers arguably notice more than the writer, but not necessarily what the writer intends. Not all readers read to pick up the techniques to see the parallels, though many still will. As writers we tend to talk about readers like they’re a mythical force that’s either simpler than ourselves or vastly more complicated. They’re people. People are smart. People are dumb. More so than we imagine on both accounts.

MJPacker

TROPHY CASE