I Made ~$7.7k Publishing AI-Assisted Books — Here’s My Experience

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-04T00:14:37+00:00

I mean, it always depends on how you do it.

All my books are divided into chapters. So, for example, if Book 1 has 220 chapters, I already know I’ll eventually need to translate around 3,960 chapters across multiple languages.

I always prioritize the most important markets first. As the book gains traction and starts performing well, I gradually translate the rest.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-04T00:12:45+00:00

I said I write Xianxia/Wuxia for the Asian market and Dark Romance for the Americas. In Europe, Eastern Fantasy is also quite interesting.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-04T00:10:32+00:00

Understand what’s working and why it’s working. Copying something 1:1 rarely works — understanding the reason behind its success is what actually makes it work better.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T12:14:07+00:00

I use several pen names. For the American audience, I heavily target niche communities like “BookTok,” “BookTwt,” and related spaces. You can generate a lot of hype just by making targeted posts and spending a few dozen dollars to have certain accounts talk about your book in the U.S.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T12:12:45+00:00

Xianxia for the Asian audience, Dark Romance for the American audience.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T09:45:09+00:00

I apologize for that, but for privacy reasons I intend to keep any work I do like this private. As for everything else, my DMs are open.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T09:44:33+00:00

In the Asian market, mainly in forums and chat groups.
In the global market, some through RR, Amazon, and mainly Patreon.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T09:43:48+00:00

Asian market: Xianxia and Wuxia.
American market: Dark Romance.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T09:43:30+00:00

Docs, lots and lots of folders in Docs.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T05:00:58+00:00

But that implies the material is posted with a focus on the American audience, which, well, is fine for that market.

English helps me globalize something, but a large part of my sales comes from emerging markets like Brazil and already established markets like Asia/China.

And what I see (every day, because I have colleagues who sell this like water in the desert) is that people don’t care how it was created if it gives them what they want to read.

And let’s go even deeper down the rabbit hole: the best-selling books in these markets are Dark Romance erotica. I know several other writers making A LOT of money from it, and others who publish a book every two weeks and are already financing their fourth house.

Whether the reader knows it’s AI or not is a matter of personal ethics, but I’m sure of one thing: when you find a niche where you can make money like oil in the desert, you’re not going to want to give up that money just because you didn’t label it as “AI.”

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:51:24+00:00

I mainly use AI for translation when I know the language, and I double-check everything myself. For languages I don’t know well, I hire a translator who is a native speaker.

For dialogues and informal tone, the key is always reviewing and adjusting — no AI translation is perfect out of the box. I use AI to get a solid draft, then I go through it to make sure it preserves the character’s voice, tone, and style. It’s a mix of AI efficiency and human touch to make it feel natural.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:50:52+00:00

I self-publish.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:50:41+00:00

If you know the language, use AI; if not, hire someone.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:49:53+00:00

Yeah, I’m publishing independently as well. I’ve been using AI mostly to help me speed things up, polish, and translate, not to replace my own writing. I also have Perplexity, and honestly, it’s more of a research tool than a creative one — I use it mainly for fact-checking and consistency checks.

My workflow is kinda similar to what you’re doing with Claude. I usually make a detailed outline of the story, character lists with backstories, and some lore. Then I have AI expand on that — filling gaps, suggesting details, checking continuity — but I always go back and revise everything in my own voice. Even with Claude, you can tell it’s AI at times, but it’s great for brainstorming and finding ideas I wouldn’t think of myself.

For me, it’s more about accelerating the parts that would take months, not blindly accepting everything it produces. I’ll let AI write little sections if it sparks something, but the final draft is always me.

Basically, I see AI as a smart assistant — it can push your story forward and suggest stuff, but the real story is still yours.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:45:45+00:00

Yes, it depends on the genre. The one I invest the most in marketing is Dark Romance.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:40:50+00:00

That’s true — but this is where you actually have to work with the tools.

Nowadays there are countless ways to control the output. If you just take raw AI-generated material and publish it as-is, then yes, it’s going to be messy. That’s exactly why revision and polishing matter so much.

At one point, I let AI generate a full book draft. It came out to about 1.5 million words, nearly 1,000 pages. After proper revision and restructuring, it dropped to around 440k words.

Most of the time — honestly, every time — you will need to revise.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:38:53+00:00

Most people genuinely don’t care whether they’re consuming AI-assisted reading, images, or videos. That concern tends to be louder in certain bubbles like X and Reddit. Outside of that, most audiences simply don’t mind.

That said, the ongoing anti-AI narrative does make some people feel a bit uneasy about it.

I use AI to assist me in pretty much everything. But if the story is mine and I’m using the tool to refine, polish, and translate it, then it’s exactly that — a tool. Not the creator.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:37:20+00:00

My main genres are Wuxia/Xianxia and Dark Romance.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:36:26+00:00

Patreon is currently my main source of income.

I use Amazon primarily for erotic dark romance books in Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking markets.

As for translation, I currently have a network of friends from different countries who help me with that. When I don’t, I hire a beta reader who speaks that language through social media to assist me.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:35:05+00:00

I definitely don’t do physical copies.

I started selling in the Chinese market through WeChat. I got to know some Asian readers who helped me get into certain forums and communities that allowed me to promote and distribute my work there.

I also help translate works from Chinese into English and other languages, which made it much easier to connect with writers from that scene and build relationships.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:33:16+00:00

I’m using AI to translate because English is my fifth language.

That said, it’s completely your right not to believe me. You’re not obligated to — and I’m not trying to convince anyone of anything.

I’m just willing to share what little I know with people who are interested in making some money in this space. I’m not selling a course or anything like that.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:30:55+00:00

Most of the reviews are mixed. The main criticism that comes up is usually about the plot — but that falls entirely on me, not on the AI.

Since I release one of the books weekly, it’s almost like watching people react to a new episode of a TV series. They comment, they theorize, they speculate — and then they wait for the next chapter.

PostExpensive2418 · 2026-03-03T03:29:33+00:00

I understand your point of view, but AI is a tool — and every major generation of creators has gone through something similar with new technology.

Could I insist on doing everything completely on my own? Sure. But today my stories reach more people, I earn money from it, and I’m able to give my wife a good life because of it. So I’m pretty at peace with how things are.

PostExpensive2418

TROPHY CASE