AI is changing publishing faster than most authors realize. 

And if you're a writer working on a book right now, you may be wondering:

What happens when you're competing with books that can be produced by AI in a matter of hours?

I recently read a New York Times piece by technology reporter Kashmir Hill that made me laugh, get mad, and feel more certain than ever about something I teach in my newsletter, my Your Bestselling Book course, and my book coaching work.

The future of publishing isn't about becoming more like AI.

It's about becoming more human.

AI Slop Is Flooding the Bookshelves

Hill discovered, through a friend's text, that she had a biography for sale on Amazon.

The problem?

She hadn't written it.

She hadn't authorized it.

She had never heard of the author or publisher.

And when she investigated the supposed author, she discovered that the person didn't even exist.

When Hill purchased a copy, she found a "life story" that had been scraped from information available online and mixed with completely fabricated details.

Among the inventions were details about her relationship with her husband and an elaborate morning coffee ritual.

The reality?

Her husband makes the coffee.

In plainer terms:

AI slop.

And there are thousands more books like this.

According to research cited by Hill, more than 300,000 ebooks are now being published each month, with ebook publishing volume having tripled since ChatGPT arrived.

And one of the categories being flooded fastest is nonfiction, precisely where many aspiring authors are trying to build their authority.

One author Hill tracked down had produced hundreds of books using ChatGPT.

His explanation for doing it?

"Bar money."

That's the competition authors are facing.

But here's where I want you to look at this differently.

This Is Actually Good News for Human Authors

When the marketplace fills with generic, AI-generated books, something interesting happens.

Authenticity becomes more valuable.

Readers can tell when something feels empty.

They can feel the difference between a book written by someone who has actually lived through an experience and one assembled from information scraped from the internet.

Think about what makes your favorite books memorable.

It's not simply the information.

It's the perspective.

The voice.

The vulnerability.

The strange little details that nobody else would know.

The story behind the lesson.

The moment that changed everything.

That's your advantage.

AI can organize information.

It can generate sentences.

It can imitate patterns.

But it hasn't lived your life.

It didn't sit in that hospital room.

It didn't make that career-changing decision.

It didn't experience the heartbreak.

It didn't have the conversation that changed the direction of your life.

It didn't spend twenty years becoming the expert you are today.

Your lived experience is something a robot cannot counterfeit.

Don't Write the Book a Robot Could Write

This doesn't mean you need to avoid AI altogether.

It means you shouldn't make generic writing your goal.

If you're using AI as part of your writing process, use it thoughtfully.

Let it help you organize research, brainstorm possibilities, or work through ideas.

But don't outsource the part that makes your book yours.

Your voice.

Your perspective.

Your experiences.

Your stories.

Your hard-earned wisdom.

Those are the things that make readers trust you.

And as the number of generic books grows, that trust is going to matter even more.

Write the Book That Could Only Come From You

You don't need to compete with a machine on speed.

You don't need to produce 445 books.

You don't need to publish more.

You need to publish something meaningful.

Something that carries your fingerprints.

Something a reader can finish and think:

"Nobody else could have written this book."

That's the opportunity.

Don't try to beat AI at being AI.

Be unmistakably human.

TIP OF THE WEEK

Put Your Soul on the Page

Open your journal and write what I call a Movie Moment.

Think of an experience that profoundly impacted your life.

It could be something joyful, like the karaoke night where you met your true love.

Or something painful, like the car accident that finally convinced you to change careers.

Now take us inside that moment.

What could you see?

What could you hear?

What could you smell?

What could you taste?

What could you physically feel?

Don't simply tell us what happened.

Make us feel like we were there.

Then end with an observation about what the experience taught you and what you gained from it.

You may have just discovered a scene for your book.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"A.I. is just a word prediction machine. There's no thinking, no real creativity, no soul behind it."

Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, in The New York Times

Ready to Write the Book Only You Can Write?

MeiMei Fox is a 2x New York Times bestselling author, FORBES contributor, and creator of Your Bestselling Book and The Story Cure.

Through her writing, courses, and coaching, she helps aspiring and established authors turn their ideas, experiences, and expertise into books that connect with readers.

Learn more about Your Bestselling Book →
https://www.writeyourbestsellingbook.com/