Honest Criticism Boosts Your Book and Career

Editing is an important step in the writing process, particularly for a book. Self-editing is great and should be done, but your book is your baby and your mind tends to fill in gaps that might leave your audience confused. AI is okay for editing in the initial stages, but if you're not careful, AI is likely to change your voice and possibly the meaning of what you say. A human editor is essential if you want to make a good impression and keep your voice and meaning intact. It's one thing that you nor your AI assistant can completely do on your own. #writingcommunity #bookediting

Another negative consequence of the advent of AI authorship: Until recent years celebrities often utilized "ghostwriters" to write books on their behalf, but now even illiterate individuals with an opinion can utilize Artificial Intelligence (LLM) to write articles and books for them. The line between "messenger" and the "message" can now be enormously distorted to misrepresent information and the attribution of authorship. #artificialintelligence #authorship #book #author #misrepresentation

Thrilled that I was able to attend Part 4 of Denis Hirson's inspirational online talks (arranged by Jacana) about writing a memoir. What stood out for me, particularly, and all of it was amazing, was the injunction to listen to yourself and to write from the heart, because nobody else in the world has your voice. To my mind, this is sound advice for all creative writing. But what about AI? Will it learn and mimic all our voices? It is already churning out books in different genres. We don't know the future effects of AI on creative writing but for now I will hold fast to the belief that tapping into our essence, writing from the heart and the gut, is what makes our voice real and unique. It will be my guiding light as I get back into the stream of new writing.

New essay: Put Your John Hancock on It - a signature is where authorship becomes accountability. The essay begins with a phrase most people know: “Put your John Hancock on it.” But the phrase carries more weight than “sign here.” It means: Put your name behind it. Stand with it. Accept responsibility for it. That question matters again in an AI-assisted writing environment. The issue is not only whether AI helped create the work. The harder question is whether the person named on the work can still claim it, explain it, defend it, and honestly stand behind it. Read online now: https://lnkd.in/eHcR-Pa7

Something else clicked for me whilst on my book writing retreat with Karen Williams and Sheryl Andrews last week. (To be fair a LOT clicked 😄) Of course, the writing part of a book gets a lot of attention, it's all about the word count to start with! But then what? From my own experience, the editing and publishing stage is where people either get stuck or overspend. The process can become surprisingly time consuming, especially with the back and forth between drafts, edits, and revisions. So this time, I’ve been doing something differently. I’ve been using AI, alongside a clear style guide, to: 📚 tighten structure 📕 improve clarity 📓 create consistency across the manuscript 📒 reduce the amount of back and forth needed later Before it ever goes near a professional editor. Not to replace editors, (you absolutely still need them), but so that you show up with a much stronger draft which can save time, reduces cost, and make the whole process smoother. So I’m thinking of running a small live workshop: “How to Get Your Book Ready for Editing Using AI (and Save Time and Cost)” It would be a practical session where I walk through: how to create and use a style guide how to use AI properly, not just throwing prompts at it how to improve your manuscript before it goes to an editor It would be for a small group of 5 - 10 people and in return I’d ask for honest feedback as I shape this into something more structured. If that sounds useful, or you’re at that stage with your book, drop a comment or message me. #amwriting #selfpublishing #businessbooks #writingcommunity #editing #manuscriptready Pic: Archive shot from my first book launch

Just finishing up On Writing Well by Zinsser. Advice for nonfiction writing, down to the level of an email or memo, all the way up to blog articles, magazine articles, books, etc. It's a classic for a reason and everyone should read it, especially in the era of AI slop! Plus, it's decently funny.

Good science deserves to be understood.... so write that paper for human readers! "If you confuse, you lose." LLMs are making the average paper much harder to read. Unnecessary jargon, fancy statistics-talk that is technically correct but 1) reviewers don't understand and 2) doesn't immediately explain to anyone what's really going on. I have nothing against AI-assisted writing, and I do it myself a lot as well, but even that requires some care and patience. Something being technically correct doesn't mean it's good writing. The frontier models are smarter than most, even academic, readers when it comes to "general knowledge", and this is clear with things like statistics and how they are handled. But. When you piss off a reader... well you're just begging for a reject. So try this. After your next draft, read it as if you're that slightly-tired reviewer. Find the first sentence that slows you down. Fix it. Then find the next one. Walk the reader through, hand in hand, paragraph by paragraph. Let's just be nice to each other, no?

“If feedback makes you angry, it’s probably doing its job.” On Pros Talking Prose, we dig into why validation keeps you stuck, how “bad” first drafts become great books, and why tough edits (not comfort) build a real author career—plus a quick reality check on AI “help.” Lean into the wind—your story will stand stronger. 🌬️✍️ Give it a listen—you’ll want to hear this one. https://vist.ly/53qdm #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #BookEditing #SelfPublishing #IndieAuthor

Book review! "With Rhetorical Innovation with AI Integration, Nicole Hospital-Medina has given us a textbook that truly centers around the student writer's unique voice. While guiding us through ethical and creative uses of AI in the writing classroom through thoughtful and engaging writing and activities, the book never loses sight of its true mission: to show that AI does not have to be the road towards uniformity but can be an opportunity to discover, encourage, and celebrate student expression and authenticity." Claudia Hoffmann, Ph. D., Writing Studies Thank you, Claudia! #writingstudies #AIusage #writingwithAI #writing

I'd like to propose a new word, bloviAItion, to describe overly verbose AI-generated writing. I realize the capital "AI" in the middle is a challenge to newspaper editors, spell-checkers, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and LLMs. And the necessary pronounciation, blo-vee-AYE-shun, sounds a bit Aussie to American ears. But I think the time for this word has arrived! Are you with me?