So, word got out that anybody could write a book now and you wanted to know how to become an author yourself. But you have no idea where on God’s green earth to start.
Pay attention to the rest of this blog and you might just discover the exact recipe many publishing “authors” secretly use today: AI book writing.
The Rise of AI-powered Authors
If you asked anybody in the early 2000s if it was possible to write a book in an instant, they’d probably say ‘Hell no’.
There’s a lot that goes into writing a book—developing the concept, churning out pages that involve the kind of writing where you lose track of time and date, plus never-ending research, editing, and proofreading. Not to mention, having to deal with writer’s block.
Overcoming these challenges is what separates book authors from the literary normies.
But times are different now—writers no longer need to go through such a lengthy process because there’s a tech solution to automate almost every part of an author’s journey.
There are AI writing tools available today that could streamline the entire book writing process by turning raw ideas into polished prose within seconds.
But what are these AI writing tools exactly and what role do they play in helping you get started in book writing? Keep reading.
Understanding AI Writing Tools
You have Large Language Models or LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude that can assist you with any task, including writing a book. All that’s needed is for you to make a request or prompt the chatbot to generate content and answer questions to help you during research and brainstorming, book outline creation, editing, and proofreading.
There are also writing generators like Jasper AI and Chapterly that could create drafts of perfected content in your tone of voice. They even offer book writing templates you could customize for a highly AI-powered writing process.
With the right prompt, book writing can be a breeze with these AI tools. But how exactly can AI help you become an author?
Using AI in Book Writing
For starters, these tools are powerful idea machines. They can suggest plot twists, help you flesh out a story arc, or even come up with dialogue that sounds natural and engaging.
With that being said, it can be very tempting to just let AI write everything while you do nothing. But if you’re really interested in starting to write a book, you should still be the one writing it.
AI should only be used to simplify your writing process and improve your writing efficiency. This way, you could ensure that your work is still yours instead of AI’s. This also helps ensure that whatever you publish under your name is accurate, precise, and legitimate, as AI-generated content can sometimes be biased or erroneous.
Think of AI writing tools only as your assistants for drafting the book instead of creating it, leaving you more time to focus on the creative aspects that really matter. Plus, they can help polish your work, suggesting improvements in tone, style, and structure.
Getting Started With AI Book Writing
Here’s a step-by-step guide to becoming an author using your favorite AI tools:
- Go to ChatGPT or create an account with OpenAI (if you don’t have one yet). Use this prompt to influence and direct the story. This is key because AI-generated narratives could lack substance if completely automated without human guidance.
Disclaimer: This prompt is used to write a Children’s book. Feel free to make changes to it to create something else.
- At this point, ChatGPT should have generated questions to build the storyline for your book. Answer each one and wait for the storyline to be generated.
- Ask ChatGPT to pick key moments that would benefit from a visual element. Make sure to ask for a detailed description that will help readers visualize each scene.
My suggestion? Let it pick 5 key moments from each chapter so you can keep your readers engaged.
Use this prompt and edit as needed:
- Head over to MidJourney or create an account by signing up to the Discord server. Use each description as a prompt to create your visuals. Download your chosen images and save them for later.
Pro Tip: Make sure to use the same theme and style when rendering your images to maintain consistency in your book. - Return to ChatGPT and ask the chatbot to create captions for each image. These captions will be used to help guide the readers through the story.
Use this prompt and edit as needed:
- Finalize your book draft. Edit and proofread your work (ideally with the help of ChatGPT to save time), format it properly, and get cover art (by generating one via MidJourney or commissioning an artist).
Congratulations! All you need to do now is look for a book design template you can customize. Some good applications you can use to print your book are the good, old Microsoft Publisher and the tried and tested Scrivener.
Trust me, this hack works. I even managed to create a simple Children’s book using this method. Check it out here.
No, I didn’t make money from it, but who knows? Your work might come out even better to earn you the title of an author *cross fingers*.
Final Thoughts
There’s no shame in using AI to help with your writing. Tech like this is developed for the sole purpose of easing the burden of our workload. Whether you’re a veteran writer or a newbie, AI is a great writer to collaborate with for your next literary masterpiece.
Don’t overthink your book before you start, just get it written first with AI.
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Photo credits to Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
