I am a book editor. Some online have called editing a dying profession, a languishing vine, or a career where the fat lady is indeed, singing. Why? AI. We’ve begun to scratch the surface of what AI can do. AI can generate art, music, and yes, edit books. Surely, you’ve seen AI programs or even tried them yourself. I have used the programs for fun, silly things, or as a Google search alternative when I need an answer more than a website with excellent SEO. But those interactions with AI have not been smooth, seamless, or relational. They are a transaction of information. The AI program is a tool to help me with some casual or mindless thing that I wouldn’t pay a human being for.Because AI can imitate human interaction, however, some believe that their interaction with the AI program is basically the same as interacting with a human. Or, on the other side, asking AI to expand their idea is the same as interacting with another version of themselves. Both of these trains of thought allow a user to utilize AI rather than a human being (even if that human being is their own being) in things such as editing a book without feeling as if they are deceiving a reader.
There are many reasons I’ve seen people give when justifying their use of an AI editor. “I can argue with it, and no one gets their feelings hurt.” “I don’t feel judgement from AI like I would from a person.” “I don’t have to be nice.” “It’s the same as using spellcheck.” “It’s my idea, so AI is just helping me. It’s not really writing anything.” “I’d never get my book written and edited without AI.” “AI is even better than the editor I used previously.” “I just don’t have the money for a professional editor.” “Many so-called book editors use an AI program anyway.” “I know my book is perfect already, so I am just going to run it through AI to make sure it’s perfect.” “It’s just easier to use AI.” “I don’t have the time or energy to edit with a human when I can just use AI.” “AI makes me sound better.” “AI produces text and edits it so much faster!”
I’d like to address these feelings and explain what AI can and can’t do. First, AI can argue with you. I have had it argue with me. I was signed in on one program under one email, and it performed an action. When I was signed in under another email but the same AI program, it denied being able to do the same action. I explained it had just performed the action earlier that day, and it responded that I must be confused. So yes, AI can argue and gaslight, just like a human.
Secondly, I am so sorry if you have written a book or some form of literature, and come across some form of unfair judgement. As an editor, I might think I am not the right person to edit your manuscript and can make you aware of that, but I would never want anyone to get their feelings hurt. Your writing is extremely personal. When someone trusts me with their manuscript, I want to be able to be honest, but fair. True, there are times when you might not want to hear what an editor has to say, but I would hope that at least what they say was said with kindness. I have noticed with AI, that it is biased towards the human it is interacting with. Meaning that if I write a poem and submit it to an AI program and ask if it’s a good poem, AI responds as if I were Robert Frost. A true editor will go through your writing honestly, not to flatter your ego, and with a human touch, rather than a mechanical, unemotional, and robotic response.
Thirdly, yes, I use spellcheck when writing. I got my first typewriter at age 11, a Word Processor at age 12, and an actual desktop computer right before turning 13. We purchased Microsoft Word on a disc from Walmart and installed it onto our Windows XP. Finally, I could type to my heart’s content, and those squiggly green and red lines would indicate my mistakes. However, the choice to change those words was mine. The writing was mine. The voice behind the text was all mine. To compare a program that flags potential errors like spellcheckwith the AI programs we have today is like comparing an acorn to an oak tree. You cannot compare a book written by someone who only used spellcheck, to a person who wrote a five-sentence long prompt on ChatGPT and asked the program to spit out a full-sized chapter book. They are not the same. If that means that you’ll never get your book written, I’d say in return that your book never got written anyway… at least by you. The idea for the book may have been yours, and you may have put your name on the book, but you should understand that you did not write that book if AI wrote it for you. You did not edit that book if AI edited it for you. You did not go through the same process as someone who dug deep within themselves to write honestly, and with humanity.
When it comes to using a human editor, I have seen where people have hired an editor on Fiverr or other service-based websites, and those editors have misrepresented themselves. Either they weren’t very good editors, or they used an AI program anyway. This leads many authors to ask why they should spend the time and money paying and working with human editors, if they are only going to be lied to, taken advantage of, and not receive what they paid for in the end. This is completely fair, and I understand your frustration. But scamming or people not being good at their jobs is nothing new. This doesn’t mean there aren’t editors who don’t use AI, who are great at their job, and who take pride in putting the same amount of effort editing your manuscript that you put into writing it. Not to mention, I have seen where people used AI grammar editors, or asked AI to proofread or edit their work, and it missed numerous errors. I’ve also seen AI editing programs completely change things like dates, character names, and other important information in a book. Then because the author trusted the AI, they published their book with these embarrassing and obvious errors. AI may be handy for some things, but it is not perfect.
Lastly, yes, AI is fast. I’ll be honest when I say this is something that I actually don’t like about AI, personally. When I respond to someone and it takes me several seconds, or minutes, or even hours, it is because I am thinking. I am considering all possibilities. I am formulating the best possible response with the best possible information, considering the recipient’s feelings, intent, and possible perception of my response. AI on the other hand is collecting data and doing so quickly. Just because it does so quickly, does not mean it is doing so efficiently or effectively. It is not thinking of you or your information in a personal way.
I can tell when AI has written your words. I can tell when AI has edited your manuscript. The overused dashes, repeated words, robotic dialogue, flat descriptions, and blatant errors all quietly scream at your reader that this is not authentic. AI generates information. That information has no soul. It removes the human voice. It removes what it deems unnecessary details,which are often the details that make the writing stand out as yours. It doesn’t understand dramatic effect or nuance. It has no life experience from which to pull. What puts power behind the words we read is the human voice behind the words. What makes that voice shine and stand out, is another human who hears that voice and clarifies it. It’s like listening to a song with autotune, versus live. You may think, “I can only sing with autotune!” And if that’s what you want to do, that is your choice. Just know the rest of us hear its unnatural quality. A human editor is running the sound behind your live performance, making sure everyone hears your voice, just the best version of your voice.
When you set out to write a book, I hope you write it to let out your creativity, style, and emotion. I hope you also seek out a human editor who can work with you price wise if you are in a financial bind, because AI often causes more problems than it helps fix when it comes to editing and formatting. I love to edit books, and AI is likely robbing me from a livelihood in doing something I love, and that I am good at. I know that I am better than AI, and I’m not the only editor who is. I have hope, though. I have hope there are writers who know AI has no mettle. Writers who know AI is not meant to be the filter your soul on a page is run through. Writers who know AI can’t understand intentional violations in grammar, syntax, and style to show your voice. Writers who know AI can’t ignore intentional choices by an author to show emotion in a way that is unconventional. Writers who know AI is not the editor of the future, but the tool of the intelligent, and the crutch of the lazy. Writers who know that AI does not have a brain, just algorithms. It does not care if your book succeeds or fails. Motivation, intent, and spirituality are foreign languages to AI. Love, heartbreak, trust, intuition, empathy, joy, community, conviction, beauty, wonder, suffering, friendship, nervousness, inspiration, divinity, freedom, grief, exhaustion, a hug, the sunlight, safety, the miraculous, destiny, transformation, death, justice, forgiveness, purpose, and life are all things AI can never truly experience. And if it cannot live a human experience, it cannot replace the human wordsmith that is an editor.
Written by: Alyssa Galloway
You can find out more about Alyssa on our team page and find her books on Amazon.