AI and Publishing
How are different artificial intelligence tools being implemented in the publishing industry, and how worried do I need to be as graduate looking to expand my career?
If you look through my profile you will see multiple articles already talking about AI and how it affects other areas. One of my articles specifically talks about how AI affects fanfiction writing, where I talk about how it can steal stories from the popular website Archive of Our Own. The AI I mention in that article, Sudowrite, is just one way AI is making its way into the publishing field.
As someone who has always wanted to work in publishing and help authors get their stories published, I know it is more important than ever to talk about AI and its effects on my future career.
AI has already wormed it’s way in
AI has already made its way into the publishing field.
In an article from the New York Times, they explore this by saying that, “Some in the publishing world are already experimenting with artificial intelligence programs in areas such as marketing, advertising, audiobook production and even writing, weighing their promise of supporting work done by humans against the threat that the machines may take over some of those jobs entirely” (Harris & Alter, 2023).
AI has made its way into almost every aspect of the publishing process. This list doesn’t even scratch the surface of what AI has been integrated into. Any job you can think of, AI has probably already done it.
One of the ways AI is being used in production is by replacing cover artists. For those unaware, there is controversy surrounding the recent book Gothikana by RuNyx back in January. Essentially, in a TikTok from @emmaskies, it was found that the cover photo from the book included stock, AI-generated images; Tor Books (the publisher of Gothikana) received a lot of criticism for the image (Stewart, 2024). This is also apparently, not the first time AI art has been used in book covers, with popular author Sarah J. Maas’ book House of Earth and Blood seemingly used an Adobe AI-generated stock image of the wolf for the UK cover (Weatherbed, 2023).
This is just one way AI has been making its way into the publishing field. It has completely taken out the human aspect that comes with art. You can now make book covers with almost little to no human input. Because why pay artists when an AI can do it for free?
Another interesting way AI is currently being used in publishing is by filtering manuscripts. From PublishDrive, “Publishers can use AI tools to predict which manuscripts are likely to perform well in the market, aiding in the selection process and creating personalized content” (Pop, 2024).
PublishDrive then continues on to talk about algorithms that AI can use to reduce “risk associated with acquisitions and ensures investments are made in projects with higher potential for success.” Using algorithms created by AI is nothing new if you are at all familiar with TikTok, a popular social media app, so it is very interesting the ways publishing companies have used such a tool. This method can save tons of man hours of reading and discussing the redeeming qualities of manuscripts to a single and almost instantaneous step. This can significantly cut costs and free up time for people to do other projects.
Even Penguin Random House has been using AI for a while now. In an interview with Nihar Malaviya, CEO of Penguin Random House, he stated, “At Penguin Random House, we’ve been working with artificial intelligence for more than a decade in different countries and different areas, primarily with machine learning, for example, to set the selling price of an e-book or to determine the starting print run of printed books” (“‘We Sell More,’” 2023). Setting prices of products is just another way AI is being integrated into the industry.
In my opinion, using AI for tasks such as this allows us booksellers to completely disregard market trends and important information about our products.
For example, in my time as a bookseller, I know that if I’m not sure where a book is supposed to go, to look at the price. If I can’t tell by the cover or summary that a book is Young Adult or Adult, I look at the barcode because Young Adult paperback books are almost never more than 12.99. I know this pricing guide because I know my products, and by knowing my products I can correctly organize and recommend them to people. With AI being able to do this pricing guide automatically in the head offices, where these products are made specifically to be marketed to their intended audiences, it makes you wonder how well the people trying to market those books will really get to know their product before it hits the shelves.
How can AI be overused?
In addition to all the ways AI is currently being used, we must not forget about some of the ways that AI can be used.
A simple one even I don’t think about very often is AI aimed at spell-checking, grammar, and conciseness. These features are built into Microsoft Word, which I have used in some way for school assignments or personal writings. This features are also built into almost every writing tool, even Medium uses spell-check (where this article has been published if you didn’t notice). Now these forms of AI are seemingly harmless, and as someone who has to write a lot of papers, extremely helpful.
I don’t think this needs saying, but just in case you didn’t know about one of the biggest ways the publishing field can use AI is to actually write the books for you. That is exactly what sites like Sudowrite are for: writing novels based on your inputs and descriptions. From Sudowrite’s website, one of their key features is Story Engine, which “takes you step-by-step from idea, to outline, to beating out chapters, and then writes 1,000s of words, in your style” (Sudowrite, n.d.). If you have a second, Sudowrite is a pretty interesting(ly terrifying) site to look through and experiment with.
This AI application and others like it, can be used as a means to cut corners for authors to write literal full length novels in practically no time at all. This is a serious issue that publishing needs to address. We need to set clear standards for what is and is not allowed when it comes to the novels publishing companies should take pride in bringing to the masses.
What are the problems with using AI?
AI comes with no shortage of problems. AI is know to have bias and make-up information. If you are not constantly fact-checking your information and using a critical lens to see what it creates for you, then it would be worse than doing it yourself. Until AI can tackle those two areas, then you are much better off just doing the work yourself. Not to mention AI can eliminate jobs, which I go into detail in my other article, “How a Lazy College Student Views AI.” Just as a refresher, according to Business Insider, “…75% of the projected declines in job levels are in four categories: office support, customer service and sales, food services, and production work (e.g., manufacturing)” (Zinkula, 2024).
While publishing might not seem like it falls into those categories, don’t forget about all the artists and authors that AI can replace. Those are real jobs which AI can take away from real people if we let it (and it seems it already has).
Intellectual property is another huge issue that comes with AI usage. In an article from Harper Macleod, the author described that, “The use of AI technology raises intellectual property (IP) concerns as the generated results may resemble and be based upon existing content in which third parties have rights, resulting in accusations of plagiarism or copyright infringement. For instance, when machine learning is applied to text and data mining (TDM), a technology that derives information from machine-read material, it can result in unauthorised use of copyrighted material” (Jaconelli, 2023). Basically, AI can take information from sources that they shouldn’t have access to and create results based on that information. This can be a huge problem, especially in a field where everyone is trying to come up with their own original ideas.
No matter what happens with AI, Nihar Malaviya said best that, “The most important aspect for us in this matter is first, to protect intellectual property and integrity of our authors and artists’ work” (“‘We Sell More,’” 2023).
Then their is the issue of the human connection in general. If everyone in publishing is using AI, then how will the working relationships with coworkers change? Will I even need to to collaborate with others if AI can do all the work for me? This impact is one that we need to start thinking about when it comes to implementing AI in our workspaces in greater capacities.
How to navigate the rise in AI
With all this in mind, I am constantly worried about what my career will look like. What will I even do? If AI continues to be on the rise, I can only assume I will have to conform to the program. What I can do is learn more about AI and how to use it effectively. This can be through things such as prompt engineering, which I have also mentioned in another article of mine. For those of you who aren’t my avid readers (I’m just kidding, I’m not even one of my avid readers), prompt engineering is “the process where you guide generative artificial intelligence (generative AI) solutions to generate desired outputs” (“What is Prompt,” n.d.). Basically, you keep prompting AI until it does what you want it to do.
Publishers Weekly has a wonderful article detailing how publisher’s can navigate AI. McIlroy goes through the different AI tools and common topics that I cover in this article. It is worth a read and the link is here.
My biggest piece of advice to anyone looking to go into this field is to do your research on what AI can and can’t do. Do your best to adapt, but don’t be afraid to correct the AI and have faith in your work as a human being.
My thoughts as a college student looking to enter the field
With all these innovations in mind, we must not discount how AI is just a replacement to the human experience. With applications like Sudowrite, we can only wonder what on earth we actually need humans for when it comes to writing and reading. I mean, if an AI can do all those things such as write a manuscript, read said manuscript for publication eligibility, and then create the cover art and price it out to customers, we’ve completely eliminated the human being who has historically been behind all those steps. Now listen, I am not perfect. I use AI to help spell-check, look for grammar and whatnot, but the conversation should not be about how I use AI, it should be how I don’t. After learning more about AI and what it can do for me, I have been steadily more and more horrified at what people are already using it for knowing its flaws. I am proud of the work I put into my pieces, and if I use AI to do my work for me, is it really my work?
Peter H. Gregory, Senior Director of Cyber GRC at GCI Communications and one of the Forbes Councils members, shares some of my concerns. In an article from Forbes, he fears that while AI can be a useful tool we are at an increased risk for dependence on AI tools. The article states, “AI can impact the publishing industry by changing how books are written and distributed. AI-powered writing assistants like Chat GPT and tools can increase the number of books published and personalize content. However, this trend may lead to more competition for readers’ attention, and AI-generated content may lose originality and creativity as authors begin to rely too heavily on AI tools” (Gregory, 2023).
These are all valid concerns, and ones we should not let go so easily. As I go into the field, I will do my best to live up to the expectations I set for myself, knowing that every ounce of work I put into my career will be owed to myself, and not the AI created by someone else based off the work of others.
References:
“Gothikana.” (n.d.) Barnes & Noble. Retrieved April 15, 2024 from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gothikana-runyx/1143484611?ean=9781250334206
Gregory, P. (2023, July 6). Seven Ways AI Will Impact Authors And The Publishing Industry. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/07/06/seven-ways-ai-will-impact-authors-and-the-publishing-industry/?sh=27308fa523a6
Harris, E. A., & Alter, A. (2023, August 2). A.I.’s Inroads in Publishing Touch Off Fear, and Creativity. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/books/ais-inroads-in-publishing-touch-off-fear-and-creativity.html
Jaconelli, A. (2023, July 27). The use of artificial intelligence in the publishing industry. Harper Macleod. https://www.harpermacleod.co.uk/insights/artificial-intelligence-in-publishing/
Pop, A. M. (2024, February 8). AI in Publishing: How to Leverage AI in the Book Publishing World. PublishDrive. https://publishdrive.com/how-to-leverage-ai-in-book-publishing.html#:~:text=Publishers%20can%20use%20AI%20tools,content%20strategies%2C%20and%20distribution%20channels.
Stewart, S. (2024, February 21). Tor Books Criticized for Use of AI-Generated Art in ‘Gothikana’ Cover Design. Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/94388-tor-books-imprint-bramble-criticized-for-use-of-ai-generated-art-in-gothikana-cover-design.html
Sudowrite. (n.d.). Sudowrite is the non-judgmental, always-there-to-read-one-more-draft, never-runs-out-of-ideas-even-at-3am, AI writing partner you always wanted.️ https://www.sudowrite.com/
Weatherbed, J. (2023, May 15). Not even NYT bestsellers are safe from AI cover art. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/15/23724102/sarah-j-maas-ai-generated-book-cover-bloomsbury-house-of-earth-and-blood
“We Sell More Books Than We Did Ten Years Ago.’” (2023, October 26). Bertelsmann. https://www.bertelsmann.com/news-and-media/news/we-sell-more-books-than-we-did-ten-years-ago.jsp
What is Prompt Engineering? (n.d.). Amazon Web Services. https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/prompt-engineering/
Zinkula, J. (2024, January 10). 4 careers where workers will have to change jobs by 2030 due to AI and shifts in how we shop, a McKinsey study says. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/jobs-at-risk-from-ai-replace-change-chatgpt-automation-study-2023-7
