Miles Rote is the Chief of Author Strategy at KAA, empowering authors through book writing, editing & publishing navigation. See our books.
Many people want to write a book, but few actually do it because of how difficult the process can be. I’ve interviewed thousands of business professionals and thought leaders about their books, and consistent themes resonate through them all.
It’s not a lack of desire or inspiration that keeps them from doing it. It’s lack of time, unfamiliarity with the industry, and the intimidation of a blank page. But in the age of generative AI and modern publishing, the arduous journey from a blank page to a published book is no longer what it used to be.
How To Use AI To Enhance The Book-Writing Process
Many of the titles we know and love are ghostwritten by other people. That doesn’t mean the book isn’t from the author or isn’t their words. On the contrary, a talented ghostwriter amplifies the author’s voice.
AI can do something similar: Help us extract the ideas we have in our head and piece them together for a book. AI's role is therefore less about writing the book and more about enhancing the ability to start and finish one.
Can it replace high-quality ghostwriters or editors? No, but here are a few strategies to use AI to help with the book-writing process.
• Ideation: AI can help overcome the dreaded blank page syndrome. By inputting a theme or a basic premise, AI can suggest creative ideas, character arcs or even entire story outlines to kickstart the creative process.
• Structuring: Organizing a book can be daunting. AI can help in outlining chapters, suggesting narrative structures and even advising on pacing and plot progression.
• Research: AI can swiftly summarize relevant information, provide historical context or even suggest thematic material, significantly reducing the time spent on research. It can also review your writing and poke holes in your arguments.
• Language And Style: For those struggling with grammar, sentence structure or stylistic elements, AI tools offer real-time suggestions for improvement, enhancing the readability and professionalism of the text.
• Character And Plot Development: Especially in fiction, crafting compelling characters and plots is vital. AI can suggest character traits, plot twists or even dialogue options, enriching the narrative.
AI Tools To Help Write Your Book
The market has become saturated with AI writing aids, each offering unique features. You can do some online research to discover many more, but I'll focus on three of my recommendations below.
Use Perplexity For Research
While Perplexity AI utilizes a combination of its own proprietary and existing AI models to power its services, its real strength is providing the most current information available, making it akin to having an up-to-date news reporter at your disposal. It’s like having a team of virtual assistants Googling and researching on your behalf.
• Pros: Fast and reliable research with citations, real-time information, contextual understanding, versatility.
• Cons: Content creation, rewriting, chain prompting.
Use ChatGPT For Writing
The paid version of ChatGPT continues to be a leading tool for a variety of writing tasks. It’s easy to use and is the most popular tool, in part because of its Custom GPTs feature.
• Pros: Content creation, ideation, rewriting, plot structure, chain prompting, custom GPTs.
• Cons: Can’t analyze large amounts of text, not great at research.
Pro tip: Check out the Creative Writing Coach custom GPT to assist with fiction writing.
Use Claude For Analysis
Claude is unique in that it has a very large context window, allowing you to enter more than 5X the information compared to ChatGPT. This means you can reference significant portions of your manuscript for consistency, coherence and plot holes so you can make improvements on pacing and structure. Claude can also analyze large PDF files (think ebooks) to assist with research.
• Pros: Analyzing large chunks of text, analyzing PDFs, character development, consistency.
• Cons: Content creation, rewriting, less well-known.
Tips for Using AI To Help Write Your Book
Get good at prompting.
The quality of your prompt will define the quality of the output. The better you get at prompting AI with the right questions, the better answers you’ll receive.
Blend AI suggestions with your creativity.
AI tools provide suggestions; it's your job to select, refine and integrate these into your book. Use AI-generated ideas as a springboard for your creativity, not a replacement.
Maintain authenticity.
While using AI, it's essential to retain your voice and ensure the story reflects your vision. AI should augment your narrative, not define it. When overused, generative AI tends to flatten your voice, not enhance it.
Integrate with traditional writing practices.
AI tools are most effective when used in conjunction with human intuition, creativity and editorial judgment. Regular writing routines, feedback from peers or mentors and personal reflections are just as crucial in the writing process as AI assistance.
Embracing AI As A Collaborative Partner In Writing
AI in book writing offers a new way to enhance your creative process, break through barriers and bring about more efficiency. However, the heart of your book—its message, emotion and connection with readers—comes from you, the author.
Over-reliance on AI can lead to homogenized content that doesn’t interest or help readers. Even when used appropriately, it’s still important to work with professional editors to elevate your manuscript from good to great. Looking ahead, AI's role in writing is poised to grow. We can anticipate more sophisticated AI tools that offer even more nuanced suggestions and insights. However, the essence of storytelling will still remain a profoundly human endeavor.
Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?