I hope the last few days of summer are treating you well. I’m certainly celebrating the back-to-school season and trying to regain my groove heading into the busy fall season of school, soccer, and, as always…writing my book(s).
This week, I’m writing to you about a summit I’m participating in September 2nd and 3rd, to officially open my developmental edit calendar, and to offer some wisdom about what I’ve learned recently about working with AI. So let’s get into it.
Can AI write your novel better than you?
The Truth about Using AI to Write Your Novel
Unless you’ve been like Sleeping Beauty, snoozing away for the last few years, then you are aware of the way AI is completely infiltrating our lives. It seems to be all anyone is talking about and every day there’s more news about models or tools that can supposedly solve all our problems.
And those tools can be extremely useful!
However, if your goal is to be a traditionally published author, you may want to be extra careful how you use this tool. Here’s the thing, the publishing industry largely steers clear of authors who write their books with generative AI, or who create illustrations with it. Lately, as I’ve been querying I’ve seen a high percentage of agents asking whether the manuscript or any part of the querying package was created with AI. And you just know that if you check “yes,” your submission will probably go in the trash.
Why? Because books celebrate artists. The humans who take time and mental energy to create something beautiful. AI’s capabilities, though impressive in many ways, dishonor creators. There are also concerns with copyright that come into play here too, which I’m not going to get into.
In fact, my goal here isn’t to shame anyone for using AI. I think there’s a time and a place that you can use it to make your book better, perhaps. But I do want to tell you a story about my own experience with AI and the wisdom I gleaned.
A few months ago, I was spinning on the hamster wheel of trying to figure out what to write about. I was spread thin with parenting duties, life, and a plethora of other things. Creative output was not…putting out. So I turned to AI for some inspiration—one of the things I think it can be really useful for, to get your brainstorming juices flowing.
AI gave me a topic to write about plus an outline and I was off to the races. I was happy to be able to take a portion of the hard work of thinking away. I wrote the newsletters without to much thought, and certainly without much heart. The response I got? Crickets.
Then a few weeks ago, when I was deep in my feelings and the creative juices of my own were finally flowing, I wrote a different sort of newsletter. One from the heart. The response? A complete 180. I had numerous people reach out and thank me for the message, or to share their own stories, or to say that they shared it with a friend. (Thank you to all of you!)
My point here: What a difference it makes to be a human writing something.
I’m not saying I’ll never use AI again to help me find some ideas or brainstorm solutions to problems, or tweak a document that’s awful…but this alone (ethical/moral/sociological/ ecological/psychological concerns aside) is the reason that I will never let AI be my pen.
Because as rapidly-advancing as this technology is, when we bring our own hearts to our writing—to our books—it connects with other people. It’s like lighting someone’s candle with the flame of your own. The reader feels seen, connected, and it is more able to touch their emotions too. AI robots or models (or whatever the proper terminology is) hasn’t had its own experiences that it can bring to the table.
AI has never fallen in love, felt the first flutters of a crush. It has never known the fear of losing something precious. It has never had to provide for a family, or felt the desire for something else. It has never smelled lavender or tasted freshly-baked bread. It has never fallen down and scraped its knee. It has never known the warmth of a mother’s hug.
And it never will.
It can only ever be echoes or imitations of these things simply because it has been trained on words and pictures.
You, a human, have a full breadth of experiences you can bring to the page.
It absolutely takes work. And it can hurt…a lot.
But if it’s connection and readers hearts you’re looking to hook, then I encourage you to be the one who holds the pen.
Free Online Event for Fiction Writers
In lieu of this week’s craft lesson, I want to invite you to an upcoming free online event I’m participating in soon:Plot to Publish: The Fiction Author Summit 2025
Imagine the day when you can look at your book and think: “This is it. This is the story I was meant to tell.”
That’s exactly the transformation is here to deliver.
This free, online event brings together bestselling authors, publishing pros, and craft experts to help you:
· Unlock your creative flow so you can finally finish.
· Master structure and emotion so your story is unputdownable.
· Publish with confidence, whether it’s short fiction or your magnum opus.
We’ve got 12 powerhouse presentations covering everything from writing emotionally charged scenes to crafting a sustainable writing practice to hooking readers from the first line.
I’ll be giving a presentation called: Character Quirks, Personality, and Choices: Breathing life into your characters
Whether you’ve been stuck halfway through your manuscript for three years or you’re polishing your final draft, you’ll walk away knowing exactly how to take your book from “work in progress” to “published author.”
I have just one spot open this fall for a developmental edit!
If you’ve been feeling stuck, unsure how to take your draft to the next level, or just craving a fresh pair of eyes on your story, this might be the nudge you need. A developmental edit is all about helping your novel shine brighter—by digging into the big-picture pieces like character arcs, pacing, plot, voice, setting, and narrative drive—so your story becomes the page-turner you know it can be.
Here’s what you’ll get when we work together: ✨ In-line comments throughout your manuscript ✨ A detailed editorial letter highlighting what’s working and what’s not ✨ An hour-long recorded follow-up call ✨ A customized revision plan designed just for your book
This is my only opening for the season, so if you’d like to grab it, reply to this email and let’s chat. I’d love to help you bring your story closer to the vision you’ve been carrying in your heart.
✨Your monthly momentum bites✨ Journal prompts to get you thinking and writing
👤Character👤
What is you character's go-to response during a conflict? Flight, fight, or freeze? What brings them comfort when things don't go their way?
💖Mindset💖
Don't compare your first (or even second) draft to published books. Remember, they've been professionally edited multiple times and all started as a crappy first draft.
🎨Take action🎨
Using Story Grid's 5 Commandments of Story (above) try mapping out the five main beats of your whole book.
Thanks so much for being here with me. I value you and I sincerely hope that I provide value for your writing journey. If you feel inclined, drop me a line and let me know what you’re working on!