Authors, AI Books Covers, and Bullying: How harrassing indie authors became acceptable

[@cataliaishere]

I am pro-choice - authors and artists should be free to chose their tools. I have used AI on book covers - but I've dropped over 25k on cover designers over the past 6 years. Guess which ones have sold more and I have made money on... yep the AI ones. Thing is one of my books was labelled by a fake name profile on a platform as having an AI cover... But it wasn't. It was custom art done by an artist - an artist I had hired, saw the sketches and process - an artist I paid extra because it was so good. But she started getting nasty emails. My book started getting 1 starred. Couldn't work out why when this book has been out for years... Then I found the accusation. I loathe humans at this point. You are your brand. I try to help anyone who needs it. Encourage anyone. I've even worked for free to help out others. Yet that gets thrown back in my face by artists and cover designers. Disgusts me. I'd rather use AI - it doesn't disappear with my money.

[@janasher4940]

Look at other YT channels on hiring artists for the book cover. Most of them are hiring people from $5 to $75, and a lot of them are great because all these people are using AI to do art. They are cranking these covers out. If you don't know how to use Photoshop or Gimp or AI to do the cover, you are out of business. Not because authors are jerks and were learning how to do their own covers to save costs (so now digital artists are down to $70-80 bucks for a great cover) but they understand they need to adapt to survive. No reader has ever looked at a cover and decided not to read it because they recognized AI art! It's all AI art to some level! Dude, I'm a CPA. First, they moved all accounting and taxes to India, and then they started using AI to do accounting and taxes. 1 CPA can actually do 20 tax returns with AI.... Yeah, we all have to adapt or be left behind.

[@StarvingArtist600]

As an artist, I do hate AI art. I'm not a big name. I don't have any real contracts, and seeing AI art pop up... It's kind of the death nail in my hopes of ever having an art career. That being said, his posts and crazy rants were absurd. Indi authors just starting out may not be able to hire an artist. In many ways, they are in the same boat as artists like myself. I can't imagine that indi authors actually want to use AI art. Having a big name attached to your book like Lockwood would likely do wonders for sales, but indi authors, like indi artists are poor, and still trying to make a name for themselves. Most would likely use AI for the first book or so, and start looking to hire lesser known artists like myself when they can afford to do so. His posts are only going to serve to make that less likely. Not only does it give the tone of "No artist will ever want to work with you," which in of itself will make these artists not want to look for an artist later on, but it also refers to the bigger names in the industry as "the Reputable" artists. This gives the impression that only art by these big names matter, and no one will take you seriously if you don't have one of them work on your cover, which actually makes it even less likely that an author will bother with guys like me. It's incredibly frustrating. It makes me was to shake him as tell him to stop "helping". So this is my counter to him. Indi Authors, do what you have to, to get your foot in the door. If AI is all you can afford, we understand. If later on, you can afford a real artist, check out artist groups on facebook, or galleries on Art Station or Deviant Art. You can find a decent artist trying to make a name for themselves far cheaper than the artists who are already big names. But please, get yourself on solid footing first. don't starve yourself or your families trying to make some ass on twitter happy. Just remember us fellow "little guys" when you are able to pay for an artist.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

I wish I could like this 100 times. You are so spot on. It's never been harder to be a beginning artist and staying in the game long enough to get at the level of the big guys in the industry must seem so hopeless. I love your advice and I think most authors (if not all) plan exactly that. Having AI generate a cover will never match the excitement of seeing what an artist creates for your book, and having their creativity perfectly capture what your book is about. I certainly wouldn't forgo it. I think once an author makes enough money (from their books OR their day job), an artist is the way they'd rather go.

[@daina3628]

I shuddered at the tweet that said "or you could get them to work for free". Why? How is not paying the artist better??? Would you work for free, to produce the same quality in the image on the right from that tweet? It would take HOURS of work. For free? It's precisely because I respect and support an artist that I would rather use AI than underpay them or have them work for free.

[@silverdreams3]

You, sir, are EXACTLY right. As an artist myself, I couldn't have said it any better. We need more people like you to bridge the gap being created by the bullies like him. ❤❤

[@ComedorDelrico]

Thank you for this. I'm working on my first novel. I will make about 20K this year. The most offensive part of the twitter rant, to me, was the part where he acts like we could just chose not to "save" $1000. Does he not understand that some people literally don't have $1000? You can't save something you don't have. The rainbow la-la land delusion some of these people live in is astounding. I recently had someone tell me that "price isn't an excuse anymore" for not buying an electric vehicle because Teslas are "only 30K". Um, sir, that's more than my annual income. P.S. I've never heard of Lockwood. The average reader has probably never heard of them, either.

[@WinstonSmithGPT]

A scroll down any Amazon genre list suggests no one is listening to this dude. I've randomly seen some of your old vids but loving this new queen of thorns energy, gotta say.

[@adrianwerner1982]

That guy is an idiot because this type of argumentation won't convince anyone and might even encourage people do to the opposite just in spite. Personally I won't go around bullying authors for using AI covers. It's their decisions and I have no idea what their circumstances or view are. But there's also no way I'ever buying an indie book with AI cover.. I think AI is going to completely wreck creative industries and I don't want to be part of it. I can't stop it, but what I can do is to use what funds I have for entertgainment to support human creators are much possible. This when having to make a pick between two authors, where one shelled out money for human artists or even just made an effort to learn basic photoshop skills vs one that used AI for cover the choice is pretty easy for me.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

That choice is absolutely valid and I don’t begrudge anyone their values. It’s just the bullying and dogpiling that makes me seethe

[@matthewkjames4498]

must be nice to think $1,000 + dollars is small change. for the rest of us that's rent, groceries, bills

[@nomado-sensei]

@@matthewkjames4498 ah, that makes sense. You are an embodiment of the target audience of this video, whose IQ sits at the room temperature. I bet if she had said it costs 10K bucks, you wouldn't bother to check. Typical American: eats whatever a talking head on TV feeds them. For your reference, an average price for a book cover sits at around 250.

[@SulaimanKarriem]

I'm a writer, but also an artist. I cannot find an artist who can duplicate my work. This had been a Huge delay in my book launch. I'm considering A.I. art as a final solution.

[@shadowsayer1516]

Why do you need someone to duplicate your work? Why not just do it yourself if you're an artist?

[@SulaimanKarriem]

@@shadowsayer1516 Professionally, for books

[@matthewkjames4498]

@@shadowsayer1516 *Feeds the troll* also, you ever think jack hole that this person could of had a stroke and no longer can draw like they used to? No, because you're too self-centered

[@nodansland303]

My only counter thought for A.I. is for major companies that use it and then do major layoffs. An example would be Hasbro/WOTC trying to sneak AI art into the D&D books last year and then cutting a lot book production staff around Christmas. Indy authors don't have access to the same resources, but Hasbro is a multi-billion dollar company. I think its okay to set my expectations for behaviour to the context of a situation.

[@janasher4940]

Every industry is going to be affected. Accounting was affected when all the jobs were moved to India and China by Corporate America 20 years ago. The service and Tech support were all moved offshore. Order processing is done offshore also. I'm a CPA, and 1 CPA can do 20 tax returns in 20 minutes with AI. Welcome to my world. They all are buying into AI with billions of investing dollars and will start shrinking headcount in the next 8 years as their AI is trained by employees and programmers. It's a brave, new world.

[@CT_Phipps]

I admit I have seen a bunch of bullying about AI art--usually by a bunch of people who think it's legitimately thinking art and not a more advanced form of Clippy. They steal the art of other arts, slap them together, and then the creator says whether or not its good. There's no justifying bullying an indie author trying to save some money but let's not pretend the people with valid concerns over these things are unreasonable. The EU's recent massive amount of laws against AI art are hopefully only the beginning.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

There is plenty of problematic behavior by humans in terms of using AI art. Taking copyrighted works and willfully using the technology to make minor changes is reprehensible. And people can have disagreements over the morality of AI as a whole. My problem comes in when some go on a quasi-religious crusade about it

[@AuthorOpheliaBell]

The EU did not pass any “laws against AI” - saying that makes it sound like they made AI illegal. Making driving laws doesn’t mean the regulations surrounding driving are “laws against driving”. The EU passed an act that regulates the use of AI to protect its consumers. It did not outlaw it.

[@hayleybell_author]

Just found you. You’re amazing for calling this out. I am so frustrated with people saying AI art isn’t real or okay. It’s a tool we can use. We’d all love to have those amazing artists make our covers, but it’s not feasible.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Exactly! No one is forgoing an artist because they're trying to deprive them of work. It's all so expensive and sometimes you have to wait to get to a certain level in your career to be comfortable making an investment like that

[@GregPrice-ep2dk]

Then it's ok if some rando on the street comes and camps out in your living room then, b/c it's just not feasible for them to live on the streets...

[@silverdreams3]

​​​​@@nonsensefreeeditorTHIS. I was watching a court debate on the future of ai art earlier today... it was fascinating. Thing is... authors aren't trying to put those cover artist's out of a job... and the artist's are WORTH what they're asking. The PROBLEM is, the author's literally can't afford it most times... It's sad to say that a lot of these issues wouldn't even BE an issue if inflation wasn't so bad right now, but there ya have it... It's one thing when Big Corps are using AI when they can /afford/ to pay the artists a living wage. It's another thing entirely to be mad at indie authors and small presses who /can't/ foot that bill. And it's yet ANOTHER thing to go after artists who use ai elements in their art... especially when they bought the liscence from a stock photo site, and/or changed the art drastically from its original base... /especially/ if they didn't know it was ai to begin with... but even if they did, I think it's also wrong to go after an artist for using the tools they had to hand, so long as it was used morally and ethically. There are a lot of confusing things going on right now concerning this topic... I feel that it's really important for people to understand that it's not all cut and dried/black and white right now... the bullying is becoming ridiculous... and it actually really reminds me of some other tech changes from over the last 30 years, the heated debates that they spun, and how they've now become an accepted part of everyday life... this isn't going away. Someday everyone will just accept that... In the meantime, it's not a bad idea for certain boundaries to be drawn concerning usages and rights. We DO need to protect our artists... but this crazy bullying ALSO needs to STOP. It really isn't ok...

[@hezekiahsimon3341]

They have an issue with it because it will cost “them” money, it’s all about the money

[@michaelcopple1736]

When I read one of today's most prolific fantasy writer's books, Brandon Sanderson, I don't read his material for the cover. The Stormlight Archive, (Sorry, Brandon and Dragonsteel) I don't exactly adhere to the covers he places on those novels. It's the prose within those pages that drives me to read all 380,000 pages in one month. It's the beautiful story!!! This vid is such a great smackdown!!! I definitely subbed to your channel!!!

[@michaelcopple1736]

As a Python programmer and a writer who refused to embrace the use of AI at first, (AI largely uses Python as a language in its development, among other forms of languages), I saw how they learned, and was sucked into the hype of 'it's cheating'. Until I tried it and found its capabilities very versatile, I was so close-minded. It's amazing the tool it is and not the fact that AI does everything for us.

[@oldguyinstanton]

At 17:00 minutes. "Should I quit?" Pretty sure that the goal of many of these gatekeepers is to reduce the number of people trying to get through the gate.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Definitely! It has all the hallmarks of any other bullying campaign, deciding who gets through and who doesn’t

[@MatthewOlney]

The indie community is infested with such gatekeepers. They're all bullies and pieces of crap. They'll pretend to be your friend but are just using you. Dare question them and they soon show their true colours. I've been fighting them for almost a decade.

[@michaelcopple1736]

The Big-5 are now piling up with blue-hairs, looking for 'material' that checks the boxes of a literal echo-chamber right now. I would rather pave my own way independently. If AI helps me break out with some cover art, then I will use it. There is very good software out there to manipulate those images to your liking. It's called art and subjective for a reason. These bullies need to get a grip. Great video!!!

[@GregPrice-ep2dk]

By the way, the courts have already ruled that AI-generated "art" is not copyrightable, as it's not the product of human effort. So any covers generated by AI or any text WRITTEN BY AI is fair game for anyone to use for any purpose they want.

[@silverdreams3]

Tl;DR -- ACTUALLY... Actually... book covers in general (or any digital art) UNLESS they are completely hand painted from scratch can't be copywritten... when an artist purchases stock photos to use in their art, they are actually buying a usage liscence that says they have the write to make art, but they still don't own the copywrite to those elements even after their piece is made, no matter how much they changed it. They may be able to reuse those elements, but they can never resell those elements or claim that they created them, and so they can never claim a full copywrite: they can only claim rights to the finished collaged piece as an entirety... and ONLY in the exact order in which they have it created... WHICH MEANS any other artist can purchase licenses to those same elements/stock photos and basically "recreate" that art (even with very few changes) so that the two are very similar, and that second artist can ALSO claim ownership of the art they created as a whole... even of it looks very similar to the first artist's. Because both artists purchased the same elements and went through separate artistic processes, neither one can go after the other in a court of law UNLESS it can be proven without doubt that one digitally stole the other's finished piece... which can be easily disproven by viewing the photoshop files. Now... that however, doesn't speak for actually finished book covers... that is to say, full covers (ebook or physical wrap) with titles, authors names, and sometimes spine and and back text and design... once that stuff is on it and attached to a manuscript as a cover, then the piece /as a whole/ and in the exact order that it is, (meaning the entirety of the book as one solid piece) is considered its own singular form of art or product... which means that technically, while words themselves can't be copywritten on their own, and the art for the cover can't be actually copywritten on its own, the words in the exact order they are written and the cover attached to those words end up making an entirely knew product... its both confusing and fascinating! AND... when a cover artist sells a book cover, they are giving up their writes to the finished art on the cover... which is to say, they are not giving away the right to say they created it, but they ARE giving away the right to ever use that specific artwork for commercial purposes again (except, perhaps, the right to use in a proffesional portfolio). However, depending on the terms of the liscencing agreement for the elements they used, they may still be able to use those elements again in a new piece of art, or else be able to buy a new lisence to use it. And none of this is touching on how ai generators actually work to create art, which has changed drastically over the last 2 years -- even the last 6 months! -- and is not the cobbled together collage creation that most people think it is... Also... it was recently determined in court that while prompts and unedited generated art cannot be "copywritten" (to use your term for the sake of simplicity...) because it is /technically/ not human created, there have recently been developments made regarding art made using AI elements to create entirely new art (much like one would purchase a liscence to a stock photo of a girl... same idea, only the stock photo of the girl was generated with ai...)... and ALSO developments made concerning finished book covers (meaning those with human-added design enhancements, such as title text, and spine and back text design and placement...) it's 3am so I'm not going to dig for the exact links right now (maybe I'll come back to it...) But there was a lady who recently won her case over ai generated illustrations... the base illustrations /themselves/ couldn't be copywritten because they were not human-created, but the cover with its human-created design elements and the pages with their text, and then the book itself in the order it was created to be... those things together as a whole product /could/ be... It's all very fascinating to me. I've always been artistically inclined (both parents and grandparents were artists, went to school for art, studied the publishing industry for years, sold art to authors, etc...) A few years back, I decided to take a crack at book cover art... this was, of course before AI got big. I really did ok at it. Sold several pieces, got decent at design and working in photoshop and with other digital and physical tools... and I REALLY deepdived on research about copywrite and artist and author rights when it comes to digital art... really wanted to make sure I understood what I was getting myself into, ya know? 😊 That's how and why I could explain what I just did... (if it read confusing, I'm sorry! It kind of IS confusing, TBH... ) I /personally/ think that ai generation can be a FANTASTIC tool in a digital artist's arsenal... even in a traditional artist's pocket!! HOWEVER... I do agree that it needs to be used ethically, and there is a really fine line as to what that is right now. It's tricky, and sticky, and just a bit confusing... OK, its actually TOTAL CHAOS right now... but that's why it's also important for each artist to know where they stand individually and what the actual rules and regulations are for both the types of art we're already familiar with, and the new and experimental. At this point it's pretty clear that AI art isn't going to go away... so knowing those rules and regulations is especially vital. I don't think it was morally right the way ai art originated... no. But I was watching a court debate on the future of ai and its relationship with artists earlier today and it was very fascinating... its pretty much universally understood that we can't put the beast back in the box, so NOW the discussion is on how we can morally and ethically tame it for future use. And me? Again... I think it's a pretty amazing tool. I may experiment with it more in the future... but I already know what lines I'm not willing to cross, AND I also know that -- as an artist -- I would probably never be satisfied with just generating something, slapping it on a canvas, and calling it good. Lol! I'm picky... ai art might create a decent base I'd be willing to work with, thereby cutting the processing time down, but you can bet your sweet boots that I'll still spend hours obsessing over every single detail of a piece, and finicking and correcting every little issue I can catch. Lol! 😅

[@ComedorDelrico]

The images can't be copyrighted, but the overall composition can be, according to a couple of recent court rulings.

[@janasher4940]

None of the AI sensing software is reliable. And AI models keep upgrading so fast that these sensing software can't keep up. You can load a manuscript from 1970's and the current AI sensing software will tell you it's 85 - 100% AI written. And there are very large software companies that I can download my book into and have them scrub it for AI-isms. We also have prompts that remove these AI-isms. New models come out and it's frightening how natural they can sound now with good prompting. Is it perfect - no. You still have to edit it all, but they are getting really good at fiction. I seriously doubt the AI sensing software will be able to keep up with it all. It's pretty easy to get past them.

[@tethysmaiden]

Thank you for being a voice for those who may not have the strength or ability to stand up against these bullies. How sad people feel the need to post and spread such toxic garbage. It doesn't take much to break someone's spirit.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Just the lack of understanding of how AI works combined with the willingness to call people names and harass them… it can’t be allowed to stand

[@Demetri-bathwater]

At the end of the day, is the avid bookreader entertained? ... auto-correct is AI.. honestly, my readers dont care how the hotdogs are made. Great channel!

[@theradioactivepatient]

Also, the publishing world turned their noses up at paperback authors-seeing the writing as low rent and cheap.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Right! It seems there’s always something new to turn their nose up at

[@shannonbaker3122]

I am old. I remember all the same arguments when digital art first appeared...

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Exactly right!

[@daina3628]

I remember when authors were getting blacklisted for the audacity to self publish, and their trad contracts being terminated after the publisher found out they had a dirty little self-published book in their past. It wasn't even so long, some ten or fifteen years ago. But people sure have short memories.

[@matthewkjames4498]

They just hate the playing field is near even with indie authors who work 2 jobs and can't afford an artist and now have easy access to art. Plus if we hate what it is generated we can regenerate, vs paying a traditional artist more money for a new cover. I use a face swap with a AI photo cleaner when I make my AI book covers. I'm proud of the cover I have for The Uncivil Truth. These people will constantly hate. I even use AI when I'm struggling with a description or have writers block and need inspiration. And the fact some of these folks will actually zoom in on a cover and look for ANY imperfection to "prove" it was done by AI, is sad.

[@GregPrice-ep2dk]

No one is harassing OR threatening anyone at all. They are simply informing you of the potential consequqnce that no one will want to associate with you if you use art generated by stealing the art of legitimate artists. And "scraping" IS stealing. Unless you have EXPLICIT permission from the IP rights holder of the scraped work to use it to train you AI, YOU HAVE STOLEN IT. That's how IP rights work.

[@silverdreams3]

5:33 He's right in one thing... we won't catch them... and thats part of the problem, isnt it? Even if we know, the little guys won't be able to catch them at it... **sarcastically** What a conundrum, eh? 😂

[@rawlenyanzi6686]

The worst part about all of this is that it’s carefully calibrated to play to indie authors’ self-doubt. Most indie authors don’t have large paying readerships, so they’re desperate for anyone to read their book at all. Because the usual political attacks are less effective nowadays (political controversy can *give* them an audience), they use anti-AI rhetoric to threaten people into compliance. To authors who aren’t sure if they’ll get read, this is terrifying. I used to be sympathetic to anti-AI people, since I get the ethical issues; it’s why I’m not comfortable using AI-generated images or text in a final work. But you’ll never catch me dogpiling someone for using AI in some capacity, as long as they disclose it. Like all moral crusades, the anti-AI crusade is about controlling and dominating others. Their viciousness has nothing to do with “protecting human art.”

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Perfectly said. It’s a shakedown. Give me your money or you’ll never work in this town again

[@rawlenyanzi6686]

@@nonsensefreeeditor And they do it under the cloak of righteousness. It’s disgusting.

[@GregPrice-ep2dk]

@@nonsensefreeeditor Get back to us when it's YOUR livelihood on the line. Publishers are looking closely at AI to replace humans at all levels of the publishing process.

[@silverdreams3]

​​@@GregPrice-ep2dk I just need to ask... If you're so sure that that's what publishers are really looking to do... (and honestly, for the big houses it wouldn't surprise me...) are you sure you REALLY want to work for them anyway?? Because from what you just said, it sounds pretty evident that this is indeed what they're aiming for; we all know how it goes when the people at the top want something. The question then becomes, if this is what is happening/is probably going to happen, and if there are already certain rules being set in place to regulate it (which there are... its just taking a minute), and if big names aren't even afraid to break some of those rules because they have the money to get themselves free again with minimal pain (there was a whole thing about one company wanting to buy Simon and Schuster to skim text from the book catalogue to train their ai and then just pay for it later if it actually became an issue... it was wierd... ) I mean... if all of this is going on and will continue to go on (which it is and it will...) then what are you going to do to adapt? And I swear I'm not saying this in a derisive way... its just something to think about. It's something we ALL need to think about... 🤔

[@janasher4940]

@@silverdreams3 And this is why I am so glad I retired 2 years ago. I lived with accounting being off-shored, and then AI began doing it. I would not want to have to get a job and not be a programmer. Or someone who provides a service real time like a nurse or a tradesman.

[@PaulaScardamalia]

Hurray! Whistling and cheering and applauding you! Being an author is so hard and can be so discouraging, expensive, and... I coach a lot of newbie authors and anything we can do to encourage and support creativity done well, instead of shredding the attempts, is important, whether that creativity is music, art, performance or writing. A lot of thought went into this very well crafted video. Thank you.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Yes! Newbie authors need motivation, guidance, and the ability to work within their means. They do NOT need bullying from those at the top

[@PaulaScardamalia]

@@nonsensefreeeditor am recommending your video in my next newsletter. So important.

[@user-zz1nb1uf5k]

I want to use AI character art in my book but im scared of being one star bombed.

[@MatthewOlney]

He's pinned that tweet on his profile. He knows what he's doing. Baiting.

[@hollowatelier]

As an Artist and a Writer, I like to look into Editors to see how they handle the current issue with Artificial Generation. I don't want to do business with you or anyone in your circle, because you don't have any respect for the creative medium. Best $3,565.74 I've ever saved. Thank you for such an enlightening video.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Based on that dollar amount, either your book is too long and needs a good self-edit or you’re already working with an editor who charges a lot more than me. As coincidence would have it, I don’t want to do business with you either so I’m glad you’re doing your due diligence

[@hollowatelier]

That is based on your rate. What an agreeable arrangement. Cheerio.

[@cinnamongirl5410]

Awesome!!

[@Desertphile]

"Influencers." LOL!

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Lol yes it’s a whole segment of social media

[@nabeelazeezdxb]

Kristin said nothing wrong. And I spent $1,500 for a book cover.

[@JPStaszak]

15:27 Have I got a guy for you, lol Seriously though, fantastic video. Ryan is good people. You seem like good people, too. The elitist mentality of some people makes me want to use AI covers exclusively. I'd love to hire a legit artist, I can't, so I'll do what i have to, and hopefully, by the time I'm ready to publish, the attitude will have shifted a bit.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

I sincerely hope as theres more pushback these people won’t feel so comfortable slandering author

[@JPStaszak]

@@nonsensefreeeditor I would hope the same, but one thing I've noticed with elitist a-holes is that they lack both self-awareness and the ability to read the room. I imagine it's a side-effect from too much fart-huffing.

[@JPStaszak]

@nonsensefreeeditor unfortunately, in my experience, people with elitist mentalities often suffer from a lack of self-awareness and an inability to read the room. Likely symptoms from too much fart huffing.

[@shadowsayer1516]

There are so many vapid "writing experts" on youtube it's hilarious, so I'm glad I found your awesome no-bs channel. Yes I will bypass the gatekeepers when my book is done. Some expert with pronouns in "their" bio isn't fit to judge my work.

[@matthewkjames4498]

my pronoun is They

[@MS-LOL]

​@@matthewkjames4498 Good for you!

[@markwalker5243]

I absolutely love your passion in this video! This is one of the few writing videos where, as a brand new writer, I feel like someone has my best interests at heart. So many writing content producers are like "Here's exactly what you need to do, now let me show you how awesome I am!"

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

I do a lot of educational content on the channel, but I also want to make sure authors are protected, whether it be from scams or unreasonable internet trolls

[@battsauce]

Very well said. I hate all the anti ai talk and threats for using ai from people telling me I "have" to spend 1k on art that I won't make back and the people threatening me aren't going to pay

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Exactly right! A lot of the nasty commenters I've seen aren't even authors or in the book space. Yet they feel so entitled to make demands of us and threaten us when we don't comply. Hysteria at its worst and I'm quite over it

[@b.a.turner_vc]

Trust me, you don't need to spend $1k for great art

[@battsauce]

@@b.a.turner_vc if you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay for yours?

[@b.a.turner_vc]

@@battsauce not $1000 lol Mine were quite affordable, I'll just say that People need to shop around and contact folks for recommendations, a lack of patience and lack of research is a big chunk of the problem in the space. Plus novelists tend to shy away from comic book artists which I think is a huge mistake

[@battsauce]

@@b.a.turner_vc seeing the artnon your cover, if that artist is still charging under 1k they are severely under valuing themselves

[@TheAtlanteanArchive]

Epic rant. I love it. "Hysterical lunatics" is wonderfully applicable across a broad spectrum.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

They do seem to be multiplying at an alarming degree

[@alanhouseholder2265]

Kristin, you made many good points! If I were an artist who opposed AI art, I think the most rational approach would be simply to compete with it in the marketplace, rather than (for example) bitching about it. (As an author, I don’t feel threatened by anyone who wants to use AI in their writing.) One thing I find annoying is the apparent view of certain indie authors that they need to stand in solidarity with the anti-AI-art people, when the latter, as far as I can tell, do not necessarily have the wellbeing of indie authors in mind. Kind of separate from that: I think a lot of what is going on is sensitive writers being “cowed” by aggressive artists who are portraying the indie writers as unclean if they use AI art. From my standpoint, that's a very mercenary, grabby, tacky approach by some artists-the type of approach you often see in big business. That’s okay, maybe, but they should not portray themselves as some protector of the human element versus the non-human AI machine.

[@JodeeJeanDanielsJustWrite]

I officially love you, and you are my favorite new person! Thank you for taking up the cause for us little guys!

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Glad you liked it!

[@n.r.tupperauthor6573]

"If this store supports theft, I won't shop there..." is NOT a threat. And it's not bullying. In the same way when consumers say: If an author uses AI art, I don't want to buy from them... isn't a threat or bullying. It's just a boundary.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

This video does not discuss consumers at all. If you watch the video you’ll see the person being called a bully is a publisher. Consumers can choose to spend or not spend as their preferences dictate. A publisher blackballing an author for legal and ethical behavior (AI is not theft. Thats in the video too), is another matter.

[@n.r.tupperauthor6573]

@@nonsensefreeeditor Consumer wasn't the right word but I think you can see the analogy. There's nothing wrong with publishers, consumers, or ANYONE ELSE having boundaries around AI art. It's not bullying. Publishers also have hard lines on whether they'll work with someone who writes science fiction, or explicit material, or if they're highly political online... and that's okay! Now, perhaps I got lost as your video is rather long but it sounded like a lot of excusing bad behavior because Indie Authors aren't ever going to make enough money to afford a $1000 book cover? But that leans too far into the: I pirate books because I can't afford to buy them! I'm too poor to get these books legitimately so it's okay that I just steal them... mentality. I paid $20 for my covers and they look fine. I didn't need to us AI art. No Indie Author NEEDS to use AI Art. I see nothing wrong with anyone on any level of the publishing process having a HARD line on AI art. Anyway, I think AI art is going to be a hotly debated issue going forward and personally I'm going to avoid AI on any level. It's just not worth it.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

@@n.r.tupperauthor6573 Your covers are indeed fine and yes, if you watched the video, you would see where I recommended hiring an actual artist. I also mentioned that machine learning models do not steal. They learn from existing material and create something original. The hysteria, author harassment, and blackballing comes from people who don't understand that. Pirating a book is stealing. Uploading copyrighted art into ChatGPT and telling it to "change this 20%" is stealing. Typing in a prompt and the machine generating original work for you is NOT stealing. The things you are saying are all addressed and refuted in the video. 20 minutes tends to be a good length for me to fully dive into and explain a subject

[@RitaSlanina]

they have some success, so they're now tyrannical experts 😆 I call this the 'entitlement clause' - its where someone gets success and becomes a judgemental, all-knowing, self-loving, narcissist jackle. But, what the real deal is, that their success highlighted who they were all along. The jackle. The 'entitlement clause' is real! Great video as always!

[@oldguyinstanton]

I'm writing a science fiction novel with weird (outsized) aliens and have contemplated trying my hand at some AI-generated art to depict those aliens juxtaposed against much smaller humans. But I hadn't heard of this sort of pushback against AI, so this video is great food for thought. Thanks!

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Yes, authors who aren’t super-online might be caught unawares by these type of people which would be such a shame

[@SulaimanKarriem]

Just came across your page and I love your honesty n straight forwardness. Than you and keep this up ❤️

[@20quid]

I don't know why the algorithm sent me here, I don't know any of the wider context, but you went full girlboss and I was with you the whole way. It's obvious who out of the two of you actually knew what they were talking about, and the one who didn't know walked head-first into a world of hurt. You love to see it.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

I think he was surprised about the backlash he got, which is what happens when you lead with emotion without knowing the facts. Glad you liked the video!

[@Tokiofritz]

I used an AI image, then paid a designer to manipulate it a little more to my liking. Best of both worlds, I guess.

[@theradioactivepatient]

Great video. Sounds like twitter is a cesspool

[@Lookintobookz]

LOL i freaking LOVE THIS. I know exactly what you mean by demographics…. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I’m glad you’re honest lol

[@ReeceG231]

This was absolutely the greatest takedown of the anti-AI side I've ever seen 😂😂😂😂. Only thing I'll add is I think it's so interesting that over the last two years it's really ONLY authors who've been bullied, harassed and had their feet held to fire and heads under the guillotine for AI. Comic and graphic novel artists have had no issues HEAVILY recommending ChatGPT in their community to help develop their scripts and story ideas. I see zero pressure or bullying in their community when artists replace writers with AI. I find it quite funny.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

Bullies pick on the people most inclined to put up with it. Indie authors sell their books through relationships so are motivated to always be nice, even in the face of harassment. Alas, I didn’t get that memo 😆

[@janasher4940]

Most content creators use AI assistance also. AI is used so much now that people have no idea that it's happening all around them. Funny how they stomp their feet, as AI takes their jobs... It's coming folks. Learn how to use it and make money off of it, or have it roll right over the top of you.

[@BridgeFairy]

Fun rant, Love! ;) One day, I'll finish mine and do what I have to do! Take care.

[@robertsantana3261]

I enjoy your videos BUT you need to seriously color-correct them.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

You aren’t wrong 😆 my setup needs work

[@robertsantana3261]

@@nonsensefreeeditor Actually, all u need to do is fix the contract on your PC screen. Keep em coming, I love your videos.

[@nomado-sensei]

While we're on the topic of AI, I love Pro Writing Aid. Completely eliminates the need for copy editing and proofreading and does it better because it eliminates human factor. But not only that, unlike an editor that would give you a suggestion what they think might be a better word choice, Pro Writing Aid provides you with a variety of options to choose from depending on writing style. It gives you control. And if someone says that you can't use these tools, because machine doesn't have human perception, remember that it is not style and word choice that make people love a book, it's the story. And no editor is going to help you write a better story. Editors are obsolete.

[@phangkuanhoong7967]

nah. if you don't want people to devalue your work, don't devalue the work of others by giving yourself excuses to use AI. Can't afford artists in your country? look elsewhere. you people live in the imperial core. you have more than enough to hire foreign artists. buying into the AI hype will only depreciate yourself in the long run. Companies who use AI for writing are using the same argument to devalue the worth of writers. it's a great irony that creative practitioners, indie or otherwise, want to use something that actively devalues themselves. Generative AI content is theft. And yes, i'm an avid reader, and i won't buy any book with a cover made with AI.

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

If you had watched the video, you would have heard me advocate hiring artists from other countries with low cost of living. Mine is from Venezuela and is outstanding

[@daina3628]

So basically what you're saying is that if an author is from one of those "foreign" counties and can't outsource to cheap labor because they *are* the cheap labor, they don't get to have a cover? See, that, that right there, that's entitlement. Also, what is it that the millennials say? Check your privileges? It's a dead giveaway you're on the wrong side of an issue when your argument is "you can always find a poor person to exploit instead".

[@dont_get_jealous]

The elephant in the room will always be “if you used AI art and didn’t tell anyone and it’s not immediately obvious, is it even a problem?” In the future ppl won’t know if it’s AI or not. Art is subjective. Getting mad about technology is understandable but ultimately futile.

[@wonderlilydesign]

Yes ma’am! I hear you. I am a small little author just trying to make my way, and I remember about two years or so ago I went on a platform to ask about an issue I was having with my low content book, and the feedback made me feel so…. small. Barely anyone tried to help me answer my question, instead, they pretty much jumped on me for my low content book as if I were dirt under their shoes. I remember the lesson well, and today, even though my books are now medium content, I do agree that we should all learn to respect each other and our abilities. I definitely do not have over $1000 for a cover, that’s for real. But I respect all artists, those who can do the original work that I could never do, and I do value some aspects of AI and what it can allow us to do. Thank you so much for sharing, I sincerely appreciate it. ❤❤❤❤

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

That's ridiculous they would behave like that. Low-content books (as I understand it) routinely sell well, so there's a demand you're meeting. Just because I don't make them, doesn't mean they're not valuable. People get so high on their own supply it seems they forget to act human sometimes

[@wonderlilydesign]

@@nonsensefreeeditor So true! Thanks again for sharing. Much appreciated!

[@jamesandersonfoster3024]

PREACH!

[@nonsensefreeeditor]

I couldn’t let it pass… not when I see so many great authors making so little from their work

[@charityrosestark]

There are cover artists who are fair with what they charge and produce good work. But 99.9% of the artists cyberbullying out there overinflates their worth as artists. They're taking commissions and charge $50 an hour USD or more and give their clients stolen images, Microsoft Paint quality pics, or two second, all text logos. And according to this guy's logic - what is the poor author supposed to do if their artist they paid 1000 bucks to sells them an AI image? In terms of AI "theft" and AI writing, what she is saying is true. I once took a passage I had written and asked AI to rewrite it in the style of Sarah J Maas and George RR Martin. The outputs were their "vibe" only. It didn't add in any copyrighted terms/characters. The passage was still recognizable as "mine" just with a different seasoning. If you are going to use LLMs to steal, it's a person actively trying to steal/misrepresent themselves. The program doesn't do that.

[@fredlangva]

What really torques me off is the Anti-Ai folks like the ManChest photographer and the Fantasy artist who lead the pack get paid for their work while there is no guarantee that the author is going to make even a slave wage for the effort and money they have laid out to get their book published. Every book published is a gamble until you build the fanbase. We as writers have to churn out stories in the hopes we'll figure out the magic formula for a decent-selling book or to find our tribe. It is sad that creatives are bashing other creatives. You may not be aware but there was an attack against a better-known and selling Romance author for using an AI cover on her latest book and accusing the text of being AI by one of the hordes from the two biggest anti-AI creatives. The fellow author who made that accusation got in legal trouble for libel/slander. That event changed how the ManChest guy wrote his posts but the damage had already been done by weaponizing his followers. The leaders are starting to figure out that they may become liable for what their followers do and say. The creatives are scared. I get that. They are losing business. The small guys are getting hurt. ManChest isn't feeling the pinch as much as the Fantasy guy. The bottom line is all about money. Just as the SAG/AFTRA/WGA strike was. They wanted to make sure they were paid even if AI was used.

[@yangtze2000]

I'm currently writing novels with both AI art and AI text generation. My wife hasn't worked in a year after suffering PTSD working as a nurse during COVID. I work long hours for a low hourly rate. I am both money and time poor, and many people are far worse off than me. I wrote an SF novel throughout the early 2000s when things were better. It took me 10 years, idea to final draft. No AI then, of course, and I had a cover donated to me by a graphic artist. I've probably sold five copies on Amazon. Today I'm working on four novels that I'll probably finish in a year, for a low cost in AI subscriptions. Without AI my burning ambitions would be impossible to realise. BTW, the text generation facility I use creates an initial draft entirely to my specifications. Some of it I use verbatim, because it's great, but the fun, creative process for me is in the edit, adding things, rewriting sections, expanding sections, checking on story and character arcs, cutting out the AI-isms, all that editorial stuff that the machine can't do. It's like a hip-hop producer using samples to create something new and fresh from something old and brilliant. AI is an enabler of the masses. It sets the poorest of us free to realise our dreams. If a few elitist industries are submerged in the process, then all the better. It won't stop people creating art without AI, it'll just stop them exploiting poorer people without their talent.