Your knee jerk response to my headline may be “No!” Authors have been writing and publishing books for centuries without AI.
You may have seen the ads suggesting that AI will help you to write a book in a weekend that you can sell on Amazon for thousands of dollars a month. Yes, these ads are scams. But writing a book in a weekend is not the use for AI that I’m talking about.
If you are in the business of writing and publishing in 2025, you are probably using AI in ways that you may not realize. And if not, you are ignoring a valuable resource.
There are a wide variety of apps and software programs available that are specifically designed for writers. They do everything from checking for grammar and spelling mistakes, to giving detailed critiques of your work. There are apps that can help you do research, smooth out the writing in a press release, or generate original art for your book covers or marketing.
No, I’m not telling you to only use AI apps when you write a book. I firmly believe that human input is needed. But AI can help you to write faster, edit faster, and research faster. In these days when making money in publishing often depends on creating a large amount of content quickly, understanding how the newest tools for writers work is important.
Knowing about the latest tools available is as important in the business of writing as it is in any other business. Imagine being an auto mechanic today and not knowing how to use you an OBD2 Scanner, the tool that reads a car’s diagnostic codes and lets the mechanic know what the error codes on the car’s computer mean. Without knowing how to read the car’s computer system, the mechanic is at a great disadvantage.
And so is an author who ignores the most current tools for writing—not just writing faster but writing more accurately. I’m not suggesting that you must use all the AI tools that are out there. I’m only suggesting that you find out what there is and how it works. Then you can decide exactly which, if any, AI tools will work for you.
The good news is you don’t need every AI program available. What can help you is to find three or four programs that assist you and use them regularly. Many of the programs are similar. For example, I know authors who swear by Fictionary, and others who love Pro Writing Aid. Both critique an author’s writing, and both have different features and benefits. Both have free and paid versions, so it is easy to try each one out and decide which works best for you. There is no need to pay for both.
In fact, free versus paid is another thing to be aware of. Some apps offer free, often more limited versions. Others you must pay for right from the start. And prices range from nominal to oh wow. I suggest you look over the programs and use a free trial period before you buy.
Talk with other authors you know, ask questions on forums, and read reviews before you make up your mind which apps to buy. The program your friend loves may drive you crazy, while another your friend hates may be perfect for you.
In the next few months I’m writing a book on AI for Authors. I hope it will be published in early summer. I’ll keep you updated here on my progress.