Can AI Replace a Book Coach?

by Kristin Melville

AI cannot save you from yourself: That is what I always told myself when I watched Generative AI (GenAI) tools to aid writers burst onto the market.

Different from the spell checking grammar tools, GenAI allows users to create realistic looking photos, illustrations, and swaths of text of virtually anything they want. Not only are AI companies making bank of their subscriptions, but some unscrupulous end users are plagiarizing established authors to profit off their good name.

As a distinctly human writer and book coach, I couldn’t help but feel the existential doom.

GenAI only exists on stolen work. In September of 2023, The Author’s Guild filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, adding its parent company Microsoft as a defendant in December of 2023. They represented big names like George R. R. Martin and John Grisham to call out the formerly nonprofit AI company for dodging copyright. An estimated 300 billion words were used to create its Large Language Model, and barely a dime has been spent to use them.

And as with all tech industries, GenAI uses massive amounts of energy. ChatGPT's estimated daily use of electricity is 17,000 times more than an average household. Server farms use water to cool down the towers, so a single conversation with ChatGPT guzzles the same amount as a plastic water bottle.

To further add to the pushback, grassroots movements against Gen AI exist, so much that thousands of passionate readers will boycott anything birthed with the tool. Artwork, book covers, marketing copy–nothing AI touches is sacred. There’s too much blood in the water for consumers to stomach any more.

Yet others are fully embracing it, even outside of the massive tech companies. I’ve heard countless regular users–people writing and researching books with the tools–say that it’s too late to stuff this cat back in the bag. Why fight the flood? Plus, several AI products have arrived specifically to guide future authors on their journey. Editing, brainstorming, researching, drafting, and marketing can now all be automated.

It promises magic, but stinks like a hoax.

That said, I’m the type of person who likes to understand the sides I don’t agree with. Could I stand firm in my opposition if I didn’t understand how this works? How a curious writer might interact with this system? So I spent several days talking to ChatGPT to brainstorm a completely new book idea, skeptical but morbidly curious to explore what it had to offer.

Working with Generative AI

I started with a basic request, playing as a wannabe author: “Help me write a book.” The program launched into a short 5 point list: clarifying genre and audience, outlining the plot, defining characters and world building, choosing a tone or writing style, and writing the actual draft. Every reply ended with a prompt for future questions like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel. I thought back to all the books, articles, and experts it got its “knowledge” from, curious where it was scraped from. And while it spat out this information in a digestible way, it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know from my own studies.

Also, if I queried a certain historical fact, it would spit out a rapid analysis. The startling part was how it told me how I could apply that information to the book idea without my asking. “The following political struggles in Florence, Italy in the 1600s could parallel the events of your book. Here’s how.” Here, I really felt the draw to let GenAI take the wheel. The temptation of instantaneous research was hard to resist. If it technically wasn’t offering to write the book for me, that was still “clean,” right?

Like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, I followed the prompts, picking from the various suggestions. True, it came up with options I never would have thought of before, especially because I prompted it with a genre I have no interest in. It was hard not to think of the program as sentient; it connected dots with uncanny aplomb and speed. Must be the legion of brains the program feasted on for wit without permission.

I continued, prompting the black hole of words for ideas about backstory, theme, magic systems. By the end of the first 30 minutes, I asked for a first chapter of this brainstorm. Words gushed onto the screen. It included ideas and tropes I’d never use, but technically never told the computer to avoid them. Sure, a prophecy is classic in a young adult fantasy novel, but does my story need to be so typical? Do I want to be the common denominator, or do I want to part the waters of mediocrity?

That said… the prose output was “good.” Lyrical. Grammatical. Surprising in that I didn’t expect such dazzling imagery. Certainly the AI output will become increasingly more sophisticated as its database and funding grows. But the story beneath the melodramatic prose was a hollow shell of cliches.

And knowing that LLMs like ChatGPT only exist off the backs of human creators, the result rings even more hollow.

Since then, I’ve explored other supposed AI panaceas, but I left those with even lower expectations. Companies like AutoCrit and ProWritingAid also offer AI tools, each one focusing on different aspects. They offer small little perks to cover every base you can think of, almost as if to make up for the weaknesses in between. They promised to guide me, but I left feeling confused with its suggestions. I mean, how many scenes can I possibly jazz up with an earthquake that opens a mysterious, glowing cavern?

Warning my grammar was off is one thing, but throwing random ideas in my lap turned quickly into clutter that I tossed without a second thought.

Working with a Book Coach

Now, book coaching is not a new invention, but it’s lived under many names. The mission? To help passionate writers craft meaningful books that align with their goals. Professionals study for years, mining a lifetime of experience specifically to help you (yes, you) join the literary world.

More than what you need to do next, book coaches help you uncover the redemptive power of Why. What does writing a book mean to you? What do you want your career to become? If you want to make a living full time as an author, will a jack of all trades AI really be enough to get you there?

Here’s the quick: GenAI will give you a shotgun blast of information, as well as some specific references if you ask it the right questions. But is knowledge what you need, or action?

Working with a book coach is all about acting on your goals to write a book. It’s about taking you and your work seriously, to connect your vision with the world with more focus and support than going alone. Simulated connection only goes so far. In the end, you must choose yourself.

While AI programs can advise you on grammar and word choice, they can't see beyond the surface of the story. A book coach can notice recurring story problems you may not be aware of, like a lack of conflict between characters or tying worldbuilding around a central theme. Instead of a scatter shot of resources and ideas, a book coach can provide tangible direction over time, not just in your query of the moment.

AI is a Yes Man, never questioning. When you hire a book coach, you’re looking for true momentum and growth. AI doesn't challenge you to do better and push past what's holding you back. It gives you everything you ask for and then some, but it can't understand the true heart of the words, just the statistical likelihood of word order.

There’s also the appeal of building a one on one connection with a fellow human. You write to be heard; a book coach's entire job is to listen to your goals, your dreams, and help you make them your life. Being bold enough to write a book is something to respect. There's no one else who understands the full scope better than a book coach. More than a product or words on a page, you are a visionary, ambitious enough to take the leap and claim your place in the literary world.

Writing a book takes guts. GenAI only takes.

What do you value? What is your goal as an author? Do you just want to write a book, or do you want to make something of yourself? The further away you are from finishing your book, the more drawn to using GenAI you might be. While AI may have inhuman computing power on its side, all it’s trying to do is catch up to you.

If this is a race, AI is the one lagging behind. By nature of being human, you are already miles ahead of the curve.

You are not replaceable. You are the model. You are the inspiration. You are the author.

Don’t let anyone make you forget it.

Kristin is an Author Accelerator Certified book coach who specializes in the fantasy genre. You can find more information about her in our online coach database or at her website here.