Yet another AI scandal has hit self-publishing, as an author left generative AI in a final draft of their book - but this isn't an isolated incident, and reveals a growing, and deeply problematic, trend. The impact of AI on publishing has been hotly debated since the launch of ChatGPT, with concerns that it will be used to 'write' and publish content without human intervention - which is not just an issue for the creative community, but occasionally, for safety. AI-generated books on mushroom foraging, in particular, have been an example where incorrect information (which AI is well-known to produce) has the potential to be deadly.

This focuses on generative AI, which creates content, rather than assistive AI, found in tools like spellcheckers, which is generally considered to be significantly less problematic. Recently, there has been a rash of self-published books that include AI prompts and language, leading to backlash for authors who are evidently using the tech - and as yet another author is slammed for not just using AI, but not even editing out the AI prompts, there are real concerns for how this will impact self-publishing in the future.

Reddit Has Flagged A New Instance Of An Author Publishing AI-Generated Text

Lena McDonald's 'Darkhollow Academy: Year 2' Included AI Use

In a section of the original published version of a reverse-harem romance, Darkhollow Academy: Year 2, readers were appalled to find the following lines, clearly the result of generative AI use:

I've rewritten the age to align more with J. Bree's style, which features more tension, gritty undertones, and raw emotional subtext beneath the supernatural elements.

The age has since been deleted from the digital version of the book, but screenshots of the text can still be found on Reddit and Goodreads (where the book now has a 1.6 star rating). It was also reported that McDonald addressed the AI use on her author page on Amazon, although this is currently not visible on her bio page:

I want to openly and sincerely address something that’s come to light regarding my book. A prompt was recently found in the text. It's something that should never have made it into the final version. I want to apologize deeply to my readers and to the writing community.

The truth is, I used AI to help edit and shape parts of the book. As a full-time teacher and mom, I simply can't afford a professional editor, and I turned to AI as a tool to help refine my writing. Teaching wages make it hard enough to a family, and writing has been a ion project I pursued in the small pockets of time I could find. My goal was always to entertain, not to mislead.

That said, the appearance of an editing prompt in the final book was a mistake — one that I take full responsibility for. It has unintentionally sparked a broader conversation about AI in creative work, and I understand the concerns. I’m taking this seriously and will be reviewing the book carefully, making corrections where needed, and being more transparent in the future about my process.

To my readers: thank you for your , your honesty, and your patience. I’m learning from this and will do better. To the wider community: I'm sorry.

While the author does it to using AI (and it would be extremely difficult to deny it, given the screenshots), the apology doesn't address one of the most concerning elements of the situation, which is actively using AI to attempt to mimic the style of a more successful author. The apology also claimed that the use of AI was for editing, and not creating from scratch - however, there is no way to confirm that this is the case, and even if it were, using generative AI in any capacity for written work is still part of a larger issue, especially in self-publishing.

Worryingly, This Is Far From An Isolated Incident

McDonald Isn't The Only Author Caught Leaving AI Prompts In Published Works

Earlier this year, author K C Crowne was also flagged by the online community for leaving AI Prompts in her work - this time, in Dark Obsession, which included the following:

Certainly! Here's an enhanced version of your age, making Elena more relatable and injecting additional humor while providing a brief, sexy description of Grigori.

Crowne also responded to the controversy, this time on her Facebook page - a screenshot of which was posted on Reddit. Crowne said something very similar to McDonald, that she uses AI for "minor edits", but that "all my books are written by me".

While these are some of the more obvious recent instances, they are not alone. It only takes a cursory scroll of Reddit or Threads to find more examples of authors caught using AI, or even openly itting to it. The phenomenal Substack Lady Whistlethreads, which rounds up book drama and news each week, mentions AI use in every single edition this month. Some of these have spread beyond the realm of self-publishing, such as a mention of The Chicago Sun using AI to generate a list of 'Summer Reads', with many of the recommendations for books that do not, in fact, exist. Even audiobook giant Audible announced earlier this month that it would be rolling out AI Narration on its platform.

BookBub also published a concerning survey this month, asking 1200 authors about their AI use. 45% of those surveyed said that they currently use generative AI in their books, although the majority of those use it for research. 'Writing' was one of the categories which has the least use, but not drastically so.

Amazon, back in 2023, put a limit on the number of titles that authors could publish as a response to AI concerns. However, that limit is 3 titles per day - which doesn't do a whole lot to prevent AI use. The site has also included a step that requires authors to check a box when ing a book to say that it is made with AI, if AI was used in the creation process. There's no visible change to the listing if this box is ticked, though, and it appears to be working entirely on an honor system. It's clear that this is a widespread issue, with AI worming into multiple areas of publishing, but self-publishing is likely going to bear the brunt of it - and that's a major issue all of its own.

Why AI In Self-Publishing Is A Specific Issue, Especially For Diversity In Publishing

A Lack Of Oversight May Push Marginalized Authors Out

*Note: The above image does not imply or reflect that the books pictured are produced with AI, but that these are the kinds of self-published books that may be most impacted.

While AI use in publishing is most commonly brought up as a concern in of ethics and the 'death of the artist', there is a secondary concern around how this will impact marginalized authors. Self-publishing, especially on Amazon under Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), is a juggernaut. Amazon does not publicly release data on how many books are published on the platform each day, but it is estimated to be in the thousands. With that many new books, it is increasingly difficult for authors to stand out - and while this isn't a new issue (book marketing is a massive industry itself, for good reason), AI allows for people to publish a vast number of titles incredibly quickly, exacerbating the problem.

Should AI flood the market, this becomes an issue that disproportionately affects marginalized authors, many of whom have found a home in self-publishing in an industry where accusations of discrimination are a major issue. While there are increasing calls for books by LGBTQ and BIPOC authors in traditional publishing, and even some smaller publishing houses or agents dedicated to own-voice stories, the vast majority of traditional publishing is still extremely straight and white. Should self-publishing become overrun by AI, it is marginalized authors who will feel it the most.