More People Using ChatGPT to Create, Publish Books
2023-03-07
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1A growing number of people are using ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence program, to create books for sale.
2Although sales have so far been slow, human writers are worried that ChatGPT-created books might hurt the writing and publishing industry.
3Until recently, Brett Schickler never imagined he could be a published author.
4But after learning about the ChatGPT artificial intelligence program, Schickler decided that he had a good chance.
5"The idea of writing a book finally seemed possible," said Schickler, a salesman in Rochester, New York. "I thought 'I can do this.'"
6Using the AI software, Schickler created a 30-page illustrated children's e-book in a few hours.
7He offered it for sale in January through Amazon's self-publishing section.
8The e-book, which is named The Wise Little Squirrel: A Tale of Saving and Investing, has made Schickler less than $100, he said.
9While that may not sound like much, it is enough to make him want to create other books using the software.
10"I could see people making a whole career out of this," said Schickler.
11There were over 200 e-books in Amazon's Kindle store as of mid-February that say ChatGPT is a writer or co-writer. And the number is rising daily.
12But due to the nature of ChatGPT and many writers' failure to admit that they have used it, it is nearly impossible to get a full count of how many e-books may be written by AI.
13Some professional writers are becoming worried about the effects that ChatGPT could have on the book publishing industry.
14Mary Rasenberger is the executive director of the Authors Guild, a writer's group.
15She said, "This is something we really need to be worried about, these books will flood the market and a lot of authors are going to be out of work."
16Rasenberger noted that the industry has a long tradition of ghostwriting - an accepted practice of paying someone to write books or speeches under another author's name.
17But she is worried that the ability to create with AI could turn book writing from an art into a commodity - a kind of simple raw material that is bought and sold.
18"There needs to be transparency from the authors and the platforms about how these books are created or you're going to end up with a lot of low-quality books," she said.
19When asked for comment by Reuters, Amazon did not say whether it has plans to change or look at policies around authors' use of AI or other automated writing tools.
20Amazon spokeswoman Lindsay Hamilton said via email that books in the store must meet its guidelines regarding "intellectual property rights" and other laws.
21Amazon is by far the largest seller of both physical and e-books.
22It has well over half of the sales in the United States and, by some estimates, over 80 percent of the e-book market.
23In 2007, Amazon created Kindle Direct Publishing to enable anyone to sell and market a book without the expense of seeking out book agents or publishing houses.
24Generally, Amazon lets authors publish without any oversight.
25The company then splits whatever money is made with the writer.
26This service has drawn new AI-assisted writers like Kamil Banc to Amazon.
27He told his wife that he could make a book in less than one day.
28Using ChatGPT, an AI image creator and instructions like "write a bedtime story about a pink dolphin that teaches children how to be honest," Banc published an illustrated 27-page book in December.
29Banc has since published two more AI-generated books, including an adult coloring book, with more in the works.
30"It actually is really simple," he said. "I was surprised at how fast it went from concept to publishing."
31Not everyone is impressed by the software.
32Mark Dawson, who has reportedly sold millions of copies of books he wrote himself through Kindle Direct Publishing, was quick to call ChatGPT-assisted novels "dull" in an email to Reuters. Dull means not interesting.
33Dawson said that merit - a good quality that deserves to be praised - is important in the book business.
34"Merit plays a part in how books are recommended to other readers. If a book gets bad reviews because the writing is dull then it's quickly going to sink to the bottom."
35I'm John Russell.
1A growing number of people are using ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence program, to create books for sale. Although sales have so far been slow, human writers are worried that ChatGPT-created books might hurt the writing and publishing industry. 2ChatGPT helps create a children's book 3Until recently, Brett Schickler never imagined he could be a published author. But after learning about the ChatGPT artificial intelligence program, Schickler decided that he had a good chance. 4"The idea of writing a book finally seemed possible," said Schickler, a salesman in Rochester, New York. "I thought 'I can do this.'" 5Using the AI software, Schickler created a 30-page illustrated children's e-book in a few hours. He offered it for sale in January through Amazon's self-publishing section. 6The e-book, which is named The Wise Little Squirrel: A Tale of Saving and Investing, has made Schickler less than $100, he said. While that may not sound like much, it is enough to make him want to create other books using the software. 7"I could see people making a whole career out of this," said Schickler. 8There were over 200 e-books in Amazon's Kindle store as of mid-February that say ChatGPT is a writer or co-writer. And the number is rising daily. 9But due to the nature of ChatGPT and many writers' failure to admit that they have used it, it is nearly impossible to get a full count of how many e-books may be written by AI. 10Effects 11Some professional writers are becoming worried about the effects that ChatGPT could have on the book publishing industry. 12Mary Rasenberger is the executive director of the Authors Guild, a writer's group. She said, "This is something we really need to be worried about, these books will flood the market and a lot of authors are going to be out of work." 13Rasenberger noted that the industry has a long tradition of ghostwriting - an accepted practice of paying someone to write books or speeches under another author's name. But she is worried that the ability to create with AI could turn book writing from an art into a commodity - a kind of simple raw material that is bought and sold. 14"There needs to be transparency from the authors and the platforms about how these books are created or you're going to end up with a lot of low-quality books," she said. 15When asked for comment by Reuters, Amazon did not say whether it has plans to change or look at policies around authors' use of AI or other automated writing tools. Amazon spokeswoman Lindsay Hamilton said via email that books in the store must meet its guidelines regarding "intellectual property rights" and other laws. 16Fast publication 17Amazon is by far the largest seller of both physical and e-books. It has well over half of the sales in the United States and, by some estimates, over 80 percent of the e-book market. 18In 2007, Amazon created Kindle Direct Publishing to enable anyone to sell and market a book without the expense of seeking out book agents or publishing houses. Generally, Amazon lets authors publish without any oversight. The company then splits whatever money is made with the writer. 19This service has drawn new AI-assisted writers like Kamil Banc to Amazon. He told his wife that he could make a book in less than one day. Using ChatGPT, an AI image creator and instructions like "write a bedtime story about a pink dolphin that teaches children how to be honest," Banc published an illustrated 27-page book in December. 20Banc has since published two more AI-generated books, including an adult coloring book, with more in the works. "It actually is really simple," he said. "I was surprised at how fast it went from concept to publishing." 21Not everyone is impressed by the software. Mark Dawson, who has reportedly sold millions of copies of books he wrote himself through Kindle Direct Publishing, was quick to call ChatGPT-assisted novels "dull" in an email to Reuters. Dull means not interesting. 22Dawson said that merit - a good quality that deserves to be praised - is important in the book business. "Merit plays a part in how books are recommended to other readers. If a book gets bad reviews because the writing is dull then it's quickly going to sink to the bottom." 23I'm John Russell. 24Greg Bensinger reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 25______________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27illustrate - v. to explain or decorate a story, book, etc., with pictures 28author -- n. a person who has written something 29transparency - n. the quality that makes something obvious or easy to understand 30platform -- n. something that allows someone to tell a large number of people about an idea, product, etc. 31intellectual property -- n. something (such as an idea, invention, or process) that belongs to someone 32oversight -- n. the act or job of directing work that is being done 33concept -- n. an idea of what something is or how it works 34recommend -- v. to say that (someone or something) is good and deserves to be chosen 35review -- n. a report that gives someone's opinion about the quality of a book, performance, product, etc.