Artificial intelligence (AI) is a helpful tool for catching spelling mistakes and adding or subtracting numbers, but can it write a book for you? If you’re wondering whether to use AI or a ghostwriter for your memoir, children’s book, or other story, here are a few differences to consider.
Cost: AI Vs. Ghostwriter
If your primary concern is financial, AI is the winner.
In fact, money is a significant reason people choose AI over a ghostwriter. After all, if you give a free AI program the right prompts, you can wind up with as many words as you want at no cost. They won’t be the best words ever written, but they’re free. Even if you have to pay for your AI writing assistant, the upfront financial cost is minimal compared to a ghostwriter.
Ghostwriters, however, come at a premium cost. When working with a ghostwriter, expect to pay a minimum of $500 for a children’s book and $5,000 for a full-length novel, memoir, or other book. Remember—working with a ghostwriter takes months of collaboration, conversation, writing, and editing. So, if you want a skilled and experienced human being to serve as your ghostwriter, it will cost more than a computer program.
Convenience: AI Vs. Ghostwriters
Few things are as convenient as creating a book manuscript with AI. You push a few buttons on your laptop, and you have a book manuscript. Unfortunately, AI-generated manuscripts cannot be copyrighted in their original form. The U.S. Copyright Office only grants copyright “where a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements.”
On top of that, using AI makes it difficult to create a book manuscript that’s as unique as you and says everything you want it to say. This is a problem, as originality is vital to make your book stand out in the crowd.
Many find working with a ghostwriter incredibly convenient. They prefer to work with a human who asks questions instead of just responds to prompts. For busy professionals, a weekly or biweekly meeting to go over progress and dig deeper into the story is a joy. They look forward to meeting with their ghostwriters.
So, we’ll consider the AI vs. ghostwriter battle over convenience a draw.
Quality: Where Ghostwriters Shine
A winner is emerging in the AI vs. ghostwriter battle. Every day, more and more people who used AI to generate manuscripts are turning to ghostwriters to recreate their books. In most cases, the ghostwriter scraps the artificial effort and starts from scratch. Doing this is easier and ensures the story has all the pop and sizzle it deserves.
What’s the deciding factor in the battle between AI and ghostwriter? AI is essentially a data processor. Data processors aren’t built for relationships, and they aren’t curious. They won’t probe you with questions that push past the surface to the heart of your issue.
Ghostwriters, on the other hand, are human beings, created for relationship. We are intensely curious and intent on making your book the best it can be. To achieve that end, we push you. We ask Why? over and over. When appropriate, we dig into uncomfortable territory and dig up past events you buried long ago. We don’t do this out of cruelty. Rather, we do this because the discomfort will serve your book and help you create a final product with the power to change readers’ lives.
The Final Word
Unlike AI, a ghostwriter helps find your story and puts it together in a way that keeps readers engaged. AI simply spits out what you feed it.
This is vital when choosing between AI and a ghostwriter. So, if you only care about seeing your name on a book cover and don’t care if your book changes anyone’s life, use AI or follow a program to write and publish your book in 10 days. Prefer to write a book that draws in readers and keep them engaged? Write the book on your own or partner with a ghostwriter.
To find out if The Southern Ghostwriter is the writing partner you need, contact me to schedule a no-obligation consultation.