Automating Parts of the Book Writing Process

Automating Parts of the Book Writing Process

Writing a book is hard work.

You have to generate ideas. Develop characters. Plot out story arcs. Write thousands upon thousands of words. Edit your manuscript a hundred times. Then market your masterpiece. Tiring stuff. But here’s the surprising thing…

You don’t have to do it all by hand anymore.

What’s inside:

  • How AI Is Changing Book Writing Forever
  • The Parts You Can (And Should) Automate
  • Tools That Actually Make Your Life Easier
  • Why Some Things Should Stay Human

How AI Is Changing Book Writing Forever

The book writing landscape is changing fast.

If you look at the latest figures, 45% of authors are already using some form of AI to assist them in their writing. That’s 45% of authors. 4 out of every 10. It’s huge. It’s huge because the figure is climbing every day.

And here’s why.

AI tools now enable you to automate the boring, repetitive, time-sucking parts of the writing process. The result? You have time to focus on what’s important– creating stories that people want to read and sharing them with your audience.

It’s like this for every second you spend banging your head against a wall figuring out what title to use, or how to format chapters, or where to fix a stray grammar error. Those are minutes not spent writing. Automation will help you free that time.

Let’s start with the Basics: Title Generation

One of the first struggles every writer faces?

Finding that perfect title.

It’s the beginning of a book’s life. And you can spend hours agonizing, or you can just reach for an ai book title generator and have the ideas flying in seconds. You give it the gist of your book and your genre and target audience and you have some ideas that will work.

Oh, and here’s the best part…

You’re not locked into any of the AI-generated titles. Treat the AI like a brainstorming buddy who never tires of coming up with titles. Combine them. Hack them to pieces. Get inspired by the concepts and forge something that’s unique to your project.

The Parts You Can Automate (Without Losing Your Voice)

Okay, one thing I need to be clear about here: AI is not here to replace the writer.

AI is here to make the hard bits easier. So what exactly are the bits of book writing that you can automate?

Research and Fact-checking

Writing historical fiction or non-fiction? Let AI do your research and fact-checking. Things that used to take days or weeks can now be done in a few minutes.

Outlining and Structure

Lost on how to structure your book? Let AI help with the outlining. Tweak from there based on your genre and the story elements you want to include.

Grammar and Editing

We all know this one. Grammar checkers like Grammarly have been around for years, but modern AI editors are more advanced. They spot inconsistencies and flag word choices and clumsy language.

Character Development

AI can generate character profiles, assist you with character backstory, and even help you keep track of character traits throughout the manuscript.

Marketing Copy

Book descriptions, social media copy, email marketing – AI can draft all of this. Just polish it to make it sound like you.

Tools That Actually Work

Not all AI writing tools are useful.

Many are glorified turds. Don’t believe me? Ask anyone who’s tried 10 different tools and still has zero results to show for it. The helpful tools fall into a few categories:

  • Writing Assistants – Assistants that help with the actual drafting, editing, and improving prose. They don’t write for you – but they write with you.
  • Research Tools – AI-powered research software that can scan through thousands of documents and present you with a summary of the information.
  • Organization Software – These help you organize your notes and keep track of plot threads and your entire manuscript.
  • Marketing Automation – Automation platforms that can write marketing copy and analyze reader engagement to optimize your work.

Look for tools that make your life easier. Not ones that demand you upend your entire process.

What You Should Never Automate

There’s one other thing nobody’s telling you…

Some parts of writing just should not be automated. Period.

Your voice? That’s you and you alone. The emotional core of your story? Impossible to replicate with AI. The personal experiences and insights that make your writing unique? All human.

AI can help you write faster. It can proof your work and surface errors. It can generate new ideas.

But it can’t replace the creativity, the emotion, and the unique experience that you bring to the table.

AI is a power tool. Don’t use a nail gun for delicate carving work. Same idea. Use automation for the grunt work, but keep control of the creative process.

The Reality Check

Here’s something else we need to talk about.

The internet trolls who think using AI means you’re “less of a real writer.” Yeah, please. Writers have used tools to help improve their writing since the first person picked up a chisel and started banging it on a wall.

AI is just the next step in that process.

The writers who will succeed are the ones who aren’t scared to adapt. The ones who figure out how to use these new tools to their advantage while also remaining true to their art.

And according to this new survey, 54% of publishers are already using AI as part of their day-to-day activities. If the people who are supposed to be against change are using it, I think we can all agree the times are a-changin’.

How To Start Automating (The Smart Way)

So you’re ready to start using AI to assist in your writing. How do you do that without completely losing your sanity?

  • Don’t try to automate everything at once. Pick one area to start with. Title generation? Grammar checking? Research?
  • Don’t commit to one tool. Try a bunch. Some work for some people. Don’t settle for something that doesn’t work for you.
  • Draw some clear boundaries. Decide which areas you’re willing to automate and which you’re not.
  • Stay on top of new tools and new features. AI is constantly improving and new platforms are being released all the time.
  • Trust your instincts. If the suggestions AI spit out don’t feel right to you, change them. You’re the boss here.

You’re not automating your entire writing process. You’re just making it run smoother.

Wrapping it up

Writing a book is still hard work, there’s no way around it. But it doesn’t have to be as hard as it used to be.

Automate the boring, repetitive, time-draining stuff and free yourself up to do the important parts. The stuff that matters to you. Telling great stories. Creating characters that readers will remember. Building worlds that people love to escape to.

The authors who succeed in this brave new world are the ones who figure out how to use intelligent automation to work smarter, not harder. And the writers who will fall by the wayside are the ones still buried under all the busywork.

The tool is meant to get out of your way. Let them.

Start small. Automate one small part of your process today and see how much time you get back. Time you can use to write your book.