Jule Selbo

THINGS WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH…

I was randomly checking out content on some crime/mystery review sites and blogs while the US OPEN was on in the background… my way of taking a half hour break in my writing day…

Not sure how I landed here – (well it started on a August 12 blog someone sent me called CLUESLETTER, which I started reading. I clicked on the AI topic that caught my interest  – pretty sure it was published in the August 6 2026 blog MISS DEMEANOR….

So now from here on out –  I am pretty much copying and pasting –  but I have given you the sources.  I was gobsmacked a bit … and took my attention away from watching tennis …

FROM CBC EDITION (Canadian Broadcasting): “When John Degen’s murder-mystery novel Seldom Seen Road is published next month, he’ll be one of the first Canadian authors to have a small label with the words “Human Authored” printed on the back of the book jacket.

The certification — developed by the Society of Authors, a U.K. trade union — operates on an honour code system: If you’re an author who wants to declare that your book was written without any assistance from artificial intelligence, this is one way of doing so.

“I really wish it wasn’t necessary, I’ll say that,” said Degen, a Toronto-based writer who is president of the Writers’ Union of Canada and chair of the International Authors Forum. “But because it is necessary, I’m very proud to stand behind my work.”

FROM THE GUARDIAN (yes, I give The Guardian money, I like to read it)….

A high-profile publishing deal for a debut crime novel has collapsed after doubts emerged over whether artificial intelligence played a role in writing it.

The hotly anticipated manuscript Call Me, I’ll Hide the Body, by Jerry Falade, was withdrawn from sale by its agent despite reportedly receiving an offer for more than $2m (£1.5m) from Minotaur, owned by Macmillan US, as part of a 14-way auction. The plan was to publish it in 2028.

An email sent to publishers by Falade’s agents and seen by the Guardian said: “Jerry Falade produced an incredible manuscript that dazzled us and the top publishing professionals around the world. Unfortunately, we are no longer able to authenticate how the manuscript fully evolved from origin to completion.”

It continued: “During the submission process we vetted the manuscript with Jerry for AI and felt trusting in his reassurance that it was written without utilising AI as a resource in the writing or editorial process. We can no longer substantiate that, and we are withdrawing the book.”

A novelist was accused of using AI. Why the literary world is still grappling with guardrails…

Publisher Hachette cancelled book’s release after report accused writer of using AI… (some of this came from the NY Times story, some from a blog, some from CBC article…)

Weeks ago, the North American publishing industry was rocked when a New York Times story accused horror writing Mia Ballard of using generative artificial intelligence to write her novel Shy Girl. The Times presented evidence compelling enough for Ballard’s publisher, Hachette, to cancel the  book’s U.S. and U.K. release entirely. Ballard denied using AI to write the novel but said it was possible an editor she’d worked with on the self-published version might have.The Times presented evidence compelling enough for Ballard’s publisher, Hachette to cancel the book’s U.S. and U.K. release entirely. Ballard denied using AI to write the novel but said it was possible an editor she’d worked with on the self-published version might have.

The scandal divided the industry…(since the) AI-detection software  used to evaluate Ballard’s writing tends to be imperfect…

The incident, which Ballard says has ruined her career. It demonstrates the conundrum that literary professionals face as they comb through every pitch, query letter and manuscript lobbed their way: How do you separate the proverbial wheat from the AI-generated chaff, and what happens if you get it wrong?

“I really would have preferred to see her publisher stand up for her and stand behind the work themselves because they trusted their own process,” Degen said. “I mean, the best AI detector in the world — the best detector of bad writing — is a good editorial process.”

Is there a right way to use AI?  (CBC News)

Most of the literary professionals who spoke to CBC News for this story said it matters how AI is used in the writing process. It’s a distinction that several self-publishing platforms have also made.

For example, some distinguished between a text that is completely AI-generated (for example, when text or content is created entirely from scratch based on a prompt) — versus a text that is AI-assisted (when a human is responsible for the output, but AI is used for tasks like spell check or editorial feedback).

Kindle Direct Publishing asks writers to declare any AI-generated text, photos or translations when publishing or republishing a book. AI-assisted works get a pass.

IngramSpark, another self-publishing tool is alos on the lookout (like for anything that feels like writer just ‘asked Claude’ to write part of a chapter for them.

“I don’t necessarily see it as AI is good, AI is bad,” said Chandler Supple, the San Francisco-based chief technology officer of River AI, a platform where writers can use AI to edit and proofread large-scale projects like books.

“I typically tell people just stay away,” said Cecilia Lyra, a Toronto-based literary agent with Wendy Sherman Associates and co-host of popular podcast The Sh*t No One Tells You About Writing.

Lyra said she’s recently noticed an uptick in “undercooked” submissions from writers — usually those who are not career-professional authors — and she suspects that some of them are AI-generated. She still reads at least a little bit of every submission she receives.

“It’s my job to filter it. That burden is on me,” Lyra said. “It has become more time-consuming, but I honestly think that that is just something that, as an agent, I have to accept.”

Well, Carlos Alcaraz is starting his third round match – gonna go back to it…  (since this is published today –  sad to say Carlos lost in the quarters to Ben Shelton (who I also love to root for – so it’s all good).