Can ChatGPT Write My Book?

Although AI content writing tools have been around for a few years, they’ve mostly flown under the radar until now. ChatGPT, an AI chatbot developed by OpenAI, has made a big splash in the media recently due to its remarkably human-like writing abilities. 

When asked to answer a question or write an essay, ChatGPT can respond with several hundred or thousand words of seemingly helpful, coherent content. Reportedly, the chatbot can also write code, poems, and marketing content like emails and blog posts. However, there’s a big difference between writing a social media blurb and drafting an entire manuscript. Is ChatGPT capable of making the leap from writing short-form content to penning a fully fleshed out book? Here’s what you need to know. 

What Is ChatGPT? 

Although this is the first time many people have heard of ChatGPT, it’s actually been available to the public since November 2022. OpenAI is currently allowing users to experiment with the chatbot for free so the developers can gather the feedback they need to improve it.

The company has also launched a paid subscription plan called ChatGPT Plus, which costs $20 per month and gives users a first look at new features and improvements. Paid subscribers are also granted round-the-clock access to the chatbot, which sometimes goes offline and is made unavailable to free users. 

To interact with ChatGPT, you simply have to type a prompt into the chat box, and the tool will generate a cogent response within seconds. You can ask it to write a short poem in the style of a certain author, answer a research question, or even debug code. 

Although ChatGPT represents a huge leap forward for AI technology, it still has many flaws. The tool’s responses sound well-researched, but often contain errors and outdated information. Here are a few reasons why you can’t rely on ChatGPT to write your book. 

Why You Shouldn’t Use AI to Write Your Book

ChatGPT is Known to Provide Inaccurate Information

Believe it or not, ChatGPT doesn’t have access to the internet or search engines. Instead, it generates responses based on the large amounts of data that it was fed by the developers who created it. The information used to train ChatGPT was gathered from a wide variety of existing content such as books and online articles. But ChatGPT users are now discovering that the quality of the data it utilizes is questionable. 

Many media outlets that have tested the tool have published warnings about its frequent factual inaccuracies. When the global technology editor at Fast Company asked ChatGPT to name the first cartoon made for television, it responded with an imaginary cartoon that never existed. ChatGPT has also made up fake sources and quotes when prompted to write news articles. 

Since ChatGPT sometimes mixes up the chronology of important events, provides incorrect information, and even makes things up, you’ll have to fact-check all of the content it produces. The fact-checking process can be tedious because ChatGPT doesn’t provide sources for any of the information it rattles off. The tool is also limited to data compiled back in 2021, so it can’t provide the most up-to-date responses. 

OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, is working to resolve the tool’s issues. But at least for now, using AI isn’t the best way to write your book, and ChatGPT agrees. When asked if it can write a book, ChatGPT said that it can assist with the book planning process, but concluded that “ultimately, the actual writing of a book is up to the author.” 

Using AI Could Undermine Your Credibility 

AI writing tools simply can’t match the specialized knowledge and expertise you’ve gained through running a successful business. ChatGPT is incapable of generating meaningful insights and coming to its own conclusions. If you outsource the book writing process to AI, you’ll likely end up with a surface-level manuscript that doesn’t add anything new to your industry’s knowledge base. Releasing a subpar book could undermine the professional reputation that you’ve worked so hard to build. 

There are also a number of ethical issues with claiming AI-generated content as your own. Readers deserve to know if the books they’re buying were partially or fully written by AI. Although some authors have used ChatGPT to write a book without crediting the tool as a coauthor, the practice is regarded as unethical. 

Readers can often tell if a piece of writing was produced by ChatGPT, and there are detection tools that can identify auto-generated content. Authors who don’t disclose their use of AI risk losing the trust of their readers, who may be skeptical of this emerging technology. 

A recent survey found that 17% of respondents distrust AI-produced content and think that it should be banned. So if you collaborate with ChatGPT, your book may be passed over by readers who prefer human creativity, resulting in fewer sales. 

You Can’t Copyright AI-Generated Content

A big issue with AI-generated content is that you can’t copyright it. Registering your book’s copyright creates a legal paper trail that proves you own it. This makes it easier to sue someone if they steal your work. Copyrighting your book also enables you to display the copyright symbol on the title page, which will discourage thieves from trying to pass off your work as their own. 

Because copyright is designed to protect human creative output, you can’t register AI-generated works with the U.S. Copyright Office. Under current laws, your book will likely be considered part of the public domain if you use AI to write it, giving you little to no recourse if someone decides to copy it. 

Books that are partially generated by AI may be eligible for copyright registration if there’s enough evidence of human involvement in the writing process. But it’s unclear where the line is between books that qualify and ones that miss the mark. If you want to ensure that you have full ownership and copyright of your books, it’s best to write it yourself, or hire a human ghostwriter or book coach to assist you.

Your Book Won’t Reflect Your Unique Voice 

As an entrepreneur, you have a wealth of hard-won wisdom and knowledge to share that artificial intelligence will never have. Your perspective and insights are unique and can’t be replicated by a computer program with no life experience or emotions. ChatGPT won’t be able to convey your ideas with the same level of passion, personality, and authority that you bring to the table. 

Although AI can attempt to write in the style of different authors, ChatGPT won’t be able to fully capture your authentic voice. If you want your book to sound like you and properly represent your brand, you shouldn’t leave the book writing process up to AI. 

Established Tools You Can Use to Write Your Book Faster 

At the end of the day, ChatGPT probably won’t help you write your book faster. You’ll probably have to spend a significant amount of time prompting the tool to get the book-worthy responses you’re looking for. Frustratingly, ChatGPT also tends to go silent after spitting out a couple hundred or thousand words, forcing you to ask another question or start a new conversation from scratch. You’ll have to do a lot of fact-checking and editing to string together ChatGPT’s relatively short responses into a cohesive narrative, so the tool probably won’t save you much time.

Luckily there are many productivity aids for writers that are more reliable than ChatGPT. Here are some proven, established tools that you can use to speed up the book writing process, such as spell checkers and speech to text software. 

Grammar and Spell Checkers 

Although AI isn’t very good at writing original content yet, it’s actually a pretty competent editor. It powers popular grammar and spell checkers such as Grammarly and ProWritingAid, which can help proofread your writing and offer suggestions to improve it. Spell checkers allow you to focus on getting your words down on the page without worrying about errors like typos and run-on sentences, which will help you write faster. 

Grammarly offers a free desktop app that checks grammar, spelling, conciseness, and punctuation. You can upgrade to the paid version for $30 per month (or $12 per month if you pay in one lump sum) to get more in-depth edits such as sentence rewrites, word choice suggestions, guidance on tone, and formatting and citation help. 

ProWritingAid is another AI grammar checker with free and paid options. The limited free version only reviews up to 500 words of writing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. 

The paid version has no word count cap and gives authors extremely detailed reports on how to improve their work for $30 per month (or $10 billed annually). In addition to catching typos and grammatical errors, ProWritingAid Premium points out issues like overused words, redundancies, cliches, unclear sentences, pacing problems, and more. You’ll also gain access to writing tips and educational videos from experts like NY Times best-selling authors, which is a plus. 

However, even with all these features, AI grammar checkers still can’t replace human editors. Artificial intelligence can’t act as a developmental editor and give you feedback on the style, structure, and content of your book. A developmental editor will push you to dig deeper and further develop your ideas, resulting in new insights that strengthen your book.

Speech to Text 

As a busy entrepreneur, you have to maximize your productivity and make the most of every minute. Using speech to text software will enable you to multitask and dictate your book while you’re doing the dishes or working out. Dictating your book can also quiet down your inner critic because it’s harder to go back and edit your work. 

If you’re looking for a free speech to text option, Google Docs has a built-in tool, but keep in mind that it only works with Chrome’s desktop browser. The tool has voice commands that allow you to format and edit your writing as you dictate, and even add graphics and tables hands-free. 

If you’re looking for a speech to text software that you can use on the go, check out Dragon. The software has a mobile app called Dragon Anywhere that automatically transcribes your recordings and sends them to your desktop for a seamless workflow. The software even works in noisy environments and adapts to your voice as you use it, resulting in increased accuracy. 

The software costs $200, and you’ll have to pay an annual fee to use the Dragon Anywhere app after the 12-month free trial period ends. Although the price is a bit steep, the productivity boost you’ll get from using Dragon may be worth the cost. 

Scrivener

Although many authors choose to draft their books in Microsoft Word, using a word processor specifically designed for authors like Scrivener can help improve your workflow.

Scrivener is like a digital binder that helps you organize your book. You can divide your manuscript into sections and easily flip back and forth between them. You can even drag and drop different sections of your draft to rearrange content as needed. Scrivener also has digital notecards you can use to outline your book, a full-screen writing mode to eliminate distractions, and a speech feature that allows you to hear your draft read aloud. Both the Mac and Windows versions have a one-time cost of around $50. There’s also an app for iPhones and iPads that costs about $25. 

BookMAPs

When it comes to the book writing process, if you fail to plan, then you’re planning to fail. Many first-time authors make the mistake of diving headfirst into the writing process without a clear idea of who their book is for and what its core message will be. Writers who try to wing it often end up changing direction during the writing process and scrapping large chunks of their work. Drafting your manuscript without an outline can also lead to creative blocks because you’re never sure what you should write next. 

Creating a BookMAP and charting out the course of your book from start to finish virtually eliminates writer’s block. A BookMAP is a visual outline of all the concepts, examples, and anecdotes that you want to include in your book. It’s part of The Book Professor’s® proven 4-step writing process, which has helped dozens of entrepreneurs complete their manuscripts faster and become published authors in just one year.

AI May Never Be Able to Write Books

Credibility and trust are the cornerstones of a successful business. The current version of ChatGPT is prone to errors, leaving many people questioning whether generative AI is reliable. At this point in time, collaborating with ChatGPT to write your book will likely result in a mediocre product, which could damage your professional reputation and brand authority. 

Since OpenAI is working to improve ChatGPT, you may be hoping that a future version of the tool will be good enough to write a book for you. However, it’s hard to predict when or how AI technology will improve. ChatGPT may never be capable of writing an authoritative nonfiction book. Ultimately, saying that you’re waiting for AI to advance is an excuse to put off writing your manuscript.

As a busy entrepreneur, it can be difficult to find room in your schedule for passion projects like publishing a book. But the world needs the insights and wisdom that only you can share. There are many tools to help you increase your productivity and complete your manuscript faster, such as speech to text software and grammar checkers. If you need additional guidance, reach out to The Book Professor® to learn more about our book coaching programs.