Authors Guild

You did? Yeah.

You learn with the Authors Guild.

I learned how essential an industry this is.

And, of course, we like to pick on it.

We also asked just avid reader friends and book clubs to We went and read through tons of literary magazines and looked at other story collections because we were open to reprinting stories we really liked.

And then we also put out a call for submissions to the Authors Guild, which was wonderful because that's where we got a lot of the writers who we probably wouldn't have found any other way, but they are very accomplished and really wonderful.

And we got hundreds.

It was overwhelming.

So that's certainly a huge issue for booksellers online.

And sort of threading that thought here because the Authors Guild has a project called Human Authored.

So it allows authors to certify that their book was not generated by AI with the exception of minimal uses such as AI applications that check spelling and grammar or for research.

So this is from Human Authored, the Authors Guild.

So it seems like authors are the ones who are really pushing back on this.

Is that what you're hearing?

How did you realize that had happened and what happened afterwards?

So when we first started hearing about...

And at the center of some of these allegations lies an unreliable technology, AI detectors.

Well, last week, the Authors Guild released a new set of guidelines and best practices for publishers that essentially says enough is enough.

So let's dig into them.

I've mentioned the Authors Guild here on the show in the past, but not in great detail.

The Authors Guild, also referred to as the Guild, is the oldest and largest professional organization for published writers here in the United States.

Think of it as an organization that advocates for writers' professional interests.

The Guild works to protect authors' copyright, defend free expression, advocate for fair publishing contracts and compensation, and they also help writers navigate the business and legal side of their careers.

And these ongoing accusations and cancellations have authors increasingly worried that their work is going to be questioned based on the results of AI detectors that are notoriously incorrect.

Okay.

And you do work with the Authors Guild?

Mm-hmm.

I do.

You can imp-- re-implement an i-- uh, an idea, like an algorithm, um, not copy the code.

Um, and then there was this, uh, famous, uh, you know, t- lawsuit, uh, between Authors Guild and Google.

Um, so if you go to Google Books, you can see snippets of, of various books which are copyrighted.

So there was a huge, um, uh, you know, uh, deal about whether this was deemed fair use because you're sort of redistributing, um, you know, other copyrighted work and, and eventually, eventually meaning after eleven years, this lawsuit was settled in favor of Google, which ma- is why this thing exists.

There'll also be a live Q&A, and everyone who registers will receive a recording afterward.

Moving a little further forward, the Authors Guild is hosting a free webinar called From Manuscript to Marketplace: Have You Seen Ramit? on Tuesday, October 20th at 2:00 PM Eastern daytime.

Now, the session will explore how the award-winning novel Have You Seen Ramit? went from manuscript to publication, including overcoming rejection, working with a publisher, editing, marketing, and sales.

There'll be a live Q&A following the talk, plus replay access.