The Creative Penn is a podcast by Joanna Penn. It is about her journey as an author and has been very important in my journey to becoming a published author. It is not an exaggeration to say that my books may not have been published it if hadn’t been for her. I have learned so much over the years. Mostly about the attitude towards it all, but also a lot of really useful information.
I had a long motorhome drive this past weekend and was listening to an old podcast from 2023.
Relistening to old podcasts gives me a different perspective on things. In addition to WHAT we listen to something, it matters WHEN we listen to it. We aren’t always in a place to accept a piece of advice until a different time.
She asked the question: “If AI wrote amazing books, would you still write?” I don’t remember hearing that question before, so the first time I listened to the podcast, it must have just flew by like the fresh smell of a hayfield as you drive by on the highway.
But this time. This time, I heard the question. Would I still write if AI wrote amazing books? The answer is Yes, I would. There are already many wonderful English books and I still want to write.
I am not working to improve my writing to be better than other writers, human or not. I am improving to be better than myself. I am writing because I have stories to tell, not because I want to emulate other’s stories.
Now, whether my stories sell or not is a different question. More high quality books is making it more difficult to be discovered by potential readers. But it really isn’t changing the level of difficulty. It is already hard with the advent of self-publishing and having many more books in the marketplace doesn’t change that in much the same way that adding a truckload of sand to large beach doesn’t change much. It is hard enough for those that might like my stories to find me. Most won’t ever know I even exist.
My answer, Joanna, is Yes, I would still write if AI was producing amazing books that flooded the marketplace.