For Whom the Bell Trolls Free on Kindle for Limited Time & Other News
I recently attended Philcon in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. One of the panels I was most interested in was on the impact of AI on short fiction markets.
I recently attended Philcon in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. One of the panels I was most interested in was on the impact of AI on short fiction markets.
It appears that the promoters of AI writing programs have led people to believe that they can become rich selling AI generated stories to the major short story markets. Neil Clarke, editor of Clarkesworld Magazine, which accepts about 30 stories a year, has been hit with double the number of submissions due to AI generated submissions and had to close submissions for a time because of it. The AI promoters have targeted Clarkesworld as a perfect market because they pay 12 cents a word for the few stories they publish a year. The average story length they accept is 5,000 words. Neil shared that the AI stories are being billed as 90 to 95% of what a story should be. Neil stated they are so poorly written as to be only about 20% in quality. Also, none of the short stories markets can accept AI generated stories since none are original and therefore cannot be copyrighted. That means no publisher can publish them, either, for the same reason. Since only holders of the copyright, the original writer, can be paid.
That brings into question just how anyone is to make money publishing AI generated stories—and the drive for AI is for the companies behind it to make money. Where we are today is that all these AI stories are slowing down the publication process, and the publisher are adapting, which may identify new writers, whose first language is not English, as having written AI generated stories, and being automatically rejected..
I found the panel discussing the challenges to be akin to a gold rush. People desperate to believe that anyone can find “gold in them thar hills” are being lured to spend their money on AI software only to find that there’s no gold at all. But, for those who have been putting in the time and effort to learn their craft and write better and better stories—the job of finding that “gold,” the recognition that publication brings, could be all the harder. And, for those new to seeking to sell their original stories they will be in for a rougher road than those who have come before.
I also enjoyed a panel on Kickstarter do’s and don’ts with those who’ve run successful and unsuccessful Kickstarters. I’m planning to launch Knight’s Blood, Book Three of my Knights Tower Series via a Kickstarter in 2024. The promotion announcement page can be found here.
In other news, Particular Passages - Closed for the Season is an anthology that is coming out shortly. My story, The Christmas Dilemma, is in it. If you’re interested in darkly twisted holiday stories, check out Particular Passages - Closed for the Season.
Interested in free stories? Dragon’s Curse, and my Apocalypse Knot novella trilogy (basically a complete novel), Apocalypse Knot, Little Apocalype, and Apocalypse Night are featured in Sci Fi & Fantasy Free in December.
Dare to Believe!
D.H.
