Human resources. It’s such a ubiquitous term I’d never really thought about it—I mean really thought about it—until recently. As writers, we of all people, understand the power of words. How something noble or kind can be twisted.

Yet, ponder the term for a moment and maybe what it’s come to entail. Human resources. First, what is a resource (at least as I believe we’ve all come to understand it)?

Human resources, then means that humans are useful or a valuable possession. You know, like timber or oil or coal. I’m being facetious, but it does bring me to an issue everyone is facing. In the age of AI, what exactly are human resources? Last time, in my post AI Scammers Are Making Publishing Scams Scarily Convincing we dipped a toe into how technology has shifted not only our vocabulary, but our expectations.

As human beings of inherent worth and value, aren’t we being repeatedly asked to lower those expectations more and more and more?

Writers are the kindest, most loving and generous people I’ve ever known. I consider myself honored to be in such company. But in being kind and beautiful dreamers, you know what else they can be?

Naive.

Hey, I am putting MY hand up. As I mentioned in the post, it genuinely felt good (for that fraction of a second) that someone loved my work. Didn’t like it, loved it. And then that was what sent up more flags than a CCP parade.

When did we become so jaded?

Human Resources and the Internet

As a Gen Xer, I have been the generational bridge between a purely analog world and a digital one. My earliest computer experience involved NOT DYING on the Oregon Trail. I was never successful and somewhere, deep down, I wonder if this wasn’t some strange cosmic foreshadowing.

YOU DIED OF DYSENTERY EXPLOITATION

I wasn’t a fan of email in the beginning, though I did work in tech. I remember screaming to the high heavens that we couldn’t just keep slapping .com on the end of anything and throwing hundreds of millions after it. Welcome to the dot.com bust. Then we saw the rise of NAPSTER, and the tiny hatchlings of on-line gaming, message boards and social media.

Facebook was a BORING place to be in 2006. It was all farmland! Why? Because social media is useless without human resources. NAPSTER would have been a nothing burger if it hadn’t had countless human musicians to steal from. Yet, it set the precedent, didn’t it?

YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, are all multi-billion dollar companies because of how expertly they’ve harnessed/extracted from human resources. And I am not here to claim they’re some mustache-twirling villain (mostly), because I’ve made my career teaching others how to navigate these systems. Facebook friends have been there for me when I quite literally had no one else.

When my (then) 2 year old son had his face caved in and I was so distraught I thought I’d go mad, who was there at 2:30 a.m. in the ER? Facebook friends.

Social media has allowed me to meet people all over the world, have friendships that would never before have been possible, writing opportunities and an audience that never otherwise would have been possible (*waves from behind this blog*). And all of this is wonderful…so long as a respectful social contract remains.

Because once we start massaging the meaning of “value” in human resources, what are we giving up in basic human “worth”?

We agreed to participate in online communities. We agreed to share our ideas, art, experiences, and professional accomplishments. We understood that companies would earn money facilitating those interactions.

But did we agree to every subsequent commercial use of our contributions?

Data Strip Mining

I’d like to believe most of us aren’t hopelessly obtuse. We “get” that our information is being collected, used, resold. Hey, when the product/service is free? WE are the product/service.

But when did we ever get the option of NOT having it for free? And I don’t mean charge me extra so I don’t get any ads which then becomes “just fewer ads” unless you want to upgrade AGAIN so you can possibly get through a frigging movie without being stopped every three minutes.

I never minded ads or commercials.

In fact, I rather enjoy learning about new products since tech giants decided we no longer wanted MAGAZINES. Remember those? Every month you could just thumb through at your leisure and learn about the latest in skin care or makeup or cars or whatever.

Nope, now it’s everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I was off Facebook for several months because I couldn’t even see any people. It was a nonstop barrage of ads. So, I gave it some time, got back on, saw my peeps, then…ARE YOU FRIGGING KIDDING ME?

I can’t even watch a funny cat video without suddenly realizing OH FFS, IT’S ABOUT CAT FOOD!

*internal screaming*

Because human resources.

Post you gained a few pounds and are back walking? In comes the diet ads, the bootcamps, the pilates ads. Mention you lost a loved one? Funerary care, life insurance and on-line “affordable” therapy INCOMING!

I can no longer just be a person. Everything I type is there to be strip-mined. My joy, my family, my pain, my fear. For those of you inexperienced with coding and what the backside looks like? Here it is:

$$$$$$$!!!!! $$$$$$$!!!!! $$$$$$$$ !!!!!! $u¢Ker $$$$$

I cannot even post a BIRTHDAY without AARP, hearing aid centers, orthotic shoes, and denture services entering the feed.

Hey, there’s another word we haven’t possibly thought much of…FEED.

You are in my feed. I am in their feed. Why is all this garbage in my feed?

LinkedIn Where “Human” Resources Go to Die

As I have mentioned, I took off a year to earn a post grad in AI/Machine Learning. I knew AI couldn’t help but utterly remake the publishing world. I didn’t want to rely on secondary or tertiary resources, so I took the hit. Trust me, being an over fifty writer suddenly deciding to attend an engineering school for a very MATH heavy degree was not my idea of a picnic.

But, I did it.

I do believe I’ve been very upfront with authors since the beginning of this blog twenty years ago *ducks from an affordable cremation ad*.

Writers have rarely been able to make a 100% living off novels…ever. Even before the internet. Is it the dream? Of course. Is it reality? Hardly. For years, many of us taught classes, did editing, developmental editing, line editing. We found work writing articles or as technical writers.

One of my weird superpowers has always been that I spoke fluent “Engineer” and could make a layperson audience not only understand highly technical concepts, but actually LAUGH and LEARN.

Then AI came along and many writers are suffering a personal extinction of sorts. The tech companies clearly thought what humans contributed was valuable enough to train all these new AI models on, but now that these systems are up and going and part of FRIGGING EVERYTHING (who knew my toothbrush needed AI assistance?), we are now somehow flawed.

I scroll LinkedIn and have lost count of the posts lecturing people that they shouldn’t use em dashes in their writing. It’s a dead giveaway it’s AI.

BECAUSE AI APPARENTLY INVENTED THE EM DASH!

Who knew? I’ve been using those since typewriters.

The “experts” all have tips and mini-articles how to fool people into believing the crap someone’s AI is vomiting out actually isn’t AI.

Hint: It is NOT the em dashes.

But someone IS CLEARLY listening or those AI publishing scams wouldn’t suddenly get so much harder to spot. Would they?

LinkedIn and “Pick Mes”

PICK ME! PICK ME! PICK ME!

Go to the LinkedIn “feed” and it’s a fascinating study of the Kubler-Ross Five Stages of Death and Dying.

Denial:

These people usually have “founder” “expert” “CEO” or something impressive in their title. Nothing is wrong. AI is the future. Anyone who even dares criticize it are the same people who would still have us all riding on horseback because cars were bad.

Reductive much? Quick Side Bar

Trust me, I never once worried my 1994 Geo Metro was going to steal my identity. I could speak freely in my Geo Metro without any care that it was listening so it could sell my data to another party without my knowledge, consent or permission. Guarantee you I never worried my 1994 Geo Metro wouldn’t TURN ON because my eyes were acting strangely and so I was unfit to drive (proposed eye tracking technology patent).

I’M NOT DRUNK! I AM TRYING TO ESCAPE A TORNADO!

Anger:

This one is pretty self-explanatory. People who’ve cycled through bargaining and depression usually land here. They are just super careful how they say it because you know, employers could be watching.

They aren’t…but totally could be.

These folks are (rightfully) furious that the jobs posted are either old, non-existent, or pretty clearly predatory. But don’t worry! If you BUY LINKEDIN PREMIUM…that’s where the real jobs are. For the people who’ve stopped applying for jobs and now need to apply for food stamps, just HAND US MONEY!

Bargaining:

This is where I have seen myself and so many writers (and other professionals). We feel increasingly exploited. Not only does LinkedIn do practically NO vetting of who’s allowed to even post a job, most of the “jobs” really aren’t jobs at all.

I’ve seen countless professional writers and editors apply for a job on LI (been here, myself). The company claims they need to pass so many tests, interviews, auditions. Um, okay? Twelve interviews and multiple projects later (unpaid of course) the applicant either gets a form rejection letter or is ghosted.

Writers and editors that, before AI could make a living, now are all posting with their brightest face—lest we see they’re really dying inside a little every day. They have positive affirmations, ask thoughtful questions, are still genuinely trying to have someone at Human Resources anywhere see them as just that…human. Useful.

Depression:

These are the brave souls who actually take time to share what they’re going through, how dehumanized and demoralized they are. LinkedIn posts a job and when you apply it’s either juggling like a circus clown for not even peanuts and a “thoughtful” form letter about how much they appreciate your effort OR…you’re directed to a third-party site.

OH, you silly goose!

You genuinely believed you were applying for that Senior Content Writer Position and Fancy Schmancy Company? Nooooo! You are just adorable!

Let’s tell you how this works. You are redirected to another site where you give all your information and email and maybe writing samples, tests, portfolios…and they will list you among THEIR human resources talent.

They’re totally trying to get people work (probably are but starting to think it’s urban legend). Has nothing to do with them selling all that information or…I dunno…getting investors to keep shoveling money their way because they have the metrics.

Look at all the HUMAN RESOURCES we have!

I know! It’s unfair of me. Just seems strange that one can’t simply apply for a job without having a name, password and a verified email. Then strangely and for NO RELATED REASON the email soon is virtually unusable due to spam. Don’t worry! You can pay for AI to make your email usable again!

Acceptance:

You don’t see them on LinkedIn, except maybe posting snarky blogs.

LinkedIn isn’t SOLELY to Blame, INDEED

Because when I look at all these publishing scams that have suddenly hatched, there is something really uncanny in the comments. They know my writing so well! Gee, I wonder how that would have happened?

Of course we have blogs and posts on social media, but it really does beg the question where all those writing/editing/artistic samples actually GO?

Where are our rights to what we create? Clearly we didn’t have any rights when the tech giants used OUR LIFE’S WORK to make trillions? To create technology they can sell back to us after gaslighting us that we are incompetent.

Yes, yes I know they mostly used what they scraped off the internet and what was publicly available…but WE CREATORS STILL OWNED THE COPYRIGHT. Joe Schmoe couldn’t take all my blogs, slap them in a book and profit from it. But Mark Zuck…oh too soon?

We’ve slowly accepted a system that we can’t simply fill out a paper application. We must go through one of the many, many job boards. We are told to play nice, that humans are lazy, we are behind we just don’t want it badly enough. If we even criticize AI, we are immediately a Luddite and anti-technology.

But how many people no longer have jobs? Can no longer even get jobs? If I had a dollar for every Uber driver who once worked as a programmer…

I’d be able to afford a LinkedIn Premium membership.

Human Resources are HUMAN…and We Have NOTHING LEFT

I am not naive and understand there are plenty of companies using AI responsibly, but for how long? Because when the model is extraction extraction extraction, how long until even the good guys have to fudge their morals a bit just to simply survive?

And it’s “wonderful” Ford patented all kinds of surveillance for inside a car no one can afford to sell our information to companies to sell us products we can also no longer afford but what’s the end game? Because as I see it, this is a giant ouroboros.

AI is so wonderful and it’s going to make companies efficient. Products will be cheaper (still waiting). Instead of ten people, a company will only need ONE!

Translation: Nine jobs just went bye-bye and there are only so many Uber Eats deliveries to go around (and those will start going away, too when no one can afford it).

Is this why there are now so many scams? People have lost so much buying power that now they just skip GO and head directly to cleaning out our bank accounts?

Please understand I have learned AI, I have done everything I can think of to be top in my profession…just to be refused a writing job because….

I failed a TURING TEST!

True story.

AI recently passed a Turing Test whereas I (an actual human) FAILED.

*Am I in an episode of Black Mirror?*

My goal here isn’t to depress you, though I am certain I might be guilty. Mea culpa. It really does feel like a lot. But how do we change a system we can’t even question? If we can’t get a job without using a job board/site, but the job board/site is really just using persistent unemployment to “self-power” themselves…what then?

I appreciate your time on this matter, but just got a message. SOYLENT GREEN is hiring and Mr. Morlock wants me to do an AI interview! PICK MEEEE!

What are YOUR thoughts?

Have you noticed a change in how employers treat applicants, particularly since AI became commonplace? Where do you believe the line should be drawn between technological innovation and respecting human dignity? Have you ever been asked to complete extensive unpaid assessments or submit original work during a hiring process?

Most importantly, have you ever watched a super cute puppy video only to be PISSED they’re just trying to sell you something?

Hey, I have priorities.

The post Human Resources: When Did Humans Become Raw Materials? appeared first on Kristen Lamb.

AI scammers are getting good. I mean scary good. The only thing that saved my bacon was a heavy dose of pessimism and KNOWING the BUSINESS of the PUBLISHING BUSINESS.

When I say these scams are terrifyingly good? I do not say this lightly. Yes, I’ve been a writer for years, just also a writer who’s spent decades fascinated with emerging technology.

Yes, I own and have read Hacking with Kali Linux: Penetration Testing Hacking Bible multiple times…for fun. There are good reasons I was single until I was 35.

My passion for technology—and how it impacts writers—has always driven everything I do. It’s exactly why I took off over a year from regularly posting on this blog to complete a post graduate in AI and Machine Learning at the University of Austin. I knew AI was in our future. I dug in to learn what exactly went into the sausage LLM.

And I did NOT like what I saw.

It’s taken a lot for me to figure out how to pivot back into writing full time, after so long away. That and I am still trying to find an angle of AI that doesn’t make every single writer collectively walk into the ocean. Good thing is, I didn’t need my prompt.

The AI scammers came to me.

*cracks knuckles*

I get it, this is not new. Thankfully, writers have incredible resources to keep them apprised of anything nefarious. The Author’s Guild did a piece on AI scammers back in April. Writer Beware did another post on just how scary good these AI scammers are becoming and just how quickly they’re mutating.

After so many years writing, working and researching along the leading edge of technical trends, I like to believe I am pretty hard to fool.

But let’s not get cocky.

The AI Scammers Changed Tack

Most of the time, these scams practically have Dear Miss I Want To Steal From You in the subject header. They’re so bad as to be laughable. That said, never underestimate the enemy. Most of the time, what I don’t filter out I just delete without even opening.

Something about this particular email, however, made me pause.

What the hell? *shrugs and opens*

For the record, I never did actually BUY that this was the real deal. Is it because of my tech background or that, as an author, I have a level of pessimism that would make Severus Snape accuse me of being Debbie Downer?

Trust nothing.

Verify everything.

If I didn’t learn that as an author, I definitely learned it in IT.

That’s what made this little specimen so fascinating.

The Author’s Guild article has screenshots of a similar exchange, so I won’t bore anyone with MY screenshots.

Suffice to say, the website was cloned, the email address looked legit, the editor was an actual editor from an actual publishing house that was just the right size to inquire about my work. The message emulated what the publisher was actually in the market for. The name of the editor was correct, the signature at the footer. Really impressive work.

*put a pin in that if you’re laughing*

This was no longer the absurd boilerplate scam messages with all the tells that the sender isn’t even a native English speaker, let alone an editor (or literary agent).

The AI Scammers Had RECEIPTS

Whoever was behind this had done enough scrubbing of the internet for the juicy deets. The email was warm, personal, had just the right details most writers would look for (even seasoned ones). In fact, the odd thing is that—sans AI/ML & CyberSec background—for me it was nothing unusual.

I don’t say this as any sort of a brag, but I have been blogging twenty years and have a lot of books and articles floating about. I could literally have posted blogs of nothing but commas for 20 years and someone would know me.

I’ve also been friends with many writers, agents, editors and publishers for a couple decades. Thus, it would not be completely crazy that some editor from a boutique publisher in NY would reach out.

Had he talked to Troy Lambert? Was Troy at a conference? He DID mention he loved my short stories in WTH Did I Just Read?

So not completely crazy…just mostly crazy.

Hey, hope springs eternal.

That and we writers DO help one another out. We name-drop, recommend, tell agents or editors about people we like (or at least I do). I spent over a year writing feature articles for a major magazine because a fellow writer hooked me up.

Yo…Troy. *taps fist on chest*

So, when this editor “wrote me” a very personalized message, mentioning my previous work and professional details in a personal way? Not that odd. Then made sure to add in, “we will never ask you for money because that is not how publishing works”…y’all KNOW I HAD TO PUSH THE RED REPLY BUTTON.

Because I am me. And also, if they didn’t want any money, what exactly did they want? Maybe it could be legit.

And maybe I was a Chinese jet pilot, but….

Okay, I’ll Bot Bite

Because I am sitting and thinking, why not? See where this goes and what do I have to lose?

***A LOT!!! DO NOT FALL FOR ANY OF THIS!!! These AI scammers are seriously dangerous!!!

Let the “professionals” play with the matches.

I go ahead and write back and ask exactly which particular piece of writing this editor saw that piqued his interest. I figured that would be the end of it, and I’d never hear back. NOPE. Came back with a lovely email that any writer would love to frame (if it were real). Again, just the right details.

Loads of restraint.

I think the restraint is what made me hesitate for that beat. Every exchange was, “I only need this.” “Don’t send that yet.” “Let’s do everything by the book.” “Professional this and that.” Blah blah blah.

Bots are just known to let the greed get to them too quickly. This was a new kind of Phish, indeed. Though I knew strongly suspected I was playing with fire, I had to see where this was heading.

I dug out an old NaNoWriMo novel and, since I am a dweeb, I do synopses for every book I write. Might not STICK TO IT (another post entirely) but I had one handy.

*tosses out phishing fly and dances feathery synopsis across the water* *Here phishy, phishy*

Knowing Our Business is Part of OUR BUSINESS

I have posted plenty on how traditional publishing works. They might have updated some things over the years, but I can tell you pretty confidently what has never changed.

There IS no publishing sugar daddy.

Sucks. I know. Trust me, I have never gotten over the hurt, either.

We ALL want to just write the books. We dream of an agent or editor discovering us so they can navigate the morass that is our business. Every writer dreams of just having time to be creative. It isn’t a sign of weakness, rather a sign you’re human, and a creative one.

Anyway, back to the battle of the bots. I send in a gorgeous synopsis of my book *gets cramp patting self on back*. And, because I can’t resist trolling, I added that my mother loves all of my work. Again, I don’t expect to hear back, but the next morning…WHAT DO I SEE?

See, that restraint thing. That is what messed those greedy bastards up.

Anyone who’s studied publishing for a fraction of a second knows nothing and no one in publishing is fast.

I open the email anyway, because DUH! A NYC PUBLISHER LOVED MY WORK *hair flips*. Obviously, I’d be an exception.

Amazingly, he just loved my sample. He even loved the joke about my mother loving my work.

*brakes screech*

Okay a NYC editor writing me about my work unsolicited was already a white buffalo. A NYC agent getting back to me in the same calendar YEAR? A unicorn. But a NYC editor writing me about my work unsolicited, replying quickly, who ALSO had a sense of humor? Unicorn with wings! And pooping glitter!

But he didn’t want me to send anything else. Did I have an agent?

I don’t technically have one but plenty I can email or call my last one. But, I typed, “Not at the moment.“

*here phishy phishy*

And there it was….

Phase Two of the AI Scammers’ Plan

I knew there had to be a payday in there somewhere and my AI scammer pal didn’t let me down. He told me that was fine, just not to send ANY MORE OF MY WORK until I had an agent. He highly recommended even using my own (NICE).

My work was so good I could probably pitch an agent telling them Mr. BigShot at NYC Boutique Agency was interested (probably could)…buuuut if I wanted to get right to work, he recommended an agent (I KID YOU NOT it was ANOTHER CLONED and TOTALLY LEGIT AGENT) “and here is her email.”

Of course, this agent’s email is embedded/hyperlinked in the body of the email making it tougher to read and someone eager, tired, or less scam savvy would happily click. And there is a lot of drama about crosschecking meta data I am not getting into here. Ironically, AI can help you sniff it out.

*slow claps*

As much as I hate these people with the power of a thousand suns and pray they be smited…smitten…smote (???) with Voodoo crotch fleas, I had to admit I was impressed.

This is where I let the unlit matches lie. I had what I had come for. The compliments were a gas, but that was my stop.

If you’re new to writing/publishing, have slept since you last looked at publishing news, or if you have—I dunno, A LIFE—and don’t have the energy to keep up with every possible way some jackass from across the globe can mind-screw you using your dreams and AI to empty your bank accounts…you are in good company.

The movies lie. Publishing hasn’t paid big advances since shoulder pads were still all the rage. They haven’t paid ANY advances pretty much since Snooki: A Shore Thing.

Yes, Jersey Shores finally broke it for the rest of us.

Now, I don’t know if AI Scammer 1 (Editor) was going to have AI Scammer 2 (Agent) make me a sweet deal on advances? Plausible. But one doesn’t have to be super savvy about publishing to know that advanceds of any kind are definitely suspicious.

Where this gets truly, bone-chillingly terrifying is the handover.

Granted, I have slept since I’ve done my last publishing contract, BUT there are a lot of sensitive details one reasonably expects to share…with one’s agent. Like bank info, tax forms, identity information, contracts, addresses, and possibly copies of IDs, depending on the transaction.

OH MY FRIGGING GOD!

I am a million percent not here to make anyone feel dumb. Do you not believe that, at least for a sliver of a second, I WASN’T hoping this was a real referral? That another fellow writer angel hadn’t helped me out and that SOMEONE LOVED MY WRITING?

I am human.

Mostly.

Pats Down Pockets to Check for Wallet

Though I am sure someone out there has blogged on this exact sort of scam—I linked to a couple above—we are all increasingly overwhelmed. Half the BS on LinkedIn is trying to either SELL AI or train people ways to prompt AI to fool readers that it isn’t AI.

*Kristen shouts expletives at sky*

BLEEEEEP! BLEEEEEP Why do we need to figure out another MOTHE-BLEEEEP BLEEP BLEEP?!?!?!?

So for those of you who wander over to my blog for the writing advice, the jokes, the clever memes—I LOVE YOU—and you lucked out today just in case you’ve missed this latest wave of trickery.

It’s sophisticated, restrained (for a scammer), and the messages are all written in the conversational style that is educated enough to be a native speaker who works in publishing, though not so high-faluting as to wave more red flags than a CCP parade.

Until now.

How to Fight the AI Scammers

Here’s a list of things to do. Many you probably already know, but it never hurts to get a refresher.

• Verify the person outside the email. Go to the publisher’s, agency’s, or company’s official website yourself. Don’t rely on links in the message. Even then, though, as this post I hope has made painfully clear, that is no longer enough.
• Check the domain, not just the name. A real editor’s or agent’s name means nothing if the email comes from Gmail or a lookalike domain.
• Slow down when someone flatters you. The better the compliment feels, the more reason to verify before clicking or replying. We should ALL know this, but we are human. Even I was seriously sad the compliments/opportunities weren’t real.
• Know how your industry actually works. Process knowledge is a security tool. If the workflow feels off, investigate. Read blogs. I have plenty. Follow people who talk about the industry (in all your tremendous amount of free time, I know).
• Never send money because an “agent” or “publisher” says it’s required to move forward. Again, THIS scam was uniquely interesting for the reason it DID NOT immediately start asking for money. They may NEVER have asked for money. Why would they need to when a vulnerable writer could unwittingly hand them the keys to the bank accounts?
• Be especially cautious during handoffs. The fake editor may only exist to introduce you to the fake agent, service, accountant, lawyer, or payment portal. Again, the multi-phase structure of this new scam is what I found uniquely disturbing.
• Treat hyperlinks as suspect. Hover, inspect, or manually type the official site instead.
• Use AI against AI. You can have an AI help inspect suspicious wording, headers, domains, or inconsistencies—but verify whatever it tells you independently.
• Trust the weird feeling. You don’t need courtroom-level proof before deciding not to click

We do not have to be paranoid. We do have to be deliberate–ly paranoid.

Be safe out there. I’d talk about this more, but the Senior Acquisitions Editor from HarperCollins is DYING to hear from me!

What Are Your Thoughts?

I don’t know about you guys, but I am almost to the point of dusting off a type writer. This nonsense makes me want to scream, but it’s a good thing we have each other. Relationships are crucial more now than probably ever before. Actual HUMAN relationships with HUMAN(ish) writers (pro tip: wait until they’ve had coffee/ pro-pro tip: bring them a coffee).

Have you been contacted by an “agent,” “editor,” or publisher recently who seemed just a little too good to be true? What was the tell that finally made you suspicious?

Have you noticed AI making scams harder to spot? What parts of publishing do you think writers most need to understand so they’re harder to manipulate? Have you ever had a legitimate industry contact that looked suspicious at first?

What’s the best scam-spotting resource you’ve found for writers? Are all the new and improved AI scammers exhausting you, too?

The post AI Scammers Are Making Publishing Scams Scarily Convincing appeared first on Kristen Lamb.

Counterfeit creativity is robbing our species blind. We are sacrificing our souls on the altar of cheap, fast, free and easy, but at what price?

For most of human history, creativity had a cost. A painting required years of training, mistakes, dedication, practice, and courage. Music required months and years of pain, blisters, practice, rehearsal, performance, and courage. A novel required years of reading, learning, grammar, structure, practice, failure, perseverance and courage.

Even mediocre art took effort.

AI changes the creative math.

Now anyone with an internet connection can generate:

• a novel outline
• a painting
• a marketing campaign
• a song

…in seconds.

Which all raises an interesting question.

If something looks creative but required no creative effort, what exactly are we looking at?

Not fraud.

Not plagiarism (exactly).

Something new.

I’d like to introduce what I call counterfeit creativity.

Counterfeit Creativity

Counterfeit money looks real enough to circulate, and counterfeit creativity works the same way. It mimics the appearance of creative work. It seems to have structure, style, aesthetic cues and emotional beats, but the underlying process is fundamentally different.

Authentic creativity comes from struggle, lived experience, experimentation, and failure. Counterfeit creativity is generated through statistical pattern reconstruction. It produces something that looks like creativity without the creative journey behind it.

For now, it seems there are plenty of people left who can sense the AI Uncanny Valley, but that window is closing, and closing FAST.

Many people can’t immediately tell the difference because humans, historically, have judged creativity by output not process. Thus, if something reads like a novel, looks like a painting, or sounds like music our brains classify it as “creative.” But that assumption was originally wired in a world where output and effort were inseparable.

AI just broke that link.

The “Crapification” of Everything

I would love to say this problem happened just with the advent of AI, but end stage capitalism is merely the sterile syringe that delivered the literary lidocaine inuring us to what CRAP looks and sounds like. We are going to zoom in on the writing world, since that’s the water we swim in.

Early on, when I began this blog, I exclusively geared my content toward authors who wanted to traditionally publish. It wasn’t because I believed the Big Six were that special, but I appreciated WHY we might need a world with gatekeepers.

Additionally, though I could see the many benefits that could come with self-publishing and indie publishing, I saw the inherent dangers. How it would let out a genie we’d never get back in the bottle.

The democratization of publishing happened on other fronts as well, though. Remember Huffington Post? Arianna Huffington IMO single-handedly obliterated the print medium and all the writing jobs that once went with it. The exposure dollar economy was the warning shots.

Show up, write your best for us and you can tell the world we pay you great money let you post on OUR site where we make millions using an unpaid workforce. Tell a bunch of writers this will lead to bigger things, they post their BEST and promote it on all their social networks…and with every click we make ad money.

LOADS OF IT.

Pay the Writer

I know when I drop terms like late or end stage capitalism, I risk the eye rolls, but hear me out.

Creatives have always sought to be paid for their work. Yes, it might be au gauche or tawdry, but we don’t care. We spend years mastering something that others derive joy and value from? We should be compensated just like everyone else.

That and we like to eat and the power company doesn’t accept poetry as payment.

In earlier times, creatives had wealthy sponsors. Later, the markets aligned to give ways creative people could be paid/rewarded meaningfully for our hard work and years dedicated to honing a skill. Newspapers, periodicals, dime novels, copy, marketing, ads were all ways creative professionals could make a living while producing the next great work of art the world enjoyed.

Read Stephen King’s On Writing, Steven Pressfield’s War of Art, Robert McKee’s Dialogue and they all share stories of the paid “crappy” gigs these masters took on while working on the “real art.”

Late-stage capitalism describes the point where market incentives inevitably drive everything toward cheaper, faster, and more scalable versions of itself, even when that process strips away the craftsmanship and meaning that once made the product valuable.

Systems no longer optimize for creating value, but for producing the appearance of value as cheaply and quickly as possible. Pay the writer became…use the writer.

Or the musician, songwriter, painter, illustrator, animator, etc.

Tell them they are special, pay them in attention, then up the operational tempo to such a high level that literally no human artist could keep pace (relevant). Meanwhile use all the real art that creatives built to train the synthetic version that you’ll SELL them later when they are so desperate to remain in the loop they’ll audition for their own extinction.

The Art is Fake but the Rot is REAL

The real danger isn’t that AI can generate content, it is that AI is flooding the world with creative-looking artifacts detached from human meaning.

Imagine a future filled with books no human truly wrote, art no human felt, songs no human performed. You know what? Since we are already here, why do we even bother with museums? Expensive to store, insure, restore, preserve. We could just 3-D print some replicas. I mean is anyone REALLY going to be able to TELL if that’s the ACTUAL Mona Lisa?

Y’all can breathe now. I am being sarcastic. But, hopefully I made my point.

My largest concern with AI “art” hasn’t just been the creative professionals it displaces, but what it’s doing to humanity as a whole.

Never underestimate the unique human capacity to get used to some seriously LOW standards. I learned that lesson my first “hamburger day” in a public school lunchroom. Every kid was excited for a slightly greenish hamburger facsimile (some even bought TWO), while I was clutching my foodie pearls. How could they be excited to eat THAT?

Then I was there long enough to sample what the “normal” food was like and it made more sense.

My biggest concern about AI art has always been the impact on the audiences. Even now. We no longer go to the movies. Most are unwatchable. If we DO go to a movie, you know what is a WIN?

It was…watchable.

I used to think the creators of Idiocracy were onto something. Now? I think they might have had a crystal ball, and they also woefully underestimated just how dumb we humans can be.

The #1 movie in America was called “Ass.” And that’s all it was for 90 minutes. It won eight Oscars that year, including best screenplay.

Narrator of Idiocracy

We aren’t going to need to travel thousands of years in the future to grasp that we are hurtling toward a world where all the top shows are some poor dude getting hit in the ‘nads in clever ways (yes, that is a real thing from Idiocracy).

Dealing with Counterfeits

Since the point of my posts are to educate and empower you, what is the answer? The United States Secret Service oversees most of our money/financial crimes. They also go after counterfeiters. Do you think they train years and years on every fake out there and what to look for?

Nope.

They spend years and years understanding AMERICAN CURRENCY. How do the bills feel? They learn how to tell a real c-note with their eyes closed. Because they know the real thing so intimately, they don’t need to concern themselves with the fakes. The fakes practically pop out.

There is a good reason the best writers are also avid readers. Read the excellent works, train, practice, fail, get up, do better and hone those skills. Write excellent stories. I know we are all under a lot of pressure to be content mills that feed the public’s (supposedly) ravenous appetite.

But why are they so famished?

Years and years of increasingly empty creative calories and artificial art.

Not only is it unsatisfying, but it warps the palate.

Take a person used to drinking cheap sodas and eating junk food then try to give them good food. They won’t like it at first because it will taste strange. Layers of artificial ingredients are masking that what’s being served is inedible, empty and possibly toxic and yet people binge on the stuff.

Same with counterfeit creativity. We have a narrow window where there are enough people around to remember what art used to feel like. With all the AI slop in circulation, get to work. Superlative art will rise. Audiences will find it and stick like glue because it resonates with their souls.

Counterfeits are always costly. Counterfeit money can implode a country just as sure as fake art can bankrupt a culture.

This is why it is critical now, more than ever, to cherish real art before we drift into a world that can no longer even recognize it. If we do get to a point that no one can tell between Monopoly money from the real thing, only then will we be out of a job. Until then, we are still in the game.

But I warn y’all… tempus fugit.

We don’t have forever.

What are YOUR thoughts on Counterfeit Creativity?

Other than it goes with counterfeit cleverness? Personally, I am exhausted with all the AI slop. AI cannot create art. Period. It is a tool. The paintbrush doesn’t make the art, the artist does. The keyboard doesn’t make the story, the writer does. And, for me? There is a certain je ne sais quoi missing from AI “creations.”

That said, do you think we could hit a time that humans won’t really recognize art? Or is it too deeply wired in us? If everything “looks real”, who will remember how to tell the difference?

Do you think that removing the human from art could eventually remove humanity from the human? I know we writers love these existential arguments, but I think this is a good one. If all the art is shallow, derivative and superficial, wouldn’t we eventually see a culture that is shallow, derivative and superfi—–

Houston, we have a problem…

The post Counterfeit Creativity: The High Cost of Cheap Art appeared first on Kristen Lamb.

Change is part of life. Anything that is living, should be growing (or even healing) which means it changes. Only dead things remain the same. This is true with people as well as industries.

Last post, we talked about the darkest moment, what it is and why it is so critical to story. It is at the darkest moment that the protagonist finally lets GO of the old self, the old ways, the old thinking and embraces the new.

Now, here is a critical point. Not ALL stories have a “happy ending.” Unless one is writing romance and a “happily ever after” is part of genre canon, our story does not have to have a happy ending, BUT it must always have a satisfying ending.

Yet, what does that mean? What is the critical component of the darkest moment that transforms the protagonist into a hero?

Any other person would resign themselves to whatever fate, whereas a protagonist-turned-hero, accepts what has happened, that “all is lost”…but presses on anyway with the hope that a) everything was lost for a good cause/reason b) the stuff that was lost needed losing c) what lies ahead will more than make up for what was lost.

Acceptance vs. Resignation

We all have “stuff” we don’t like. Maybe it is a personal flaw (out of shape) or something in life we dislike (unemployed or underemployed). It might be a crazy family we love but struggle to have good boundaries with. Whatever.

They key to positive change in anything is acceptance. If we don’t get to a state of acceptance, then by default, we are in denial. If you are unfamiliar with the Kübler-Ross, 5 Stages of Grief, I recommend checking it out. There is a LOT of applicability to dealing with all forms of loss, not merely losing a loved one.

***For the record, change implies some kind of loss.

According to Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, we go through five stages whenever we are hit with bad news (a death, a bad diagnosis, a heartbreak, losing a job, natural disaster, major upsetting change, etc.)

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

According to Kübler-Ross’s idea, we won’t neatly scroll down these stages one by one. We could get stuck on one, like anger. Or, we might vacillate back and forth from, say, depression back to anger to acceptance, then slip up and be right back in depression. So on and so forth.

Yet, note we must make it to then through acceptance in the final stage. Until we accept the situation, we cannot move on, and, until we move on, there is no room for new hopes and dreams.

This last bit, to me, is the kicker. We need to make room for new hopes and dreams. That is where acceptance, to me, differs from resignation.

Resignation is the shadow-side of acceptance.

In fact, if we look to a lot of villain origin stories, they fell prey to resignation whereas the hero takes up the mantel of acceptance.

Be the Hero in Life & Career

All change involves death of something.

When I chose to become a career writer, by default, the dream of being an attorney died. I’d applied for law school while I was fiddling with the idea of going pro. Somehow, I didn’t get the letter I’d been accepted into the class of 2005 at my law school of choice. I’d assumed I had NOT gotten in, and so I accepted a job as a technical writer…the DAY I got the letter for freshman orientation.

I could have reasonably gone back on my word. But, that isn’t me. I felt it was a sign that being a writer was the right way forward.

Theoretically, I could have managed both (I still could have accepted a slot in law school). But could I? Really? No. I was at a crossroads. I needed to accept that, while it was amazing I got into such a prestigious school, I really wanted to be a writer.

***For the record, y’all make me SO grateful I became a writer.

I had to let one dream DIE for another to LIVE.

No sooner did I decide to get into writing as a career that I realized everything was changing. While it was an exciting time to be an author, it was a terrifying time as well.

And yes, I had times I thought that maybe I should just hang it all up and go to law school. OMG, I chose wrong! What did I DO? On and on. But to be locked into that kind of double-mindedness is maddening.

I’d decided to be a writer, and, as a writer of the 21st century, that meant I had to accept that the publishing paradigm was not only going to change DRASTICALLY, but the pace of change was only going to accelerate.

I still have to accept this. It is never easy. Yes, I wanted the dream where all I did was hide in my little dream cottage and write novels fans adored. My agent, editors and PR people would handle everything else. But that is not reality (and never really has been).

Change and Learning to Pivot

IF I want to keep this writing dream, then I need to accept all it entails. Because if I don’t, it only sets me spiraling back through anger, depression, denial, and on and on.

Pivoting sounds like such a pretty and painless word, doesn’t it?

Um…yeah. All fun and games ’til someone takes out a knee.

I don’t know about y’all, but I JUST about figure out, say WordPress…then they New and Improve it, and back to the beginning. It feels as if I am constantly having to reimagine, rethink, reinvent…because I am. In ways, this is good because it prevents stagnation. At the same time? I feel like I need Digital Dramamine from all the ups and downs and twists and turns.

When I came back from presenting in Idaho, I posted, Aspiring Writers Need to Quit, Now! Why? Because I was blessed enough to hear a lot of speakers who completely turned my thinking on its head (which doesn’t happen that much).

When I arrived at the conference, I was in a terrible state of burnout. Why? I needed a paradigm shift.

I’d gotten stuck, which happens.

Remember that list? Bargaining? Depression? What had gotten lost—other than ME—was my why. WHY did I want to be a writer? Then, once I remembered my WHY, I had to accept that IF I still want to be a writer in the 21st century, that can look a zillion different ways (unlike pre 21st century authors).

In the old days, I had only a handful of options. Now? There are so many options I actually think my brain vapor-locks daily.

Say Yes to Acceptance, No to Resignation

When we fall prey to resignation, it makes us angry, bitter and rigid. When we are rigid, we don’t bend, we break. Or, for us overachievers/drama queens…we shatter.

It was really hard to blog for a while, not only because so much was happening on the family front, but my career felt like it imploded with the pandemic.

Did it? Yes. Did it really? No.

My career didn’t DIE, it merely changed. I was in a different season. In autumn, the trees aren’t dying, they are preparing for winter. This is when they’ll rest and drive their roots down deeper so they can be stronger in the future, thus be able to weather spring storms and summer droughts.

We don’t CRY in autumn, most of us LOVE it! If we don’t cry for the trees, why do we cry for the me-me-mes?

I had to grieve the old, accept that the changes keep coming, and that I have to stick-and-move if I want to remain in the game and see the SPRING.

If I DON’T? That is totally okay, too.

Writing CAN Change BACK into a Hobby

Not everything we love has to be monetized. It also doesn’t need to be permanent.

If you get a chance, go check out that post I mentioned earlier. Also, grab the book, Dear Writer, You Need to Quit, that inspired the post.

Also, since it is FRIDAY, I am going to leave y’all with an interview with ME. I know, it feels so self-serving, but it really turned out very funny. I hope it’s the shot in the arm y’all might need as we press into a new school year (I can see y’all sniffing the school supplies).

If you ever want to feel really brilliant, just know I did all the dumb things so you don’t have to. I met Carissa Andrews at the same conference in Boise and just WOW! I was floored when she asked to interview ME over at Author Revolution Podcast.

Psst! Carissa runs the Millionaire Author Manifestation.

Carissa is an internationally best-selling author with 15+ titles. She’s reached the status of millionaire author, and so she took what she learned and now uses that to help other writers.

Wow, right?

Unicorns DO Exist (I met her)

Y’all can go check out her website for all her testimonials and classes. Suffice to say, I was very honored and humbled she cared to interview ME.

We talk a lot about the ups and downs of this industry. The podcast IS long, so maybe listen on your phone. I can be FUNNY or I can be BRIEF, so I choose funny.

Anyway, when we accept that YES, being an author is amazing…but it is also crazy as a bag of frogs? We can then move forward, get UN-stuck from the Feedback Loop of Despair, and open up to for fresh dreams and new roads untraveled.

What are YOUR Thoughts on CHANGE?

Do you struggle with change, and telling the difference between acceptance and resignation? I did. People were always telling me I had to accept whatever and I took that for giving up (resignation). Only recently did I hear a podcast that pointed out the difference.

Do you struggle with acceptance, too? Get stuck back in the other stages of grief? Is change overwhelming? Am I the only one who wishes we could have a PAUSE button for the CHANGE?

I LOVE COMMENTS! Would also LOVE y’all top check out the interview. If you don’t want to listen via Youtube, I linked to all the places y’all can subscribe to Carissa’s podcast.

To prove it and show my love, for the month of AUGUST, everyone who leaves a comment, I will put your name in a hat.

I actually have landed agents for people who’ve won this contest. Agents like me because I make their lives easier.

If you comment and link back to my blog on your blog, you get your name in the hat twice. For those who listen to the PODCAST, y’all get THREE times in the hat.

What do you win?

The unvarnished truth from yours truly (and maybe even time with an agent).

I will pick a winner once a month and it will be a critique of the first 20 pages of your novel, or your query letter, or your synopsis (5 pages or less). People with superlative writing, I (with your permission) have been known to pass you onto an agent.

Anyway, I look forward to reading your comments and your writing!

The post Change Happens: Acceptance vs. Resignation appeared first on Kristen Lamb.

Les Edgerton

Today, is Les Edgerton’s last post in this series. We’ve been extraordinarily blessed to learn from him, so I hope y’all will give him a digital hug or round of applause. Les will soon be teaching on-line classes for WANA, so I’ll let you know when those are available.

Take it away, Les!

All of the points we’ve covered in this dialogue series are intended for one purpose only—to help writers avoid the red flags that improper dialogue can create for agents and editors… and readers.

And that’s what they are—red flags. That doesn’t mean that breaking any of these “rules” or conventions will doom your mss from being taken, but it does mean the presence of them can cast a negative light on your work. And, I imagine we all want to avoid that!

Also, there will be a great many examples of novels that break these precepts. There are many reasons for that. Contrary to popular opinion, novels don’t make it into print simply because they’re quality writing. There are many other factors at work. Factors that the writer may or may not have control over.

For instance, novels are published because the author has made a personal connection with a publisher. When an editor knows someone and likes that person, it’s not uncommon for that person’s book to be taken over another more worthy one. Happens all the time.

Or, an author may have had one or more successful novels already published and the current one may not be as good as the mss lying on the same desk as an unknown author, but the lesser quality novel will be taken. Again, happens all the time.

Sometimes, even though the novel breaks all kinds of rules, something in a novel like this may simply appeal to an individual editor. Maybe it’s the voice. Maybe it’s the setting—my first novel was taken by accident because of its setting. The Death of Tarpons had been rejected 86 times before I sent it to the University of North Texas Press.

That’s EIGHTY-SIX times!

That was in the days of snail mail submissions, where you had to pay the postage for the mss to the editor and also provide return postage. That was during a time when my family ate a lot of beans and really couldn’t afford to buy the tons of stamps I needed. I had made my mind up that once I reached 100 rejections, I would “retire” the manuscript.

What happened was that it landed on the desk of UNT’s publisher, Fran Vick. Unbeknownst to me at the time, UNT had never before published fiction. If I’d known that, I never would have sent it. Anyway, Fran’s secretary had unwrapped the day’s mail and as it by chance happened, mine was the first mss on Fran’s desk. Her normal routine when presented with a fiction mss, was for her to not even read it, but just stick a standard rejection notice in it and have her secretary send it back.

Luck was on my side!

As Fran related to me later (I’ve just revealed a happy ending and taken all the tension out of this, haven’t I!), her secretary was bringing her her morning cup of coffee and something happened where she had to remake the pot. That gave Fran an extra five minutes or so before she began her “official” day, so, for want of anything else to do, she picked up the first page of my novel and began idly to read it. If it wasn’t for her secretary’s failing to deliver her that cup of coffee, none of what happened next would have ever happened.

It’s what she read on that first page that induced her to keep reading. The novel was set in Freeport, Texas, the town I grew up in. Like most first novels, it was an autobiographical, “coming-of-age” novel (there’s a cliché for ya!). The thing is… Freeport was Fran’s hometown!

What editor can resist reading about their own hometown, especially when that town is a tiny burg like Freeport? A New York City editor, glancing at the first page of a mss and seeing it’s set in NYC isn’t going to be nearly as intrigued as an editor from Freeport, Texas reading a novel set in… Freeport, Texas!

As it turned out, Fran also knew my grandmother who was prominently on the page immediately and was instantly drawn into the story and read it all the way through, got on the phone, and offered to buy it.

So, there’s luck involved sometimes. Although, the book was well-written, so it also pays to be ready for luck when it appears. Fortune favors the prepared! The book went on to be well-reviewed and sold very well and earned a Special Mention from the Violet Crown Book Awards.

The point is, there are so many factors out of your control that can lead to or prevent publication. But, there are factors that you can control and among them are adhering to contemporary writing styles and conventions. And that is the impetus behind these precepts. To help you avoid many of the red flags that may prevent your mss from getting a fair and thorough reading.

Okay? Best of luck to all of you and your writing endeavors!

Blue skies,

Les

Les, THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH. We really appreciate you taking so much time from your packed schedule.

I love hearing from you!

To prove it and show my love, for the month of April, everyone who leaves a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you comment and link back to my blog on your blog, you get your name in the hat twice. If you leave a comment, and link back to my blog, and mention my book We Are Not Alone in your blog…you get your name in the hat THREE times. What do you win? The unvarnished truth from yours truly.

I will pick a winner once a month and it will be a critique of the first 20 pages of your novel, or your query letter, or your synopsis (5 pages or less).

And also, winners have a limited time to claim the prize, because what’s happening is there are actually quite a few people who never claim the critique, so I never know if the spam folder ate it or to look for it and then people miss out. I will also give my corporate e-mail to insure we connect and I will only have a week to return the 20 page edit.

At the end of April I will pick a winner for the monthly prize. Good luck!

Les Edgerton is the author of HOOKED, THE RAPIST, THE BITCH and others.

The post A Final Word from Les Edgerton–Fortune Favors the Prepared appeared first on Kristen Lamb.

Quick announcement: Speaking of phasers on “stun….”

Have trouble putting down and enforcing boundaries with yourself? With family? Always putting everyone else ahead of yourself? I am teaching a new class called Good Fences–The Writer’s Guide to Setting Boundaries and it is only $15 so I hope you will take advantage. This class is perfect for those who want to do Nanowrimo. I’ll help you learn the Art of the Loving NO.

***Class fee does not apply to meth-addicted howler monkey with a sidearm to guard your office door.

So what are your thoughts about “targeting” other people. I know we need to figure out who our potential readers might be, but to me? “Targeting” is part of what is making too many writers act worse than a Jehovah’s Witness genetically enhanced with DNA from a used car salesman. Do you agree? Have you been the target of targeting? Do you think I am over thinking this?

I love hearing from you!

To prove it and show my love, for the month of October, everyone who leaves a comment I will put your name in a hat. If you comment and link back to my blog on your blog, you get your name in the hat twice. If you leave a comment, and link back to my blog, and mention my book We Are Not Alone in your blog…you get your name in the hat THREE times. What do you win? The unvarnished truth from yours truly.

I will pick a winner once a month and it will be a critique of the first 20 pages of your novel, or your query letter, or your synopsis (5 pages or less).

And also, winners have a limited time to claim the prize, because what’s happening is there are actually quite a few people who never claim the critique, so I never know if the spam folder ate it or to look for it and then people miss out. I will also give my corporate e-mail to insure we connect and I will only have a week to return the 20 page edit.

At the end of October I will pick a winner for the monthly prize. Good luck!

I also hope you pick up copies of my best-selling books We Are Not Alone–The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer . And both are recommended by the hottest agents and biggest authors in the biz. My methods teach you how to make building your author platform FUN. Build a platform and still have time left to write great books.

The post "Targeting" is for Enemy Warships, NOT Other People appeared first on Kristen Lamb.