AI and Bad Reviews

There is a pattern in my life, a rather frustrating one, that involves choosing the wrong time to take action on my ideas and dreams. I started a YouTube channel for audio scary stories...only to find the market oversaturated. I decided to try my hand at voice-over, during the rise of generative and inexpensive AI voiceover. And now, I decided to finaly publish a collection of my short stories, and once again AI's sneering face is mocking me from the shadows.

I hate to admit it, but I'm a person who takes things personally. I ruminate. It's a difficult personality trait to have when one decides to put works of passion out into the world. It is inevitable that not everyone will like it. Heck, some might downright hate it. I did my best to come to terms with that before I put my work out there for the public to critique. Still, when a bad review comes in...boy does it hurt.

This morning, I saw a 1-Star review for my book "Restful Sleep and Other NIghtmares". Had the person just said how horribly my writing was and moved on with their day, I think I'd be handling it a little better than I am. But that isn't all they did. Here is the review:

"I don’t usually write reviews, but this one compelled me. The writing reads like a stitched-together collection of clichés and buzzwords with zero authentic voice or perspective. It’s overly polished in a way that feels… off — like someone asked ChatGPT to “sound thoughtful” and hit submit without editing. There’s no nuance, no real emotional stakes, and no fresh ideas. It lacks the imperfections and insight that come from actual human experience. If this wasn’t at least partially generated by AI, I’d be genuinely surprised."

Now, if I really try I can find some silver linings in this review.

"...overly polished..." - Ok, so I guess I spent enough time proofreading, as did my human beta readers who gave tremendous feedback during the process. Guess we did too good of a job...

"...lacks the imperfections and insight that come from actual human experience..." I guess lacking imperfections could be taken as a good thing?

What really bothers me about this review, is what it represents. A stigma, and one that will most likely be difficult to overcome. The emergence of AI in the creative fields has given fresh ammunition for those who are not fans of one's work. There is a big difference between insulting one's talent, and accusing them of plagiarism. I've admited in a previous blog post to my mistake of originally using AI to help with my cover design. I apologized and created a new cover without any AI assistance and now the book exists without any AI influence at all.

The amusing part of this, is that most of these stories were written years ago, long before generative AI was even a thing, and yet the reader can't possible know this. I can't fault them for making an assumption. What I can fault them for is making a very serious accusation that can tarnish the reputation of a writer for years to come, based on a hunch. I have no problem with their depictions of my writing as "a stitched-together collection of clichés and buzzwords with zero authentic voice or perspective" or as having "no nuance, no real emotional stakes, and no fresh ideas". Those things sting, for sure, but everyone is entatled their their own opinion and I can't hold that against anyone. But I'm afraid that authors, especially new authors, are going to be inundated with reviews such as this where claims of AI involvement are thrown around with very little consideration for how much weight those accusations carry.

So, what am I going to do about this? I'm going to keep writing. I'm going to re-read the positive reviews from people who loved my stories. I've gotten enough positive feedback from strangers to know that I shouldn't quit, and so I'm not going to. I will continue turning my ideas into stories and putting them out there into the world because it is what I'm compelled to do. It is what I am passionate about. Maybe I'll never sell another copy, and that's ok. If one story connects with one person, helps them get through a hard time, provides enjoyment for a few moments—that is a wonderful thing, but one must write for the love of writing, not for the approval of their audience.

To any new authors out there who might read this, ANY creative person for that matter, don't lose heart. Keep creating. Your passion has a place in the world.

Life is short. Do what you love, even if you have to fight a strong current along the way.