Are you a Cheater? You Are When You Use AI to Write Your Nonfiction Book (You’re also helping our future robot overlords get smarter).

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

"The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race... It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate." – Stephen Hawking.

I’ll admit AI does make some things easier. For example, I’m working on a new workbook with videos and had to learn how to edit them on Clipchamp and post them on YouTube. My friendly neighborhood  chatbot/robot was very helpful. I also used it for research when my dog was recently diagnosed with diabetes and when construction issues popped up next door (long story).

I always thank AI because it’s the polite thing to do. Also, when the robots rise up (see Stephen Hawking quote) against humanity, I want it to be known that I’m a good person.

The Cost of Convenience

But every time we put a question or anything else into the gaping maw of an AI chatbot there are consequences. It gets smarter and we get dumber.   

AI is also terrible at creating and writing. I don’t care how much stuff you feed into it. The text is always cold because it lacks the human touch.   

Sacrificing Self for Time

Recently, I worked on a book that was AI written. In the beginning, I thought it might be - those weird page breaks are a dead giveaway – so I alerted the writer and let him know that this was not okay, per his contract.

This had no effect. He kept on using it, doggedly persisting, until he’d used it for the whole book.

Why did he do this? Was it because he didn’t have enough time to write or just was too lazy to do the hard work of writing? He never said.  

What I do know is that by doing this, he cheated himself and his readers.

He cheated himself because he didn’t give himself the opportunity to do the hard work of thinking about what he wanted to share, digging into his knowledge and experience and creating something new that was transformative for his reader.

Instead, he took the easy way out.

The result? A dead book.

Poor Reader

Now, many readers may not know that his book is not ALIVE. They may take his advice and try to follow it. I’m not saying that this is bad. Okay, maybe I am.

But I’m also saying that the author’s failure to mine his experience to write his book, from his unique experience and knowledge cheated the reader along with himself. It was a missed opportunity.

Who knows what insights the writer might have had in the process of writing his book?

What new ideas?

What aha moments and revelations might he have had?

How great would it have been if he had shared his new, evolving insights with his readers?

How might he himself have been transformed by the process of writing his book?

We’ll never know. To my thinking, the sacred bond of writer-reader was corrupted because he was unwilling to do the hard work of thinking, planning, writing, revising, and finishing his nonfiction natural health self-help book.

I did the best I could to help him make it better.

But when a book has flatlined, there is no ER procedure in the world that can bring it back to life except a complete rewrite by a human author.

Use AI as a Tool, not a Master  

So, sure use AI thoughtfully, if you need help figuring something out or for brainstorming, to check a marketing angle or help a pet.

But don’t give up the opportunity for critical thinking.

Don’t take the easy way out.

That’s what you do when you let AI write your book.

You may convince yourself that it’s yours, but deep in your heart, you know you missed out on an opportunity to create something new, something that could transform your readers and yourself.  

Go from a Stressed Writer to a Confident Writer  

If you want to do the hard work of writing a great self-help book I can help.

I open two slots a month for writers to work with me.

You’ll know exactly what to do before you write the Chapter 1. 

This lowers stress, anxiety and overwhelm and turns you into a confident writer. This means you’re much more likely to finish. That’s because you have support in real-time as you create and revise your book.  

Start by scheduling a FREE Book Coaching Strategy Call.

P.S. Need help figuring out how to go from book idea to published book in 2026? Schedule your free 30-minute book coaching strategy call: 

https://www.thenaturalhealthbookcoach.com/freebookstrategycall