Why Develop AI Writing Tools?

Today we launched the beta for Laterpress AI – a suite of AI storytelling tools designed to help with everything from brainstorming and plotting to drafting and editing. You can read more about how the Laterpress AI features work here. 

This post is not about what Laterpress AI does but rather why we built it – and how we view the moment of technological change we are all living through right now.

Why develop AI writing tools?

If you do a Google search for “how many people who want to write a book finish one,” you’ll see it’s widely reported that 97% of people who want to write a book will never complete one. While we can’t vouch for the accuracy of that statistic, I think we can agree most people who want to write a book won’t finish one, and even fewer still ever publish one. That’s a lot of stories left untold. If you’re in the 3%, congrats on your incredible achievement!

Our hope in developing these writing tools is that they can help more people with a story to tell cross the finish line. What would the world look like if instead of 3% of people who want to write a book successfully completing one, that number is 10%? 25%? 50%? We want to see more people engaged in the process of crafting and sharing stories, and hope these tools can help facilitate that.

We believe that everyone who has a story to tell should have the opportunity to bring it into the world. We disagree with the idea that “not everyone has a novel in them,” or that someone doesn’t “deserve” to tell their story or be read because they used a particular tool to help bring that story into existence. An ideal publishing landscape is one where anyone who wants to tell a story is able to do so, and readers are empowered to make their own decisions on what they want to purchase and read. 

As I’ll outline below, the histories of literacy and publishing are both stories of increased availability to the masses over time. New technologies have often been met with anxiety and resistance before becoming widespread and commonplace. The rise of Large Language Models (LLMs) can  be seen as the next chapter in this historical process.

The history publishing is one of increasingly open access

For much of history, the privileged elites of society were the only ones who could read. Books were painstakingly written and copied by hand. In 1820, only 1 in 10 people around the world could read. Today, the global literacy rate is roughly 90%. There was a time when the only people who could have their story committed to a physical form were the rich, powerful, and well-connected. Oral storytellers filled the gap for everyone else.

As literacy improved, so too did methods for distributing the written word. We’ve come a long way from clay tablets and papyrus rolls. When Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press in the 1400s, books went from prestige objects few could afford, to something much more attainable for the masses. What was the reaction? A Swiss biologist argued that monarchs should regulate it so the public wouldn't suffer from a “confusing and harmful abundance of books.” Monks who manually copied books argued printed books would never be as good. Scribes Guilds destroyed printing presses. While we consider the printing press an important milestone in making literature more accessible today, it was met with fear and anxiety in its early days. The notion that too many books will ruin publishing or be harmful to readers goes back centuries.

Technology has advanced sufficiently that these days anyone can self-publish a book. Some believed this expansion of possibilities would destroy the publishing ecosystem. Removing publishing’s gatekeepers would flood the market with poor quality books. The literary elite thumbed their nose at self-publishing as the realm of mediocre writers not worthy of “real” publication. Thankfully, these stigmas have faded over time. Even famous traditionally published authors like Brandon Sanderson have ventured into self-publishing in recent years. Readers care more about the quality of the book than the method of publication.

Rather than destroy publishing, each technological shift has made it easier for authors to bring their stories to market and given readers more options to choose from. The era of LLMs will be no different. 

Fear of new, disruptive technologies isn’t a recent phenomenon. This too shall pass.  

Having anxiety around new and emerging technologies is reasonable and understandable. We all love having a sense of normalcy. New technologies can force us out of comfortable routines and make us examine how our lives might change. This cycle has played out many times in history. I’ve already outlined two examples of technological shifts in the publishing industry that were treated as terrible threats at the time, but publishing is far from the only place where this happens.

Electricity was seen as a bad thing. “If you electrify homes you will make women and children vulnerable. Predators will be able to tell if they are home because the light will be on, and you will be able to see them.”

Trains? Totally dangerous. They could make your uterus fly out! People at the time believed human bodies couldn’t handle going more than 50 miles per hour.

The telephone was seen as “the instrument of the devil.” Elderly people refused to touch phones, fearing electric shocks. Some believed the phone would attract evil spirits, or thunder and lightning. People pulled down and destroyed phone lines. Now most of us have phones on us all the time.

Photography was once seen as a threat to artists and “not art.”

People believed microwaves would give you cancer. Those concerns eventually rolled over to cell phones. 

Jack Valenti tried to get the US government to ban VHS tapes, because they threatened to destroy the film industry.

Email was seen as a menace that “hurts the IQ more than pot.” 

Why is so much media coverage of AI developments negative? News and social media have long known that negative news brings in the views and clicks, which means revenue. “Doomerism” is profitable, and in light of humanity’s long history of anxiety with emerging technologies, it is unsurprising that many media outlets would default to that perspective. If pundits insist “it’s different this time,” the most appropriate response might be polite skepticism. I say that as a member of the generation allegedly responsible for “killing” pretty much everything.

AI is a tool, not a silver bullet

Using AI to help write your novel won’t magically make it a bestseller. It’s not a ticket to easy money or overnight wealth. It won’t “write your book for you.” AI is a tool. Like any other tool, some people will use it well, and others poorly. Want to produce a book anyone would want to read? Human oversight matters. To generate quality content with AI assistance, someone needs to understand story structure, character archetypes, and pacing. They need an editorial eye to discern quality prose from text that needs to be edited, revised, or just straight-up deleted. AI can help expedite going from an initial idea to a finished draft, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for human oversight if you care about the quality of what you’re producing. Craftsmanship and skill still matter.

Twenty years from now, we believe the critical elements of a bestselling book will remain the same. The stories will be set in interesting universes, have captivating characters, and incorporate plots, tropes, and themes in ways that resonate with readers. Their covers will be eye catching and professional-looking, and their blurbs will clearly articulate to readers what they’re getting. Authors who know how to run a business and leave their readers satisfied will succeed whether they’re incorporating AI into their processes or not.

People have different reasons for telling stories

Some people want to write as many books as they can, growing their self-publishing business into something they can do full time. For others, writing is a hobby – a fun form of creative expression undertaken for the joy of it with no expectations of any financial rewards. I’ve met folks who only had one story they wanted to tell, with the goal of crossing “wrote a novel” off on their bucket list. Whether you have aspirations of writing a bestseller, or just want to write some low-stakes short stories to share with your friends, we hope our tools can help you succeed. We aim to cater to everyone, from casual hobbyists to hardcore multiple-books-a-year authors.

Everyone has a seat at the table when it comes to creating and sharing stories with the world, regardless of your goals or aspirations. We believe more people's voices participating in the creation and distribution of fiction will be a net positive.

Go forth and create! However you choose to do so, we look forward to seeing what you come up with. The world is a better place with you and your stories in it. Stories bring us together, make us feel things we’ve never felt, let us explore places we’ve never been. Together, we can use the power of stories to bring entertainment, happiness, and positivity to others.