This interview is part of a 2024 study on how professionals use AI at work. Names are changed; the transcript was edited for clarity with the help of AI. The study is now closed. About the study →
Interviewers: Today, we’re speaking with Diana, an author and editorial consultant, who will share how AI is impacting her work. Welcome, Diana! Tell us a bit about your work and how you’re integrating artificial intelligence into your creative processes.
Diana: Thank you; it’s a pleasure to be here. My work focuses primarily on writing essays, books, and articles, so managing ideas and structuring them logically is essential. I use AI as a key tool to streamline and organize my ideas efficiently. When I start with a mix of thoughts or loosely arranged paragraphs, the AI assists in arranging them into a cohesive order, saving me significant time. Previously, this would involve manually rereading and reorganizing everything, but now I can move directly into refining and expanding concepts, which makes the entire process much smoother and more productive.
Organizing Book Chapters with AI
Interviewers: Fascinating! How does this content organization process work? Do you provide a draft chapter and ask it to create an outline?
Diana: I give it a collection of points, such as a list of ideas or paragraphs, and ask it to organize them in a clear, logical sequence. For example, if I’m working on an essay about the evolution of digital technology, I provide key topics like the origin of the internet, the rise of social media, and the impact of artificial intelligence. The AI then arranges these ideas into a coherent flow. It’s often remarkably accurate, though not always perfect, but it still saves me significant effort. Afterward, I go in to deepen or expand the content using additional sources.
AI for Sourcing and Quotes in Shorter Texts
Interviewers: Do you use AI for writing articles or shorter content, too?
Diana: Not as frequently as with books, but sometimes, yes. For instance, when I want to make a text more approachable or add quotes, such as in an article about financial literacy, I can ask the AI to find amusing lines from movies or books that make the topic feel lighter and more engaging1. It’s incredibly useful for this purpose. It provides ideas I might not have considered, especially since my familiarity with movies is limited. It’s a fantastic tool for making complex subjects more accessible!
AI’s Limitations and Challenges
Interviewers: What limitations have you encountered in using AI?
Diana: AI is very useful, but it has its boundaries. For instance, it can’t process very lengthy texts, like an entire book; it can only handle one chapter at a time2. Additionally, it struggles with summarizing ideas without losing critical nuances, which is especially important in nonfiction, where coherence across chapters is essential. AI still doesn’t match the nuanced approach of a human editor in this regard.
Future Solutions for Improved Editorial Organization
Interviewers: What other features would you like to see in AI tools in the future?
Diana: It would be incredibly helpful to upload a complete book or essay and have the AI analyze it as a whole, spotting any inconsistencies across chapters. While some programs can organize concepts visually, they don’t yet work with fully drafted text. Also, if AI tools offered pre-formatting options for uploading articles online or tools to track book sales and reviews internationally, it would save me a lot of time.
We thank “Diana” for sharing her experience with AI in the publishing world.
Lessons Learned: Q&A
Q: How can AI improve the writing process?
A: AI can help organize ideas, establish a logical sequence, and suggest references or quotes to make texts more accessible.
Q: What are the limitations of AI in book writing?
A: AI is useful for organizing single chapters but struggles with lengthy texts and maintaining coherence between chapters.
Q: How can AI make complex topics more accessible?
A: It can find humorous quotes from films or books to make the topic feel more relaxed and engaging.
Q: Can AI track editorial performance?
A: In the future, AI might be able to monitor global sales, reviews, and book rankings.
What’s Next?
Now that you’ve read this interview, you can…
- Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
- Reach out for a consultation on how to incorporate AI tools into your professional or business life.
- Still worth checking: AI can invent or misattribute quotes, so verify each one before publishing. ↩︎
- No longer true: current models like Claude and Gemini can read a whole book at once and flag inconsistencies across chapters, which is exactly what Diana wished for below. ↩︎