by Terri Maue

Marketing

The email opened: Dear Terri, I recently came across Dark Mirror . . .

Oh dear, another one of these scams. I should delete it, but the subject line intrigued me: Strong Appeal for Readers of Psychological Mystery.

I read on.

Nine paragraphs followed. The description of my sleuth protagonist made me feel the sender had looked into her soul. He praised the plot intricacies, the well-crafted characters, the clever setting.

I was in love.

SWIPE RIGHT

Alas, the next paragraph lamented: my outstanding book was not reaching people.

So true.

But he could help.

My heart leapt. He appreciated the depth and breadth of my book. He could help me sell it.

I read on.

The list of potential readers excited me. Whole new segments of the reading public awaited!

However, an anchor tugged at my enthusiasm.

This AI was feeding me a line. He was the smooth-talking boy from the wrong side of the tracks, out to get my most prized possession. He didn’t—couldn’t—care about me as a person.

But I wanted him! Or more accurately, what he offered.

My mind churned. Couldn’t I use his seductive words to promote my books? Would it be ethical?

I asked my friends. The responses ranged from don’t touch it, to ideas can’t be copyrighted, to AI work can’t be plagiarized. (A delicious irony) But my colleagues also warned me to adapt everything into my own language.

I figured I could do that. I was good with words.

Then I read about clues to AI writing: sentence structure, effusive praise, erudite-sounding but meaningless jargon.

I hesitated.

My AI lover whispered sweet-nothings. He was offering this freely. Think of all the new readers I would garner.

My mind urged me to hook up with him. My gut begged me not to take his hand.

Then I got the warning that stuck: Savvy readers would recognize any whiff of AI, tar me with the association, and suspect all my writing.

My reputation would be ruined. For the equivalent of a one-night stand.

Chagrinned that I had come so near to disaster, I stepped back. Forgiving my foolishness, I realized my fling had produced an actionable, ethical strategy: Hone my keywords and hashtags, then search social media for niche readers.

I addressed my computer screen. “I’m sure this wasn’t your intention, but thanks for the gift, you silver-tongued AI fox.”

SWIPE LEFT.

About Terri Maue

Terri Maue writes the Zee & Rico series of mystery novels, Knife Edge and Dark Mirror, published by Camel Press. Terri is an award-winning professor (retired), who leads workshops on the craft of writing and writes on the responsibility of ethical language use.

For More Information:

Website: http://www.terrimaue.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/terrimaueauthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terri.maue.9/

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/terrimaueauthor.bsky.social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresa-maue-ab70b6281/