From Idea to Manuscript: The AI-Driven Future of Publishing

Julien Redelsperger : « And I'm super happy to welcome Dan Curran. He is a serial entrepreneur based in St. Louis, Missouri, and known for his innovative contributions to the marketing and publishing industries. He founded chapters.io in 2023 to leverage advanced AI to organize voice transcripts into clear and logical nonfiction manuscripts. So if you want to write a book in the age of AI, this is definitely a conversation you'll want to listen to. Today, we'll talk about book writing, manuscripts, and the publishing industry. Thank you for joining me today. How are you, Dan? »

Dan Curran : « I am doing excellent. Nice to speak with you. »

Julien Redelsperger : « So Dan, in 2002, a study found that 81% of Americans felt they had a book in them and that they should write it. More than 20 years later, do you think that is still the case? »

Dan Curran : « Absolutely, and that's anecdotally from my life experience. However, I look at it through a different prism that I think everyone's life should be captured if they so choose. And there's a lot of intimidation factors that come into play, and we'll get to it, but that's kind of the genesis of why we, you know, our philosophy and how we look at this company. But absolutely, I think everyone has something to say, either in a nonfiction format or a fiction format. »

Julien Redelsperger : « And so before November 2022, writing a book was somewhat complex. Then, ChatGPT arrived. How did this change the landscape for, you know, authors and editors and readers? Is it now easier than ever to write a book using ChatGPT? »

Dan Curran : « Okay, so we'll take a step back. If we go to November, what was it, November 30th of 2022, when OpenAI launched ChatGPT, really no user manual, right? It just organically took off. I think they were even putting it out there as R&D testing, et cetera. Now it's, you know, a phenomenon. It's, you know, it's really altered and really gotten people very excited and overestimating, probably, its capabilities on one hand and underestimating the capabilities on the other hand. From a writing standpoint, it was low-hanging fruit. If I need to write an email, if I need to write a birthday card, it certainly is something that is quite handy at times. Writing a book, totally, totally different. And I would be surprised if what AI does, I believe that it's out of one to a hundred, writing is number 100 of things it does really well. It doesn't quite have that spark, that intuition, that humans have. Can it write amazing content at times? Absolutely. But right now it's not quite there. It's very mechanical and arduous to write a 50,000-word book using ChatGPT. Will it get there again? Possibly, but we really look at AI, kind of reverse engineering and love to talk about that as well. »

Julien Redelsperger : « So you have a lot of experience in content in the publishing industry. Did you see ChatGPT coming in 2022? Were you surprised when it was launched? And what was your first reaction when you tried it? »

Dan Curran : « Well, at that time I had a company with a hundred plus writers and a dozen editors. And I knew it was something I had to pay attention to because these writers and editors, it's a craft. You know, a lot of it, especially if you have a journalism background. And so there was a lot of nervousness on my staff and my ecosystem. So as a business owner for that company, I had to be really careful on how I approached it. So I looked at it as something to test and to monitor. And then as we went through 2023, we started seeing clients asking about it and using it in positive ways and negative ways. So it really flipped everything on its head. However, there's still a role, especially for editors in what they call the human in the loop. So no, I didn't see it coming at all, but hey, the world is chaotic at times. And whether it's economic or political, and so here's a technology evolution that happened quite quickly. And so you just have to, you know, modify your business plan and move forward. »

Julien Redelsperger : « So you founded a company called chapters.io last year in 2023. So it promises to turn conversations into compelling manuscripts within 90 days. So what exactly is chapters.io and what services do you offer? Could you explain a little bit? »

Dan Curran : « Yes, our mission is actually quite simple. We want to remove the stress of writing a manuscript, of writing a nonfiction book, be it a memoir, biography, how-to, or a big idea book like Simon Sinek's Why, something like that. So if that is swirling in your brain, but you might not have the fine motor skills to type it out, you might not have the time, you might have attention deficit disorder, you might just be intimidated, you know, not think you're worthy of writing. That is our mission, to relieve that stress and to have you release everything that's swirling in your brain, your wisdom, life experiences, and be able to document that. And so that's why we created chapters. So one way you can look at it is we're transcription. We're using AI to help transcribe, but editorial rigor and attribution, all these things that are important, the authenticity of who you are, you know, is really, really important to us. So that's why we started this, because writing can be very intimidating, and sharing your perspective can be intimidating. And we wanted to reduce that stress. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Okay, so chapters helps the writers create not a book, but a manuscript. Could you explain the difference? And how do you turn a manuscript into a book? »

Dan Curran : « Yeah, so publishing is a spectrum, right? You write the manuscript, you publish it, you market it. Our focus, our swim lane, is the manuscript, to create that 50,000-word book that then goes to a publisher, that then is marketed to, or just handed to your best friend or your family. But our focus is that manuscript. So we record your thoughts. And what we've done is train the large language model to organize your thoughts in a story arc for a how-to book or a memoir, biography, as I mentioned. So all we're doing is taking those text files and any other text files you have. So if you've been on podcasts, if you've been on television or radio, we can get the text files. If you've written blogs, we put those in and we will organize them in a story arc and a chapter outline that you then review, and you determine whether it is representative of what you've spoken and if you like the tone and tenor. On top of that, we have an editor who is with you the entire time. So it’s, I think, more authentic than a ghostwriter, right? Because that’s not you, that’s the ghostwriter. And maybe they’re not transcribing your thoughts exactly. This transcribes your thoughts exactly. But if, in the way we’ve trained the model, there’s a clearer way of stating something you said, we offer a suggestion. So we’re not manipulating anything except the order. And then we find gaps, or we ask questions, and it helps the writer enjoy the process. The final deliverable is a manuscript. And then, what do you do with it? Do you self-publish it? Do you send it to publishers? »

Julien Redelsperger : « So you mentioned manuscripts and publishing. What options do people typically take, once they’ve finished their manuscript? »

Dan Curran : « Great question. So everyone is different. Some people want to be Amazon bestsellers, New York Times bestsellers. They have very ambitious goals. Others might self-publish or share it with family. But our primary focus is on getting people to finish the manuscript, because about 80% of manuscripts are abandoned. »

Julien Redelsperger : « And so how does your solution specifically address the anxieties many authors could face? Do you coach them? Do you help them? Is it like within the app? How does that work? »

Dan Curran : « Again, sorry, that is just a really great question because it's been interesting to us as we've worked with these authors over the last year or so. You just get a big smile, and there's pseudo-psychology, and you just motivate that again, that their stories are worth telling and sharing. And you do it through technology, branding, and human interaction. So we kind of split the pie there. So our editors are, we've selected only best-selling editors, people that are really adults in the room that can deal with this type of persona, especially if it's a successful business person. So if someone is maybe not of that stature but has a unique idea and they want to share it in a book, but they're nervous, we try to every week, not put too much on their plate because there's a process of answering questions that we send them that they record or videotape. So the whole process is meant to be very user-friendly and really remove that friction. But that's a very important part. A lot of people have trepidations when they're writing a book, even if they are focused on getting it across the finish line, sometimes they get stuck. »

Julien Redelsperger : « So you mentioned, of course, chapters.io is using AI, is using a large language model to create the manuscript. Did you create your own model, or are you using an existing one? And also, how do you deal with data privacy and all these types of questions, around the tech within the chapters.io app? »

Dan Curran : « Yes, so kind of two questions there. As far as the large language models, we're testing and using two or three all the time. So yes, we are on the back end of those models and their play, OpenAI's playground. And it's evolving quickly. There's a big community out there of other verticals that we're sharing and talking about how to, again, remove friction and how to, for us, train the model, to ask questions and to look for gaps in someone's story. So we're constantly testing. So this is, I would imagine, in perpetuity, we'll be doing R&D. There's just not this, there was no user manual. This is very new space for everyone. So no one is truly an expert. As far as the privacy, yeah, I even did a little research on that yesterday. Nothing is foolproof, and there's not a consensus on where that stands. So we mitigate it by, in the manuscripts, putting privacy statements in there. Some of our people want to limit the digital exposure of their manuscripts. So some do not want an ebook. So those things are, I think there'll be clarity in the next year or so as far as privacy. But right now, we're doing everything we can to educate our author. They're ultimately responsible, but we feel obliged to help them as well. »

Julien Redelsperger : « So I'm going to be the devil's advocate for just two minutes. If you are using the OpenAI model, that means I could use ChatGPT to do the same kind of work you're doing with chapters. What's the added value you provide? I understand there is a human in the loop, but from a technical standpoint, from the output you received from the AI model, is there a big change? And what's the difference between ChatGPT and chapters? »

Dan Curran : « So we're on the backend. So by default, there's more token space. There's more developmental agility that we have. At the end of the day, what we have been doing is thousands of hours of training our model. Again, the model that our clients use is not touching the outside world. It's an, I'm holding up on a camera right here, this cup, it's an empty vessel from day one. But we train that vessel to look for gaps, to remove any time the writer repeats themselves, just basic one-on-one, a story arc of a book. So that's how we spend our time is training. So is this so proprietary that no one else can do it? Not at all, but it's been thousands of hours of training, the recipe of adding the editor in the loop, and just really good old-fashioned due diligence on our part on why is the publishing industry so archaic? Why is it so red ocean? Why is it so intimidating? And so we're not too worried about competitors or the outside world right now. We're just trying to solve helping someone write a book in a real easy and pleasurable way. So again, we're so consumed with ChatGPT writing copy. Yeah, that's part of it, but that's just one component. »

Julien Redelsperger : « How do you see generative AI transforming the traditional book publishing industry? You just said the publishing industry has been so archaic, using old tech, old mindsets maybe. Do you feel any change with generative AI? »

Dan Curran : « So I’ll answer it this way. I have a decade or more in the marketing space for enterprise large brands doing content and editorial work—scientific blogs, white papers, and so forth. When ChatGPT launched from OpenAI, the industry has been in overdrive to get ahead of it. The ad agency industry has been reimagined. Graphic design is being reimagined. They’re not ahead of the curve by any means, but they really got on it. When we looked over at the publishing space, not that they aren’t really, really smart people, but I don’t believe they looked at it as something urgent. So what our interpretation is, is that they’re just a little bit more slow to move into this, to really examine and do R&D around AI, because there’s so much sensitivity on plagiarism, which I totally understand. However, you do have some that are being very diligent. And I would say Amazon is one of them. And I’m not just talking about the writing and the content, but AI as far as using AI for marketing the book, publishing the book. So this train has left the station, just like the newspaper industry and the music industry and the movie industry. I think the book industry is just a little bit behind. So that’s, I think they’ll definitely be there because at the end of the day, it’s about customer experience and making profits. And so if we can get more books out there that are even better from an untapped audience, which we think we’re doing, then I think we’ll all be happy. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Yeah, because I’m thinking, like, self-publishing changed a lot of things with Amazon. But do you think that AI can truly democratize publishing, or do you anticipate new gatekeepers emerging in the process? »

Dan Curran : « Probably, there’ll probably be gatekeepers everywhere we look. How about this? Let’s look at just books as a whole. And I should have this statistic, but going to the airport or going to a bookstore, those books that you see out of all the books written, that’s way less than 1% of the books out there. It’s a handful of copies of every book that’s written, just a handful—50, 100, 1,000 books are ever physically printed. So that is a reality. And I was just on a phone call with someone yesterday, and the very first thing, there was a publishing so-called expert, and they said, ‘Well, there’s too many books out there.’ And I think they’re looking at it wrong. We look at it differently. Why not capture someone’s wisdom so it lives in perpetuity and someone can access their kids a year from now, businesses 100 years from now? Why not just capture it? So what we’re calling a book might be something that chapters needs to redefine because whether you’re printing thousands of books or two books, we’re agnostic to that because the marketplace takes care of that. If it’s an amazing book, people will find you. You’re a gifted athlete as a kid, sports teams are going to find you. The book will turn out well, but that’s not the problem we’re solving. We’re saying we want to capture your wisdom and life experiences. »

Julien Redelsperger : « So are you concerned about the potential saturation of content in a world where it is sometimes faster to write than to read? Because once everyone has their own book on Amazon, what will we read? And how can a book stand out from the crowd? »

Dan Curran : « So I’ll answer in two ways. As far as too much content, I think that, like, to use the train analogy, that train left a long time ago. I think there’s not enough content for you and I to read during our normal day. So there is a lot of content, a lot of bad content. So all that noise, that’s just a reality, I think, into perpetuity because there are machines now that just crank out blogs. And I think the review sites are really having an issue right now with fake reviews and Quora and others. It’s just all AI-generated nonsense. But if you look at your ecosystem—so I’m Dan Curran, my ecosystem, my family, my friends, my business network, whether it’s dozens, hundreds, thousands—why not have, and in business especially, why not have my perspective shared with this ecosystem? So are they saturated with Dan Curran content? I don’t think so. So again, I’m looking at it more from a libertarian, as we would say here in the States, like the marketplace will take care of it. But I think, my dad died when I was a teenager, and there’s no record of him whatsoever as far as what does he think about politics or business or religion? And boy, I’d like to kind of know that, and my grandfather and all that. So that’s the great thing about capturing all this wisdom. And again, for legacy folks, I’ll just be real quick on this. That’s another category that we work on. That’s end of life or your grandfather’s story. Again, it goes in this vessel. Just imagine your grandfather, your parents, you, and again, into perpetuity, you have this repository, this living library of everyone’s perspective, even the voice. So publishing needs to be refined, redefined, I guess, is how I would answer your question. »

Julien Redelsperger : « So that’s an interesting point of view, actually, because that means you don’t need to sell millions of copies to be successful. Like if your book touches the heart and the soul of your readers, it could be your family, your friends, your close circle. That could be just enough for a book to be successful from the author’s standpoint. »

Dan Curran : « Well, I’m finishing my first book right now, and that’s kind of how we started the company is because one of the reasons it was just very arduous when I started out. I thought, ‘Well, there’s got to be an easier way.’ If I finish that, and I’m close enough, I’m just feeling this now, I mean, the sense of accomplishment is just amazing. So what’s wrong with that? I have an author that we’re finishing right now, and it will certainly be a bestseller. He’s already got a built-in audience. And he will make tens of thousands of dollars in speaking. Nothing wrong with that. So those two spectrums, one book sits in a drawer, one sits at bookstores at the airport. It’s all good. »

Julien Redelsperger : « So your solution works in English, obviously, but do you have any plans to make it work in other languages? »

Dan Curran : « Yes, that box was checked off many months ago. So translation is quite easy now for all of our books. As far as tone, tenor, regional sensitivities to the language, we have editors that we employ to do that from those regions. So artwork, translation, all of that is quite simple now. And we’re really excited about the international distribution and working with people internationally. »

Julien Redelsperger : « At what age and under which circumstances should someone start thinking about writing a book? A nonfiction book? »

Dan Curran : « Well, I think you have life experiences that are acquired after decades. So there’s no doubt there’s an age story here. That means you’re going to have a lot more life experiences at 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 years old than you have when you’re in your early 20s. However, we have a few, and a lot of people that write nonfiction books, like the how-tos and motivational or self-help, are real alphas, right? They’re very consumed with, in a good way, their unique perspective that they have something unique to say. So there’s definitely people in their 20s or probably teens that have something unique to say. And we love capturing that as well. So we’re, again, agnostic to that. »

Julien Redelsperger : « How do you make sure that a book written with the help of AI is still an authentic work? That it is a genuine book where you can feel the intention, passion, and personality of the author? Aren’t you afraid that sometimes AI could just level everything down and produce low-quality, generic content? »

Dan Curran : « I’m afraid of people not sharing their life experiences. That’s what I’m afraid of. I’m afraid of ghostwriters misinterpreting, and a writer or the author, the client, getting fatigued and just letting the ghostwriter articulate that person’s perspective. That’s what I’m more afraid of. Anti-plagiarism. 100% for attribution. A thousand percent for AI having the ability, when I write something or if I voice something and as our technology does, it allows you to capture your perspective via talking and put that in our model, that AI can find gaps and prod and ask questions. ‘Hey, you talked about a partnership that went wrong. Can you explain that further?’ So that’s what gets me excited about AI. It really does better than humans at finding gaps in what’s missing in your story. I see it every day when we turn a manuscript over to our clients with these questions. ‘Hey, what about your father passing away? You didn’t really go into depth. Can you tell us how you felt?’ So it’s an instigator for you to be more authentic. »

Julien Redelsperger : « In your opinion, what are the biggest misconceptions people have about using AI in the creative process of writing a book? »

Dan Curran : « Well, it goes to what I just said. And a lot of people say this: Just think of it as an assistant, as a cheerleader, as something to help you push your narrative further. If you’re going to plagiarize and write a blog that ChatGPT creates, a thousand words, then that’s… then chapters, in our philosophy, is not for you. That’s not what we’re here for. And I see why people do that. Brainstorming with AI, I think, is perfectly logical. I mean, there are so many great things it does. But I think we have a lot of voices, and in the publishing industry, there’s a lot of resistance to AI because they look at it as plagiarism, fake content, synthetic content. They’re not looking at the 99 other things, as I said. I think, yes, there is a component of that, but there’s… I need to brainstorm about why my partnership with my last business partner didn’t go well. This is what he did to sabotage my business. What possibly did I do to sabotage the business that I wasn’t thinking about? ChatGPT, please give me some ideas to think about. And if it came back with five things like, ‘Could it be this? Could it be that?’ What is wrong with that? That is just prodding and helping you share your authentic thoughts. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Do you think AI will eventually be able to handle more complex aspects of book production? We talked about the manuscript, but what about layout, design, and marketing? Do you have any opinion on that? »

Dan Curran : « I say yes, yes, yes, yes. It’ll handle every single thing. And I’m not predicting more than the next year where anything’s going. But, you know, history has taught me a few things. I, as a little child, either on TV or somewhere, I remember art directors, graphic designers at ad agencies with big drafting tables and brushes and markers. And then you go forward a decade or two, you hear about something called Photoshop or InDesign. Isn’t that the same thing? What’s different? Has anyone opened up Canva lately? Has anyone opened up InDesign or, you know, these software programs? I mean, they accelerate. They get you from—to use a US analogy, baseball—they get you to third base really quickly. But there are still a lot of graphic designers. There are still a lot of artists who use technology. And so I would say it’s an accelerant, but the human intuition and life experiences will remain so, so important. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Have you talked to publishers since your launch of chapters.io? I’m just curious about what they think about your solution and if they are maybe, I don’t know, afraid, curious, or excited about it. »

Dan Curran : « Oh, my God, great question. They’re scared. There’s, you know, the big four or five publishers in the States, and then there are dozens of hybrid publishers. I’ve had one, really two or three, but one significant conversation. And this is what this number two person at a company you’d be very familiar with told me: ‘Dan, we know it’s coming. If you even use the word AI in the hallways here, people will pull their hair out. We know that in the coming weeks, months, years, there will be a need to be open to taking baby steps to discuss AI.’ And life is—people say life’s short. I say it’s long. We’ll get there. It’ll be what it’ll be. I feel like we are the canary in the coal mine or R&D. We’re just saying, you know, let’s just have some tables, some rules, no plagiarism, everything has to be attributed. But why can’t we use AI in ways, as I’ve mentioned often in this conversation, to ask questions, to really kind of replace the B and C grade ghostwriters. The A-grade ghostwriters are fine. They’re brilliant. They’re going to do great. But I’ll just say this real quick. A lot of those books that those publishers print and market are written by ghostwriters. And those ghostwriters, some of them are fabulous, but some of them, I believe, if you talk about ethics, I think we should start there first and compare that to what we’re doing. And I think with chapters, it’s way more authentic. It’s your voice. We’re just transcribing your voice and organizing it. So we’re, I guess, Grammarly on steroids. But is there going to be some synthetic AI content that bleeds in there somewhere? You know, because we don’t control everything. The author could add something, probably, but I think that ship has sailed. But again, the marketplace will tell you. They’ll say, ‘Oh, that’s a terrible book.’ And people with really unique perspectives, especially the ones chapters is helping, I think will do fine. »

Julien Redelsperger : « And so what’s the future for ghostwriters? Do you think it is still a job that people would want to do in a year, two years, five years from now? »

Dan Curran : « Absolutely. I just think they’ll use tools like chapters or some of these other writing tools, and they will have, again, to look for gaps in the story. Here’s, I interviewed the writer, I interviewed the client. Here’s chapter three. I have 3,000 words here. Am I missing anything? AI comes back and says, ‘Yes.’ Ask them about this, this, and this. Or, they sure talked in first person here, but in chapter seven, they talked second and third person. How can I alter that? Is that pure writing? And would elitists get upset that maybe the computer changed that? Maybe, I guess, but it’s just grammar and editing. People are doing it manually now. So I think it’s an efficiency play. So yes, thumbs up to ghostwriters. But I’ll just say this: In the nonfiction space, a lot of these engagements cost $40,000 to $150,000 or more for a ghostwriter. That’s a lot of money. They take nine months. They take a year, two or three years, and it’s a forced marriage. So it’s kind of awkward. You’re sharing. You have to be transparent and very vulnerable with ghostwriters. I think, again, what we’re doing with chapters is where you still have a human, you have the editor, but the editor is more of a really good coach. They’re not there to get very intimate about your thoughts because we’re allowing you to do that on your own time through our technology. So I think it’ll evolve. Ghostwriters will be there, but they’ll evolve and they’ll use technology. But again, ethics and integrity are so important. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Okay. So let’s talk numbers. I’d like to know, on average, how much it costs to create a manuscript using chapters and how long does it take? »

Dan Curran : « Yeah. So we have different packages. So it’s around $15,000 USD to about $25,000 for a 50,000-word manuscript. We have a spectrum of pricing. We intentionally went after, at this point, entrepreneurs, executives, people that really had high intent to get their books across the finish line. So that’s our price point. We are going to have some other packages later this year, next year, that will go south of that, that will be a little bit more affordable. We compare that to the pricing I mentioned before, which is the $40,000, $75,000, $150,000 that a really good ghostwriter would charge. Again, a lot of our clients are saying, ‘Yeah, I like the ghostwriter I was considering, but it’s going to take nine months, and I just don’t want to spend my Friday afternoons talking to someone for nine months.’ And your process is just a little bit more efficient. »

Julien Redelsperger : « And in terms of timing, so we said 90 days. Is it like an average? Sometimes it could be less, more than that? »

Dan Curran : « Yeah, it’s an average. We do that because at the beginning of our engagements, we tell them that 80%—it’s a lot—80% of manuscripts are abandoned, even with ghostwriters. People get fatigued, or they feel imposter syndrome. Something comes up, vacations come up, life comes up. So we want the story to evolve. People change their thoughts as they start writing a book. That’s totally fine, but it’s not going to do anyone any good if we’re six months, 12 months out, and that book is halfway done. So we state that, and our target persona right now really appreciates that we’re diligent about getting it across the finish line. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Do you somewhat filter the books, the manuscripts you want to work on? Do you say sometimes to an author, ‘I’m sorry, it’s not going to work for X, Y reason’? Or do you just welcome everyone, no matter the ideas, the experience, the backstories, etc.? »

Dan Curran : « Well, there are some categories like religious manuscripts. Our technology can handle them, but we don’t really have the editorial team. That’s a niche that deserves editors who are well-equipped to help that person. So that’s just one category. Cookbooks, highly visual books—we will go into next year. We can’t wait to do those, but right now we’re not doing those. We do have, after kind of a phase one through our process, a blueprint, outline, etc., we do stop the world, and we really are at an inflection point. The inflection point is this: Some of our writers already have a lot of words written. They might be halfway through their book, and they’re just stuck. Before, when we first started out, we really couldn’t help that person. But now we have a lot of clients there. If we have that client, we’re going down a different path. And that is truly just asking them questions. So we’re kind of stirring in their brain thoughts on where their book could be. So we’re just like a coach. The other person came with nothing. They just have one idea in their brain. That one goes down a different path where there’s a lot more questions, a lot more editorial time. So no, we can handle any nonfiction book that, again, is a biography, how-to book, or a big idea book. But we do take them down different paths. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Okay. So you mentioned nonfiction books. That’s important. Why not fiction? Why can’t we use chapters to create the next sci-fi or mystery novel that’s going to be successful? »

Dan Curran : « So two things. One, I just want to mention, we’re not a DIY tool—do it yourself. So we’re a platform, a publishing manuscript platform. So the human interaction is really, really important. The reason why I mentioned that in the context of what you just said, there are DIY tools that do help people create fiction. And so that space is wide open. I’m sure there’s a lot of innovation going there. Our charter is different. It goes back to what I said at the beginning. Our focus is not to flood the end zone, so to speak, with a million fiction and nonfiction books. Our focus is to get people to share their stories that are currently intimidated to share their stories. So the book is just an output of it. But really, our mission is hyper-focused on your best friend or your neighbor or your business associate that, ‘Hey, I have something to say, but this publishing world is archaic, scary, intimidating.’ I want them to come to chapters and say, ‘Hey, you have a place here to share your wisdom.’ So we love the nonfiction space, and we hate that there are a lot of stories that aren’t being told. »

Julien Redelsperger : « What advice would you give to someone on the fence about using AI to write their book? What do they need to get started? »

Dan Curran : « To not look at AI as ChatGPT writing your book. Look at AI as a coach, as a mentor, as a provocateur, as an editor. AI can do a lot of amazing things, but telling your story—it cannot do. Only you can tell your story. But if you want to tell your story and you look at hybrid publishing and regular publishing and don’t know the difference between self-publishing, ignore all that. Come to chapters and just share your story. Just talk. That’s all you need to do. And if you have some blogs out there or podcasts, let’s throw that into the vessel and let you look at a really quickly produced raw manuscript and outline. And when our clients see that in a matter of weeks, they’re like, ‘Wow, I do have amazing life experiences and unique perspectives.’ And then work with our editor to sand the edges and then, voila, a couple of months later, you have a book. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Last question for you, Dan. How do you see the future of the publishing industry in two years, five years, or even 10 years? You mentioned earlier that AI is a big thing. That’s the big elephant in the room. But realistically, where are we going in the publishing industry? »

Dan Curran : « You’re not gonna like my answer, and that is, who knows? I do know a few things on those macro levels. Who knows about the more immediate stuff? But I do know that holding a book, publishing a book, giving a book to your clients, desiring to be a thought leader in your industry—a book still has a lot of credibility. It has a lot of street cred for that person, even more so now. There are hundreds, thousands of books coming out every day, but their marketing is not meant to be so much on Amazon. The marketing is to be within their sphere of influence in their industry. So I think that hasn’t stopped. I think people still look at people with books with high esteem. As far as the future, technology is ahead of us, for sure. I mean, that’s obvious. And the people part is behind. So the big publishers—the big four or five publishers and then the hybrid ones—are still grappling with this. I don’t know if you noticed, but in our political world, there’s not a lot of consensus right now, and there probably won’t be a lot of consensus in the near term. But eventually, it’ll become ubiquitous and it’ll be the new reality. So we’re thinking the future looks bright, but it will be messy and chaotic—but nothing new, right? »

Julien Redelsperger : « Perfect. Well, thank you so much, Dan. So at the end of each episode, the guest answers a question posed by the previous guest. After that, you’ll have the opportunity to ask a question for the next guest. Are you ready? »

Dan Curran : « Yeah, absolutely. »

Julien Redelsperger : « Perfect. So here’s your question, courtesy of Sidney Shapiro, who is Assistant Professor of Business Analytics at the University of Lethbridge in Canada. We can listen to his question right now. »

Sidney Shapiro : « Would you be comfortable scaling your AI use if it meant sharing data with external companies for training purposes? »

Dan Curran : « So I think that’s an individual question. For me, yes. I think it’s almost like cameras on the street or someone listening to me. It is what it is. So if I have something to share with my ecosystem, I think it should—for me personally, it’s fine to be in the entire ecosystem. But there are caveats. I’m not a nuclear scientist. I’m not a biopharma expert. So there are sensitivities, and the AI world has a lot to grapple with as far as copyright protection. And there are some things you can do to mitigate that to some extent right now. But if any of your audience does some quick research on it, it is far from foolproof. So it’s a big ethical issue as well. So we all have to grapple with that. And hopefully, these large language model companies will police themselves and have some good guardrails. »

Julien Redelsperger : « All right, perfect. Thank you, Dan. So now, what question would you like to pose for the next guest? »

Dan Curran : « Awesome. So imagine it’s 10 years from now and there are movies, there are paintings, there is music that is amazing, all created by AI. Is that art? To your guest: Is that movie, is that music, is that painting truly art? »

Julien Redelsperger : « Interesting. I’m sure, yeah, that’s a very interesting debate. Well, thank you so much, Dan. I’ll pose the question. Of course, I’ll let you know whenever I have the answer available. Dan, thank you. It’s been an absolute pleasure speaking with you today. »

Dan Curran : « Love it. Thank you. Thank you. »

Julien Redelsperger : « And that wraps up another episode of AI Experience. Thank you for tuning in, and we’ll see you next time. »

This transcription was generated by an artificial intelligence tool. It may not be 100% accurate and could contain errors and approximations.

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