A Need for Authentic Editorial Products

Last year, I discovered the value of artificial intelligence (AI) for research. It is particularly helpful for identifying sources of older articles published in journals or magazines. Some no longer exist or are only in digital format today.

Recently, though, I learned to be more vigilant in sniffing out those trying to pass off AI creations as their own.

As a result, I plan to add a provision to my letter of agreement, asking authors to verify that the editorial material they want me to edit or use for ghostwriting is solely theirs.

In turn, I will verify that—other than using an electronic grammar checker—the writing or editing will be mine.

This stems from a recent conversation with an executive who helps authors self-publish. We had a stimulating chat about a potential book by an author I knew personally.

Although the project we discussed fell by the wayside, the exec indicated an interest in working on others in the future.

That was good news at a time when freelancers I know (including me) are seeing their bottom lines decline.

Although I can’t prove it, I believe AI and those who rely on its oft-shlocky products are a primary factor.

Double-Checking for AI

Near the end of our conversation, the exec said he wasn’t too concerned about someone with my experience passing off AI as my own.

Still, he has taken to asking writers and editors about their use of it.

I told him that in the spring of 2025, I had started using it extensively for research.

In addition, to satisfy my curiosity, I told him I had once asked Word’s Copilot to rewrite a couple of stories. In the first story, it suggested an alternative paragraph that I found worth using. With story #2, the rewrite didn’t sound much different than mine. I haven’t used it since.

The exec said he had to ask because of a nightmarish experience.

On another book project, a younger editor had farmed out most of the editing to AI. The results were so bad it almost cost him the client; after repairing the damage, he discharged the editor with no plans to use that person again.

Such “blacklisting” can seriously damage a freelancer’s credibility and chances of securing additional work.

Case in point is the time long ago when I went to have lunch with a friend who edited a magazine in Denver.

He was at his wits’ end because he had to scramble to finish a 2,500-word feature, a complex story that required multiple interviews and research before he could write anything.

A couple of weeks before the deadline, my friend had checked with the freelancer whom he had assigned the feature to; the guy had never offered a progress report.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the freelancer replied. “I’m not going to be able to do that story.”

“Needless to say,” my friend said, “I will never be calling that guy again.”

Don’t Trust AI

My favorite joke about AI gibberish comes from a fellow freelancer who once quipped, “If you can’t be bothered to write it, why should I take my time to read it?”

Truer words were never spoken. I have reviewed AI-generated manuscripts or articles that are bad. So bad that, had I handed them in for a college term paper, would have automatically received an F.

Would-be writers and authors should tread carefully in AI waters. Nothing can sink your creative work faster than trying to swim laps with a ball and chain tied around your waist.