My AI policy is simple: I don’t use generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools or programs in my editing process or business (or personal life!), and I’d like to know if you used a generative AI tool to write or edit your manuscript.
I Don’t Use AI to Edit Your Manuscript
I do not use any generative AI tools or programs in my editing process or my business (or personal life!). You can take a peek at some of the tools I do use here!
I store manuscript files in Google Drive and Dropbox, and I use Microsoft Word (for editing manuscripts) and Adobe InDesign and Acrobat (for book design and proofreading). I have AI features turned off on my Google and Microsoft accounts and don’t use the AI features on any of the platforms I use.
I will not upload any part of your manuscript to a generative AI platform or use a generative AI tool on any part of your manuscript. If you do not want me to store your manuscript file in Google Drive, I am happy to accommodate that request.
I fully support The Authors Guild’s recommendations on not using generative AI to edit manuscripts and not uploading or sharing authors’ manuscripts to AI tools.
If You Used AI on Your Manuscript, Let Me Know
Please let me know if you used generative AI to write or edit your manuscript so that I have the full context of your manuscript and revision process. I prioritize working with writers who use their own creativity and imagination to write and edit their work, and I’m not interested in editing content primarily generated by an AI model given the copyright concerns as outlined by the Authors Guild.
If you’ve used AI on your manuscript, it’s not an automatic dealbreaker for me, but I’d like to know exactly how it was used so I can better determine if I’m the right editor for you. That’s why I ask about the rounds of revision your project has been through on my contact form. That answer box on my contact form is the place to tell me if you’ve used AI to help you write or edit your manuscript—the more details, the better! Let me know what programs you used (Grammarly, AutoCrit, ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, etc.) at what stage of writing and revising and how you used it.
A Word of Caution About Running Your Manuscript Through Spellcheck and AI Tools After It’s Been Professionally Edited
When you receive your edited manuscript back from me, please note the manuscript has been edited by a human editor with extensive training and over a decade of experience editing professionally (that’s me!).
If you run the edited manuscript through Microsoft’s Editor, Google Doc’s spellcheck, Grammarly, or any other automated or AI program that promises to check spelling, grammar, or writing style, it will likely show numerous “suggestions” or “issues.”
However, these programs are not always accurate. In fact, they sometimes suggest edits that would actually introduce errors into the manuscript. Recently, Microsoft’s Editor has been very bad about suggesting things that are flat-out wrong, like adding commas in nonsensical places or suggesting that words be changed to completely different words for no reason. I’ve personally seen these issues with Google Doc’s checker and Grammarly as well.
So, please take any suggestions from automated/AI spellcheckers or grammar checkers with a grain of salt, if you use them at all. I suggest not using them after the manuscript has been copyedited by a professional editor since the risk of inserting errors is so high.
And, of course, if you have any questions about my suggested edits, please email me and ask! I’m always happy to talk through edits and revisions to help you understand why I suggested changing certain things.