At AI for Authors Circle, we believe artificial intelligence should enhance your creative process, not replace it. We are committed to teaching ethical AI use that respects your craft, preserves your unique voice, and maintains your integrity as a writer.
Our community was built in response to research showing that 84 per cent of authors who do not use AI cite ethical concerns as their primary objection. We take those concerns seriously. Every course, every tutorial, and every piece of guidance we provide is grounded in the principle that AI is a tool for thinking and planning, not a substitute for writing.
We teach authors how to use AI responsibly, transparently, and in ways that enhance rather than compromise their work. This policy outlines our commitment to ethical AI use and explains exactly how we apply these principles across our community.
1. Plot Analysis and Structural Improvement
We teach authors to use AI to analyse plot holes, identify pacing issues, and strengthen story structure. AI can help you examine your manuscript objectively, highlighting areas where momentum falters or character arcs feel incomplete.
How this works ethically: You provide AI with your plot summary or manuscript excerpt. AI identifies structural weaknesses. You, the author, decide how to fix them. Your creative decisions remain entirely yours. AI is a diagnostic tool, not a creative replacement.
Example: You use AI to analyse the "messy middle" of your 80,000-word novel, identifying where pacing slows and engagement drops. Armed with this analysis, you revise strategically. The revision work, the creative choices, and the final prose are all yours.
2. Character Development and Consistency
We teach AI as a tool for building and maintaining character profiles across long manuscripts. AI can help you track character arcs, ensure consistency in voice and behaviour, and identify moments where a character's actions feel out of alignment with their established personality.
How this works ethically: You create character profiles. AI helps you cross-reference these profiles against your manuscript, flagging inconsistencies. You review these flagged moments and decide whether they represent character growth, plot oversights, or intentional complexity. The character development remains your creative work.
Example: You use Genspark or a custom GPT to create a character hub for your protagonist, documenting their background, motivations, and voice. As you write, you reference this hub to maintain consistency. AI helps you organise and retrieve this information efficiently, but your character remains entirely your creation.
3. Research Efficiency and Organisation
We teach AI to help you avoid research rabbit holes whilst gathering accurate information for your historical fiction, fantasy worldbuilding, or genre-specific settings. AI can help you research efficiently, organise findings, and identify gaps in your knowledge.
How this works ethically: You use tools like Perplexity to research specific topics, avoiding the 1.5-hour research tangents that derail writing sessions. AI helps you gather information quickly and accurately. You evaluate the information, verify sources, and incorporate only what serves your story authentically.
Example: You are writing a historical novel set in 1800s London. Rather than spending hours on Wikipedia rabbit holes, you use Perplexity to answer specific questions: "What were the working hours for factory workers in 1880s London?" or "What medicines were available to treat fever in 1885?" You get accurate, sourced information quickly, then use it to inform your writing with authenticity and specificity.
4. Revision Strategy and Breaking Paralysis
We teach AI to help you break revision paralysis by separating structural fixes from line editing. AI can help you understand the phases of revision, prioritise your work, and move through the revision process without perfectionism derailing your progress.
How this works ethically: You use AI to understand revision methodology, not to do the revision for you. AI helps you create a revision plan, identify which issues to tackle first, and maintain momentum through the revision process. The actual revision work, the creative choices, and the final polish are all yours.
Example: You have completed your manuscript but feel overwhelmed by revision. You use AI to create a revision roadmap: first pass focuses on structural issues, second pass on pacing and character consistency, third pass on line editing and prose polish. This clarity helps you move through revision without perfectionism paralysis. Each pass is your work, guided by a clear strategy.
5. Marketing and Discoverability
We teach AI to help you reach readers more effectively through metadata optimisation, keyword research, and launch strategy. AI can help you understand how readers search for books like yours and how to position your book for discoverability.
How this works ethically: You use AI to understand keyword trends, analyse successful book descriptions in your genre, and develop a launch strategy. You write your book description, metadata, and marketing copy. AI helps you optimise for discoverability, but the voice and messaging remain authentically yours.
Example: You use AI to research keywords for your paranormal romance novel, identifying that "paranormal romance with found family" has strong search volume. You use this insight to craft your book description and metadata. Your description is written by you, in your voice, but informed by data about what readers are searching for.
6. AI as a Context-Aware Thesaurus
We teach AI as a tool for precise word choice and synonym exploration. When you are searching for exactly the right word in a specific context, AI can help you explore options whilst you maintain complete control over the final choice.
How this works ethically: You identify a sentence or phrase that does not quite work. You ask AI for alternative word choices or phrasings. You evaluate the options and choose the one that best fits your voice and intent. The prose remains entirely yours.
Example: You have written: "The character felt sad about the decision." This feels flat. You ask AI for alternatives that convey sadness with more nuance and specificity. AI suggests: resigned, bereft, conflicted, devastated, melancholic. You choose "conflicted" because it better captures the character's internal struggle. The final prose is yours.
We Do Not Teach AI Prose Generation
We do not teach authors to use AI to write their manuscripts for them. Your words, your voice, your story. AI can assist the thinking and planning work, but the writing work remains yours.
We are explicit about this because it is the most common ethical concern. If you use AI to generate prose for your manuscript and do not disclose this to your readers, you are misrepresenting the authorship of your work. This violates reader trust and undermines your integrity as a writer.
We Do Not Encourage Misleading Content
We do not teach authors to create AI-generated content that could mislead readers or compromise their ethical standing. If you are writing fiction, your readers expect that you, the author, have crafted the story. If you are writing non-fiction, your readers expect that you have done the research and thinking work.
Using AI to generate content and presenting it as your own work violates this trust.
We Do Not Position AI as a Shortcut to Success
We do not teach AI as a replacement for craft, storytelling skill, or the hard work of revision. AI is a tool for efficiency and clarity, not a shortcut to writing success.
Writing well requires skill, practice, and dedication. AI can make you more efficient, but it cannot replace the work of becoming a better writer.
We Do Not Teach Use of Copyrighted Material Without Permission
We are mindful of the ongoing debates around AI training data and copyright. We teach authors to use AI tools responsibly and to be aware of the ethical and legal considerations around AI use.
We do not teach authors to use AI in ways that violate copyright or intellectual property rights.
Q: Is it okay to use AI to help with my manuscript?
A: Yes, absolutely. Using AI as a tool to assist your creative process is ethical and responsible. The key is understanding the difference between AI assisting your work and AI replacing your work. If you are using AI to help you think through plot problems, research efficiently, or break revision paralysis, you are using AI ethically. If you are using AI to generate prose and presenting it as your own writing, you are not.
Q: Do I need to disclose that I used AI in my writing process?
A: This depends on what you used AI for. If you used AI to help with research, plot analysis, or revision strategy, disclosure is not necessary because the writing itself is entirely yours. If you used AI to generate prose or significant portions of your manuscript, you should disclose this to your readers. Transparency builds trust.
Q: What if I use AI-generated content in my book?
A: If you use AI-generated prose in your manuscript, you should disclose this to your readers. Readers deserve to know how your book was created. Additionally, be aware of copyright and intellectual property considerations around AI-generated content.
Q: Is using AI to help with marketing ethical?
A: Yes. Using AI to help with metadata optimisation, keyword research, and launch strategy is ethical. You are using data and insights to reach readers more effectively. The key is that your book description, marketing copy, and messaging remain authentically yours and accurately represent your work.
Q: What about AI tools that generate cover designs or formatting?
A: Using AI tools for design and formatting is ethical. These are technical tasks that do not compromise your authorship. Many professional authors use design software and formatting tools. AI tools that assist with these technical aspects are a natural extension of this practice.
Q: How do I know if I am using AI ethically?
A: Ask yourself these questions:
If you can answer these questions honestly and feel good about your answers, you are likely using AI ethically.
Q: What if I am uncertain about whether something is ethical?
A: We encourage you to ask. Our community forum includes dedicated spaces for discussing ethical questions around AI use. Our instructors are available to discuss specific scenarios and help you navigate ethical considerations. We believe that thoughtful, intentional use of AI is better than avoiding AI altogether out of fear.
We commit to:
Teaching Transparency: We will always be clear about how AI should and should not be used in your writing process. We will not teach shortcuts or encourage misrepresentation.
Respecting Your Craft: We recognise that you are the author. AI is a tool you control, not a replacement for your creative work or your voice.
Staying Current: As AI technology evolves and ethical considerations develop, we will update our guidance to reflect best practices and emerging concerns.
Supporting Your Integrity: We believe that ethical AI use strengthens your work and your relationship with your readers. We are committed to helping you use AI in ways that enhance rather than compromise your integrity as a writer.
Listening to Concerns: If you have concerns about ethical AI use, either in our community or in the broader author community, we want to hear about them. Our commitment to ethical AI is not static, it evolves as we learn from our members and the broader writing community.
Academic and Industry Research
We recommend exploring resources from the following organisations for deeper understanding of AI ethics and implications:
Author-Specific Resources
AI Tools and Their Terms of Service
We encourage all members to read the terms of service for any AI tools they use. Understanding how your data is used and what rights you retain is essential to ethical AI use.
If you observe or experience something in our community that you believe violates our ethical AI principles, we encourage you to report it. You can:
1.Contact Our Support Team: Email support@aiforauthorscircle.com with details of your concern.
2.Use the Community Reporting Feature: Within Fluent Community, you can report posts or discussions that violate our ethical guidelines.
3.Speak with an Instructor: Our instructors are available to discuss concerns confidentially.
All reports are taken seriously and investigated promptly. We are committed to maintaining a community where ethical AI use is not just taught, but practised.
AI is a powerful tool. Like any powerful tool, it can be used well or poorly. Our mission at AI for Authors Circle is to help you use AI well, in ways that enhance your craft, preserve your voice, and maintain your integrity as a writer.
We believe that authors who use AI thoughtfully and ethically will create better work and build stronger relationships with their readers. We are here to help you do exactly that.
If you have questions about our ethical AI policy, we welcome you to ask. Our community is built on the principle that thoughtful, intentional use of AI is better than fear-based avoidance. We are here to support you in using AI as a tool for your creative success.
Last Updated: December 2025
Questions or Feedback? Contact us at support@aiforauthorscircle.com or post in our community forum.