USING AI TOOLS TO WRITE A BOOK
In my last blog post, we put our feet into the shallow pools of generative AI. We discussed the basics of generative AI and examined examples of artificial intelligence tools that generate text in ways that would be helpful professionally and personally.
Today, we’re going a step further.
What if you can use AI to make a creative idea come to life?
I don’t long to be a best-selling author of children’s books, but for this example, we’ll walk through the easy steps of creating a book for young readers using generative AI tools.
WHY DOES VISUAL STORYTELLING MATTER?
With the increase in video and social media production, visual storytelling is a skill that has entered the chat and isn’t going anywhere.
Your ability to share a story through print and digital media has a direct impact on the success of your company or non-profit’s mission.
You won’t be able to give your elevator pitch to everyone you pass on the street, but you can share it visually with everyone who scrolls on Instagram.
Step 1: Crafting the manuscript
I used ChatGPT4 to write the manuscript for my children’s book.
The more details you can provide to your AI tool, the better response you’ll receive.
To show you the ease of creating the manuscript, my prompt was very simple (shown below).
ChatGPT responded with a story outline that I quickly approved.
Then, I told the chatbot to turn the outline into a manuscript.
Step 2: Generating the images
Several tools can be used to generate AI images. Some easy ones are DaVinci AI and Imagine.
However, to keep it simple I stayed in ChatGPT.
In the same prompt thread, I told the chatbot to create images that visually tell the story of the book we had just written.
The responses I received were good for a first draft. I didn’t give direction on aesthetics or style, so some of the images didn’t match. Additionally, an issue I encountered with one of the images generated was that Gilly suddenly became a brown goat instead of white!
A second round of prompting asked ChatGPT to create a cover for the book.
Once the cover was produced, I prompted the chatbot to generate a few more images that included Gilly with the same look and aesthetic as the cover.
For this example, the images weren’t perfect, but close enough to see how quickly a creative idea can come to fruition.
Now, it was time to put it together.
Step 3: USING CANVA
To assemble my book I used Canva. You can use Canva for free, however I do have a premium account (highly recommend).
I chose a square shape for my book because it reminded me of the board books my children had when they were young. After dropping in the images created by Open AI’s chatbot, I copy and pasted the text from the manuscript.
I updated the font style and size to reflect the style of a children’s book. And, I couldn’t help myself, I used a premium feature to erase a weird black dot above the title on the book cover.
Lastly, I added a dedication page because my book felt like it was missing a personal touch.
Then, I downloaded it as a .pdf.
the outcome
Here’s the thing 👉 I don’t think it’s a finished product.
The story can be expanded. The images need more consistency.
Why does Gilly have horns in some photos and not in others?
But, I do think it’s a great example of how quickly a simple idea can become reality when you incorporate generative AI tools.
I could have spent time writing the manuscript and developing the story.
I do NOT have the skills to illustrate this story myself.
Yet, ChatGPT was able to take my idea and create illustrations that accurately place Gilly in Banff and at Lake Louise.
Ultimately, my idea came to life.
is this cheating?
Did I write this story? Did I create this book? Can I put my name on it and sell it?
You may notice I did not put my name on the cover of my new creation. This is not a black-and-white area. It is very, very gray.
Whose idea was it to create a children’s story about a baby mountain goat living in Banff, Alberta that goes on an adventure to Lake Louise and overcomes its fear of heights?
It was mine.
I used tools to create the manuscript, images, and format.
Do these tools keep me from being the owner of this content?
Last summer, The Harvard Gazette interviewed faculty involved in producing creative media (writers, animators, musicians, artists, etc) and asked them if they saw AI as a threat or a collaborator.
Many of the interview responses acknowledged the use of AI already in the creation of digital art. You may have watched movies created by AI and not even known!
Yet, these artists see artificial intelligence as a collaborative tool.
Matt Saunders, mixed media artist, makes his point by stating,
“Many artists are already using the inventions (and provocations) of AI in works of great substance, but of course the artists are still the ones bringing it into the room.”
The Harvard Gazette
I brought Gilly the Mountain Goat into the room.
By Saunder’s argument, Gilly would not exist if I had not taken the steps to create her and bring her into the world.
So, is it cheating?
Generative AI chatbots are tools. Using AI to help your creative ideas come to life is no different than using any other tool that makes an idea come to life in a more efficient manner.
The quality of the final product that is released into the world is still up to you.
Do I think Gilly is ready for print? No.
Would someone else try to spit out low-quality children’s books made by AI for profit? Sure.
Visual storytelling has never been easier.
How you choose to use these skills is up to you.
references
Canva. (n.d.). Canva. https://www.canva.com/
DaVinci. (n.d.). DaVinci AI. https://davinci.ai/
Midjourney. (n.d.). Imagine. https://www.imagine.art/
Mineo, L. (2023). If it wasn’t created by a human artist, is it still art? The Harvard Gazette. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/08/is-art-generated-by-artificial-intelligence-real-art/
OpenAI. (n.d.). OpenAI. https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt
Voinski, C. (2024). Generative AI: ChatGPT, Gemini, and A Kardashian? https://carlyvoinski.com/2024/03/30/generative-ai-chatgpt-gemini-and-a-kardashian/
