Writer’s Corner: The AI Controversy

Posted: October 5, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: AI Technology, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: AI Technology, book marketing, Kaye Lynne Booth, Writer's Corner, Writing, Writing to be Read | 10 Comments

Caracature of a woman typing on a keyboard at a very messy desk. Text: Writer's Corner with Kaye Lynne Booth

I’ve always been one to stand on the middle ground in most things. “All things in moderation” is one of my mottos. And that’s how I was when it came to AI. I saw the value in some AI tools and I admittedly experimented with both AI and Generative AI tools a bit. I would use AI editing tools to polish each of my manuscripts. The AI tools often caught mistakes and errors that my familiar eyes might have otherwise missed. And I played with generative AI to stimulate my own imagination on my descriptions, occasionally. I also have four of my own books which I published in audiobook form with AI narration, but I don’t think I’ve sold even one audiobook, so I’m not sure how valuable that AI turned out to be. I have always been transparent about my use of AI, when I did use it, and I didn’t see the harm.

But now, it seems AI is being shoved down my throat. You may have heard this rant from me before, but it is true. (You can read that rant here: https://writingtoberead.com/2026/06/08/writers-corner-the-ai-delimma/)When I open an app, or email, I’m prompted to let copilot, or some other AI device, write it for me. And especially on my phone, I don’t seem to be able to get rid of it. The little box appears in my email suggesting I ‘polish’, and it won’t let me type myself as long as it is up. Now, I am a writer, and frankly, I find it insulting to think that I would need help from an AI tool to write an email, or anything else.

I know. There are people out there who want to let AI write the whole damned book for them, probably because they really can’t write themselves at all. And it’s true they are tarnishing the good names of those of us who can write, and making things more difficult, and more expensive, in the publishing world.

The AI Controversy

The controversy over AI has heated up in recent years, and at times seems to be out of hand. There are several different issues, including those mentioned above, which come up in author discussions about AI, and often get lumped together in the controversial category. Other issues include, but are in no way limited to, careers being damaged by the admitted use, or the championing of AI technology, copyrights being infringed upon by Generative AI’s unauthorized use of creative works and tying authors up in lengthy legal battles. These are all real concerns that should be taken into account as authors navigate the world of publishing.

What AI Can Do To An Author’s Career

Serepha Giron and the AI Witch Hunt

Horror author Serepha Giron, was recently outed from the Horror Writer’s Association just for speaking out in favor of the use of AI in some instances, calling the publishing industry’s over the top response to the use of AI in creative endeavors a witch hunt.

HWA Cancels Their Member Sèphera Girón After Pro-AI Newsletter Column Sparks Backlash

Chuck Wendig’s Response to the HWA’s Response

Regarding The Pro-AI Tantrum In The HWA Newsletter – Chuck Wendig: Terribleminds

Generative AI

Now, the other side of this debate involves a different matter involving generative AI specifically. There’s been quite a ruckus caused by the way generative AI is being trained using the words of talented authors without obtaining the proper permissions to do so. I know several authors whose works have been used for this purpose, and they are now tied up in a maze of legal battles over copyright and compensation. Authors on this side of the debate aren’t talking though. After the fiasco with the HWA and Seraph Giron, none of them would touch my invitation to guest post or comment here with a twenty-foot pole.

The most reasonable discussion I’ve found regarding this issue comes from Laura Hemling, The Guerrilla Publisher. She explains how generative AI works when used to write with the assistance of an AI tool, why not all generative AI training is not theft, or piracy, and why using AI tools to help write YOUR book doesn’t take away from YOUR authorship.

Just for the sake of transparency, let me go on record as stating that I use the MS Editor which is built into my MS Word program to locate possible problem spots, but then, I decide how to correct them, if I think they need correcting. Since AI is often wrong, I find it often doesn’t need fixed, or I have a better fix for it than the AI suggests. I no longer use Pro-Writing Aid, as its suggestions are mostly total rewording, which I don’t need, and neither do my authors.

I am going to have to rethink how I want to present my stance on AI, when it comes to collaborative works, because I don’t ask my authors about their AI use, so I can’t claim the WordCrafter Press books don’t use AI because I don’t really know. My feeling is to each his own, but I don’t want to make any false claims. I don’t want to be one of the publishers who tries to control their authors use of AI, as mentioned in the video, so perhaps just requesting them to notify me if AI was used so I can represent the work honestly would be the best way to go.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you use AI to assist in your writing? Use it just for editing? And if you do, are you forthcoming about it, or avoid mention of the topic? Let me know in the comments and let’s stir up a conversation.

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Now, be aware, the use of AI tools is not cut and dried. There are many different types of AI tools, and using an AI editor is not the same as using generative AI to write a book for you. And that is different than using generative AI to create a cover. And those are all different than the AI that helps us write or improve ads.

Other Uses for AI as an Author

AI is here to stay. It’s not going to go away, no matter what direction the controversy takes. It infiltrates almost every aspect of our lives today. We have it tied into our home systems, it’s at our fingertips on our phones, and now, it’s changing the way we find things on the internet. It’s writing books, narrating audiobooks, creating art and illustrations, and answering our queries.

It is embedded into the technology we’re already using. I didn’t want AI to summarize my emails, because I prefer to read them myself, and I don’t need it to write my emails for me. I find that insulting. So, I turned off the smart features in my gmail, as per Google instructions. To my chagrin, it didn’t just disable those two features, but also the sorting feature that divides my inbox into Primary, Updates, Social and other categories, making it easier to sort through. So, when I opened my inbox, instead of seeing my primary messages which I need to give attention, as usual, every message was bunched together in one big inbox, making them impossible to sort through. I had no idea that this was a smart feature, but apparently, if I want it, I’m stuck putting up with the features which I find so insulting.

I’m a writer. So, again, I would not use an AI tool to help me put words to page, (or write my emails). That’s what I do, so I think I will retain my creativity, although I may still use the editor which comes with MS Word.

But, I am not a cover designer or a marketer, so I might consider using AI tools to help me to complete such tasks. I see the value in using AI to carry out tasks that I don’t have the talent or the knowledge for. Is that wrong? I don’t think so. But I do think an author needs to be cautious in these tumultuous times, when any kind of association with AI could tarnish a good reputation, or even result in a death sentence. And if you are going to use AI, you need to be very transparent about it. You may lose some readers, but probably not as many as if you were not transparent and then get called out on it. I firmly believe it is better to state it up front.

We need to be aware though of what AI technology in these capacities entails. Using AI to create illustrations or book covers is truly an AI assist, because the technology creates the image according to what we, the humans feed it. We tell it we want an image of a girl, standing in a river and that’s what it gives us. Then, we tweak it to our own specifications. i.e. “a girl with red hair dressed in Native American attire”, etc… In fact, we are still the creators, because without our instruction, the AI can do nothing on it’s own. And I believe you can even provide the base image yourself and use AI to enhance it. It may take several attempts to get it right, because AI gets it wrong a lot, especially if you don’t know the right way to phrase your instructions so that AI understands.

Book Covers and Illustrations

I don’t use AI for the book covers I design, such as the ones shown above, but at times, I use a cover designer who does. DL Mullan of Undawnted, creates many of the WordCrafter Press book covers. Next March, when the third book in my Women in the West Adventure Series, Marta, is released through my Kickstarter campaign, I’m planning to offer special illustrated editions of all three books in the series, which Miss Mullan has created special covers for and she also is creating some spectacular illustrations, such as the girl in the water used in the example above, from Sarah, book 2.

Audiobook Narration

A few years ago, there was controversy about AI narration taking jobs away from human narrators. For me the point was mute, because I didn’t have the finances to afford a human narrator, I tried AI narration out on three of my books. The Rock Star & The Outlaw, Delilah and Hidden Secrets are all available in AI narrated audiobooks on Google Play Books, and another edition of The Rock Star & The Outlaw is also available on Apple Books. I put them all out there, although I admit I didn’t really know what I was doing, and I thought the quality of the AI narrations were fair. (I recently had the opportunity to review an AI narrated audiobook, Magnolia Bay Mystery: The Tainted Taffy, by Fiona Grace, (see my review here), and I would not have been able to tell the narrator was not human, had I not known.) But to be honest, that is as far as it went. I haven’t, to date, sold one copy. I don’t think I’ll be using AI narration any more in the future, as it just isn’t worth the effort.

If you are interested, you can check them out at the Google Play Books links below.

The Rock Star & The Outlaw: The Rock Star & The Outlaw: Time-Travel Adventure by Kaye Lynne Booth – Audiobooks on Google Play

Delilah: Delilah by Kaye Lynne Booth – Audiobooks on Google Play

Hidden Secrets: Hidden Secrets: Paranormal Mystery by Kaye Lynne Booth – Audiobooks on Google Play

(On a more exciting note, at least for me, I now may actually have a human narrator for both books in my Time Travel Adventure Series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw and Double Visions, and that tickles me purple. If all works out, those may be available as early nas 2028.)

Book Marketing

LinkedIn recently came out with a “New Guide: How to Dominate the AI Search on LinkedIn“, which may be aimed at B2B marketers, but the concept of writing to the AI Search might be useful in book marketing, as well, because AI Search is the new way readers are finding books.

The fact is, AI is changing the way our books are being discovered. The technology marches on, whether we jump into the procession or not. As things shift from browser to AI search, SEO is no longer the golden key which unlocks the door for readers to find our books. We may be writing books for our ideal readers, but it looks like we should be writing our book descriptions for AI recommendations, according to this article, “Make Your Books More AI Visible #Marketing”, by author and blogger Deborah Jay: https://deborahjayauthor.com/2026/08/17/make-your-books-more-ai-visible-marketing/

One Last Thought

One doesn’t have to be an author to worry about AI. If you want to ponder something that should scare the bejeesus out of you, check out Kim Kamando’s article, “Will AI be the End of the Human Race?“. This is some scary stuff, if you think about it.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders. Her novels include Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Books 1 & 2 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, and Double Visions.

Kaye holds a dual M.F.A. degree in Creative Writing with emphasis in genre fiction and screenwriting, and an M.A. in publishing. Kaye Lynne is the founder of WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services and WordCrafter Press, where she edits and publishes two short fiction anthologies and one poetry anthology every year amidst her many writing projects. She also maintains an authors’ blog and website, Writing to be Read, where she publishes content of interest in the literary world.

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Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by Undawnted.

Step Into the Undawnted Universe

Some authors write in one lane. DL Mullan builds worlds — and then dares you to walk into every single one of them.

Welcome to Undawnted, where imagination is fearless. Whether you’re craving a slow-burn paranormal romance, a bone-chilling horror story, a mind-bending sci-fi thriller, or songs/lyrical poetry that lingers long after the last line- there’s a feeling here waiting to pull you in.

Fall for the forbidden. In Nocturnal Redemption trilogy, mythology professor Ryan Blackburn has spent her life studying the legend of humanity’s protectors — never expecting to meet a pack of werewolves and a vampire on his nightly rounds. Her family’s myths weren’t myths at all. As she’s drawn into the vampire’s hidden world, one thing becomes clear: no one is as they appear.

Fear what’s waiting in the woods. Kurst asks a simple, terrifying question: what could go wrong when you inherit a cabin in the woods? The answer involves a sasquatch, skinwalker, and medicine man — and readers have called it a masterclass in horror with “a good dark secret” at its heart. It’s part of the acclaimed Midnight Garden anthology, a dark fiction collection praised for delivering “the printed version of jump scares.”

Chase the multigenerational curse. Fans of atmospheric enigmas will want to dive into the Salt Pines Mystery series, where a family curse spans generations and secrets refuse to stay buried.

Go beyond the ordinary. In the sci-fi novelette The Reality Hackers, reality itself isn’t as constant as you think. And for readers who want an ongoing saga, DL Mullan’s multi-book Legacy Universe — a supernatural superhero series — is currently in the works, promising an expanding mythology for readers who like to get lost in a world for the long haul.

Need something lighter? The Town Santa Forgot brings warmth and holiday charm for readers who want romance with a side of magic, while DL Mullan’s poetry collections — including The Descent, Impetus, Effloresce, and Phantastic — offer a darker, Poe-and-Dickinson-inspired verse for poetry lovers who like their beauty a little haunted.

Why readers keep coming back: DL Mullan isn’t just a writer — she’s a classically trained musician, award-winning digital artist, and lifelong storyteller who designs her own book covers and builds entire creative universes around each release. That range shows: every story carries the fingerprints of someone who thinks in full sensory perception, not just plots.

Your next favorite book is waiting. Whether you want to be swept into romance, spooked by horror, hooked by mystery, or moved by poetry, Undawnted has a story with your name on it. New releases, exclusive updates, and giveaways are just a subscription away.

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Undawnted: Read. Feel. Discover.

Writer’s Corner: Preserving The Craft of Writing

Posted: September 7, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: AI Technology, Editing, Writer's Corner, Writing, writing craft | Tags: AI Technology, Editing, Kaye Lynne Booth, Writer's Corner, Writing to be Read | 6 Comments

Advice for writing success I seem to be hearing a lot, is to “Put out more books”. I first heard this advice several years ago, from bestselling author, Kevin J. Anderson, and while it is good advice, he wasn’t talking about cranking out a gajillion sub-par books with AI in order to get rich quick. He was talking about becoming prolific and crafting some quality works of literature, because we are writers, and that’s what writers do.

We craft our words, often deliberating over each and every one to make sure they serve a purpose in our stories. We labor over the right words to say what needs to be said, to mold and shape our stories into the works that were meant to be. For real writers, the joy of finding just the right words to make our stories come alive is a glorious feeling that we wouldn’t trade for any amount of money.

Real writers labor over their words, then send them off to others to ensure they are grammatically correct, they haven’t missed any plot holes, and the logic of the story isn’t flawed. Because real writers know the value of a good editor. We know that a second set of eyes, even if it is just a beta reader, or a good proofreader, can pick out things that our own eyes have missed because the writer may be too close to the story. No one on this planet knows the story better than the writer does.

Those other folks who have popped up recently, using AI to crank out stories and fill their catalogs, may have a lot of books, but they aren’t writers. They are wanna-be-writers, who don’t have the skill and talent to write on their own. They don’t care about the quality of the work. All they care about is making oodles of money.

Could I use AI to write a story faster. Maybe… but I won’t, because I am a real writer and a real editor, who helps others to perfect their own stories. Through WordCrafter Press, I publish between eight and ten books per year. They aren’t all mine, of course. To do that, I’d have to implement AI tools. No, one or two each year are my own, and I also publish two-four anthologies annually, and the rest are the works of others. Anthology contributors take a part in the process and offer more eyes on the works, in case I miss something. I also offer editing services, through Write it Right Editing, where authors can seek editing help or advice, without mortgaging their house, to assure they put out a quality piece of writing.

I maintain that writing books with AI isn’t really writing and is an insult to the craft. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by Write it Right Quality Editing Services, and WordCrafter Press.

Caricature of woman staring off in thought at a table holding a quill pen. Papers and ink bottle on the table.

Quality Editing at Affordable Rates

Let Write it Right make your manuscript shine.

Editing Services | Writing to be Read

Writer’s Corner: Publishing Wide

Posted: August 3, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Indie Publishing, Publishing, Self-Publishing, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: Direct Selling, Intellectual Property, Kaye Lynne Booth, Publishing, Publishing Wide, Writer's Corner, Writing to be Read | 10 Comments

Many of you know that I publish wide. I’ve published Writer’s Corner posts on this topic in the past such as, “Why Put All Your Eggs in One Basket?” or “6 Reasons I Chose to go Wide with my Books“. All of the reasons mentioned in those posts still hold today, but the one that stands out the most for me today is maintaining control of my intellectual property (IP). Something many authors may not realize, is that each story they write has value as IP. Maintaining control of your IP means that you can restructure and reuse your IP as you see fit. Authors who sign away their IP to traditional publishers no longer have the right to reuse that IP.

So, if I sign a book with a traditional publisher, I sign away all rights to that book. The publisher decides when and how the book will be released. They have the right to change the title, choose the cover, and they may even have the right to tell you to change the wording or the whole direction that the story takes. But, if I publish independently, or at least be aware of the wording on any contract I do sign, I can retain control of my copyright. (With short fiction anthologies, usually your copyright is signed over for short time, 3-6 months, and then it reverts back to you, but you must make sure this is in the wording.) That enables me to turn around and use that same book in a box set collection, or that story in a short story collection of my own, giving it even more value. This is important because IP is an intangible that can be passed on to your family after you die. It is a part of your estate. It is best described in a book by Dean Wesley Smith, called The Magic Bakery, which I talk about in my “Review in Practice“.

I know lots of authors who just want to write. They don’t want to worry about promotion or selling. They can’t be bothered with worrying about their IP. They’d rather just publish on Amazon, enroll their books in KDP, and move on to the next story. But like it or not, when you are an author, you are a business. And if that’s the way these authors want to do business, that’s okay. They can do that.

But think about this. Amazon has been known to suspend author accounts for various reasons. If they claim you have breached their policies in some way, they can do this, and it’s up to you to prove to them that there has been no breach. This is no easy feat and could take an indefinite amount of time. Meanwhile, if you are exclusive on Amazon, your whole writing income has just been placed on hold. On the other hand, as a wide author, they can suspend me, and my book income from other channels still continues uninterrupted. Now, I admit that Amazon brings in the largest part of my sales income, so if that happened, it would still hurt, but it wouldn’t devastate me like it might an author who publishes exclusive through Amazon.

But publishing wide doesn’t just mean getting your books out with as many retailers as possible. Publishing wide means getting your books on subscription channels and library lists, as well. Selling direct is also a valuable piece to selling wide because an author keeps more of their royalties by cutting out the middleman. This is something I’m just dipping my toes in the water with, through my digital doubles deals I’ve run for my series books this summer. This month’s Sizzling Hot Summer Digital Doubles Deal offers my short fiction, with both Hidden Secrets and Last Call and Other Short Fiction for $5.

But don’t believe me. I’m still finding my way in the publishing landscape. Listen to the BookFunnel Podcast where Mark Leslie Lefebvre talks about the publishing aggressively wide, below.

Mark Leslie Lefebvre on the BookFunnel Podcast

Self-Publishing Aggressively Wide | Mark Leslie Lefebvre | The BookFunnel Podcast

BookFunnel Offers Valuable Author Tools

I use BookFunnel to supply free copies of all my books for giveaways and reviews. My subscription is the lowest one, and I don’t even get to collect an email list from those who use the service to get copies of my books. Now, I could pay more and be allowed email collection, and also get access to other tools they offer that can be used to sell direct from my website, but I hope to be able to do so someday soon. I use BookFunnel to provide a valuable writer’s tool, which enables me to deliver to my readers. It makes delivering an ebook easy and convenient, with several methods of delivery, including reading in the BookFunnel app for those would be readers who don’t have a reader to read their ebooks.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy, and WordCrafter Press.

Digital and Print copies of The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy

Chronicles of the journey into the medical field as a young nurse and beyond, told with raw sensitivity and compassion. The Ones Who Stayed with Me offers small glimpses into the world of an L.P.N. put in difficult, often touching or humorous, situations—and Nurse Sammy’s courage, vulnerability, and insight are a gift to us all. In these pages, Nurse Sammy tells her story and that of those she met along the way.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/OnesWhoStayed

Writer’s Corner: AI is Changing the Way Readers Find Our Work

Posted: July 6, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: AI Technology, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: AI Technology, Attracting Readers, Building a Reader Platform, Kaye Lynne Booth, WordCamp US 2026, Writer's Corner, Writing to be Read | 5 Comments

WordCamp US 2026

Attending WordCamp US 2026 is a great way to connect with the people who are shaping the future of the web and find out directly where AI powered experiences are changing WordPress for writers, from content creation and site building to performance, personalization, and developer workflows. WordCamp US 2026 is relevant to developers, designers, agency owners, bloggers, store builders, and anyone building on WordPress. The new Sunday–Wednesday schedule means the weekend before is free to explore the Phoenix area and the Pheonix Convention Center is fully air conditioned for cool comfort to enjoy WordCamp US 2026.

Now granted, I’m a writer, not a tech person, as you may know. In fact, in many ways, the use of AI and today’s rising tech scares the heck out of me. (See my articles, “The AI Dilemma” & “To Use AI or Not To Use AI”.) Most of that stuff goes right over my head and I don’t have a clue.

Why Attend WordCamp US 2026?

That’s why I think attending WorldCamp US 2026 could be an important step in understanding how AI is impacting my writing business and how it may impact it in the foreseeable future. Technology is changing at phenomenal rates and if we aren’t careful, I believe things could get out of hand quickly. I’ve worked long and hard to build my writing business, and a lot of it is centered around WordPress. In fact, you may have heard me claim that my blog is my best marketing tool, and it is. I sure don’t want to see what it has taken me almost two decades to build fade into the infrastructure because AI has decided that my content is irrelevant.

According to Automated Affiliates, in their article, “Affiliate Content SEO in 2026: Why rankings are dropping and how to recover” in May of 2026, 71% of WordPress sites are seeing a decline in traffic because AI ranks sites different than they were previously. So basically, what used to work to draw traffic doesn’t work anymore. Thankfully, they are specifying affiliate content, so in my case, it may not be too terrible, but how can I be sure? WordCamp US 2026 may hold the answers. And if you have questions like mine, or you are more of a techy than I am and just want the abundance of information that will be available at WordCamp US 2026, let me tell you about my affiliate offer.

The $100 general admission ticket covers four full days of sessions, workshops, and meals. Sponsors include: WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Jetpack, and Pressable, so attendees can meet the teams behind the products they already use and ask any questions they may have. Even better, as members of my audience, you can get $20 off a general admission ticket by using the code AF26 at us.wordcamp.org/2026/tickets/, so your admission will only cost you $80.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy, and WordCrafter Press.

When a Girl with a Guitar Meets a Man with a Gun, It’s Time to Travel

Only in July and only on the Time Travel Adventure page, get books 1 & 2 of the Time Travel Adventure Series for only $10.

Writer’s Corner: The AI Dilemma

Posted: June 8, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: AI Technology, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: AI Technology, Kaye Lynne Booth, Writer's Corner, Writing to be Read | 10 Comments

As I sit down to write this, I have a feeling that it may turn into a rant. This AI thing really disturbs me, and it’s getting worse instead of better. If you’ve followed me in the past, you may know that I’ve been known to use AI editing tools such as ProWritingAide in the writing of my books, and also that I’ve utilized generative AI, such as the free versions of Chat GPT to help me form my words in some of my descriptions, as this is an area I am weak in. (Before the anti-AI group begins to raise a fuss, please note that I have never used the AI’s wording, but rather used it to get ideas on how I wanted to use my own words. So, AI does not, and has never, written any part of my books and stories for me.)

More recently, however, I’ve been rethinking this, and I’ll tell you why.

I Don’t Like Having AI Shoved Down My Throat

AI seems to be encroaching on my life in ways which are not wanted and have not been requested, and I’m guessing some of you may feel it, too. AI tools, which we’re told are meant to make our lives easier, such as Alexa, or Google Assistant, or Seri, or whatever, seem to be trying to help without being summoned to do so on occasion. When I’m having a discussion and my Google Assistant pops in with unrequested information uninvited…, to me, that’s kind of scary. We’re told these devices and apps, which we bring into our homes, or download onto our phones and carry with us everywhere, are not listening to us; that we must say the catch-word, (Alexa or Hey Google, etc…), to activate them, yet they pop into a conversation without being summoned, offering unrequested and unwanted information. Seems to me, the AI must be eavesdropping, and how scary is that, to think they are even capable of doing such a thing?

Advances in AI technology are being thrown at us hard and fast. My email now comes equipped with AI, which offers up a summary of each email I open, (I guess to save me the trouble of actually reading the correspondence?), and then, pops up in the middle of my replies, offering to rewrite it for me! As if I cannot be bothered to write my own reply. And most of the time, what it offers up is not even close to what I wish to say. When it pops up on my phone, I am often unable to continue with what I was writing until I can convince it to disappear from my screen, as if it intends to prevent me from replying myself. Not only is this a little scary, but it’s a lot aggravating.

I did not ask for these ‘upgrades’ to my email. They just suddenly appeared after the automatic updates. I opened my email and there they were, in my yahoo account. No one ask permission to shove AI tools in my face; no one asked if I desired them. But there they are, in the applications that I use. Microsoft did the same thing with Word, although theirs is not as pushy, appearing as a little comment icon over to the side of the screen that I can click on if I need it. (I don’t.)

My MS Word program and the WordPress platform both offer AI editors, but they leave it up to you whether to use them. You must click on them to bring them up. They don’t just pop up and try to take over. It’s a matter of choice with these programs, and I don’t have a problem with that.

Since the beginning of the year, I have backed off my use of AI, and only using the built in editor on MS Word to locate possible needed corrections, but fixing them myself, because I often don’t like the solutions offered. It is frequently wrong, suggesting words which aren’t at all what you wanted to say and totally miss the point. The same with AI editors, such as ProWritingAid. It seems you can’t just take AI’s word for it anyway. You still have to use your noggin.

In the Name of Progress

On her Risky/Women Substack, “AI Won’t Kill Your Career. Your Resistance to It Will.“, Rachel Rogers says, “Refusing to use AI in 2026 is the equivalent of refusing to use the internet in 2000.” She claims that if we don’t embrace AI in the early stages, we will be left behind and our businesses will suffer.

Well, guess what? That’s exactly what I did. In 2000, I refused to have a computer in my home or grant my children permission to use the internet at school, and it did give me a slow start. I was still writing on a manual typewriter and submitting work via snail mail in 1996. By 2000, I had decided snail mail submissions were too costly for me, and my writing had tapered off to near nothing.

I became disillusioned with the public school system when I finally gave in and signed the slip allowing my children internet access at school and almost immediately got a call saying my son had accessed an inappropriate site. As it turned out, their firewalls had failed, and my son had viewed a site with the image of a woman in a bikini. Although it wasn’t the end of the world, it was exactly the kind of thing which I had feared, and my children had only had access for two days. After that, I put my boys in a charter school, but once they reached the age for middle school, I chose to home school them through an online home school program.

The home-schooling program provided computers for each of my boys, but that meant I had to give in and allow computers in my home, and I had to allow my sons to have internet access. Once that happened, I had no choice but to learn to use them myself, and I soon discovered the many opportunities which the internet offered for writers. I mean, you could submit online and it didn’t even cost the price of a stamp. It changed my whole outlook on the matter and soon, I was carrying my own laptop with me everywhere. When required to do readings at a memoir workshop in 2011, everyone else came with folders of papers to read from. As I set up for reading, my comment was, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but my life is in my laptop.” That was no joke, at that point, it really was. My computer had become an integral part of my life.

So, did my resistance to technology and the internet set me back, putting my writing business behind the times and leaving me at a disadvantage? Perhaps.

I certainly missed the dot-com craze. But one could argue that I was still in the learning phases and did not yet know how to put it all together at the time. This was prior to my enrollment in the graduate program in creative writing at Western State Colorado University, where I learned how to write a novel length work; before I learned how to publish and market my work in their masters in publishing program; before all the pieces were in place for me to turn my writing endeavors into a business.

It was also before aggregators like D2D came along which allow authors to publish digitally and on demand with no up-front costs. Before platforms like BookFunnel were available to allow me to create reader magnets, review copies, and giveaway gifts from my books. So, one might argue that it was actually perfect timing, because by the time I had figured out what it was I wanted to do, all the tools I needed to do it were available at my fingertips.

To Use AI or Not to Use AI? That is the Question.

AI can certainly do some amazing things. But there still exists great controversy about the way in which generative AI is trained, taking human authors’ words without their permission. Although that’s an argument for another day, it matters here because it was a big part of the reason I stopped using ProWritingAide in my editing process. That, and the fact that more than half the time, the AI was incorrect for the purposes of my stories, even if the English was correct.

I have always been anti-establishment. I don’t want the government, or anyone else, up in my business. I place a high value on my privacy, and I feel like AI devices are an invasion of privacy. I think maybe we need to send out a message to all these technology companies that are trying to push their AI technology down our throats and disable all their AI tools from our personal and business accounts. That’s big talk, but I don’t have a clue as to how to go about it. I didn’t ask for the AI and I don’t know how to get rid of it. I’ve tried ignoring them, but they don’t go away. And I haven’t found any way to turn them off or reject them.

But these are different tools we’re talking about than the AI tools, like Chat GPT and ProWritingAid, which I’ve used in my writing in the past. These tools are appearing in my email apps without having been requested or desired. The writing tools which I have used were tools which I sought out and was happy to find free versions. While I still feel AI editors miss the mark more often than not, they can be helpful, and I don’t feel that, using these tools in the manner that I do, is letting them write for me, or damaging the integrity of my work. In other words, my work is still mine.

I like the responsible approach presented by Alex Cattoni, in this video, “Your Biggest Advantage Over AI Starts Here”, on YouTube:

Let’s look at what we know about using AI.

We know that AI tools can be helpful in the writing process.
We know that it is possible to use AI in writing without replacing the human words with AI written content.
We know that it is possible to use AI tools and still put out content we can be proud of.
We know that AI is coming, whether we like it or not.
We know that to choose not to use AI may mean being left behind.

Choices Moving Forward

I may not know how to get rid of the AI tools that are being pushed through apps, but I can choose not to use the AI tools that pop up in my email, etc… I will not be rebellious of my writing tools, just because programmers insult my intelligence with the idea that I cannot read, interpret, or write my own emails. They may push them in my face, but that does not mean I have to use them.

I can chose which AI tools to use and how I use them, so that my writing can still remain mine. I don’t want to get left behind again, not when my writing business is finally beginning to take off. So, I am choosing to continue to utilize the AI editor in the MS Word program, but not access Copilot, which recently appeared in the same program, or ProWritingAid, since they try to rewrite my words and are often not correct.

I will also choose to use generative AI in creating my descriptions cautiously, and be very selective about any wording suggested, to keep my words, my own.

I will choose to be transparent in my writing, letting readers know when AI was used in my writing or in my covers.

What about you?

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy, and WordCrafter Press.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/OnesWhoStayed

Writer’s Corner: Why Put All Your Eggs on One Basket?

Posted: May 4, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: book marketing, Book Review, Books, Drat2Digital, Indie Publishing, Publishing, Review, Writing | Tags: Kaye Lynne Booth, Publishing Wide, Reviews, Writer's Corner, Writing to be Read | 9 Comments

Recently, I’ve been hearing complaints about Amazon pulling down revues when they suspect the reviewer and author know one another, by checking if they are on each other’s friends lists on social media. While it’s true that this is not a fair practice. I’ve been known to purchase the book of someone who happens to be on my friends list, because the name is familiar. I’ve also been known to request a review copy if I see a promo post on social media for a book that catches my interest. Neither of those scenarios means that I actually know the author personally, although I may know of them on social media.

Anyone that has followed me for very long knows I’m not a big fan of the business practices of Amazon. And this is just one of the reasons why. In Amazon land, Amazon makes all the rules. For authors, they encourage exclusivity and then they monitor your activity and they determine what is acceptable and what is not. Their rules don’t always make sense, and they often are unfair, but what is an author to do? Amazon is the number one book distributor, to be sure, and they bring in the most sales.

I’ll tell you what I do. I rebel. Amazon can urge you to go exclusive and put your books in Kindle Unlimited, but they cannot force you to do so. I publish wide, through an aggregator, Draft2Digital, and through them, my books are distributed to not only Amazon, but also Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Rakuten Kobo, and Smashwords, and they are available in libraries and brick and mortar bookstores, which doesn’t mean they will be there automatically, but it gives me a foot in the door. (For more on why I publish wide, see my post “5 Reasons Why I Chose to go Wide With my Books”.)

Still, Amazon slaps my hands for not publishing direct through them by making my books wait until the day of release to accept them for publication, so they aren’t available on Amazon for preorder as advertised. But they are still available for preorder on other distribution platforms, so I’m not sure who they are hurting with that one.

The reason I publish this way? I just don’t like putting all my eggs in one basket. Think about it. If you enroll your books in Kindle Unlimited, and agree to keep them exclusively on Amazon, you are limiting the readers who can find your books to only those enrolled in KU, whereas my readers might be found on any of the above-mentioned platforms, as well as being listed in library catalogs. Not only that, but when Amazon decides you’ve violated one of their all-cherished rules and freeze your account, and it happens. If they are your only distribution platform, your income just came to a screeching halt. It doesn’t matter whether the violation is real or imagined on Amazon’s part, your income will remain on hold until you can prove they are in error, which is not an easy feat, or until you’ve done your penance in Amazon’s mind. I don’t know about you, but I know I don’t want to give anyone that much control over my publishing business.

I know for many exclusive authors, KU is a big part of their incomes. But there are other subscription services, like Kobo Plus, which don’t require exclusivity. I don’t know how they compare because I’ve never had my books in KU. Kobo Plus likely does not have as big a reach as Amazon KU, but of course it also serves a different part of the globe. So, by publishing wide and enrolling in Kobo Plus instead of KU, you can extend your global reach, increasing the number of potential readers who see your book, all over the world.

No matter which platforms you chose to publish on, you must be prepared to promote like crazy. There is no difference in the platforms in that regard. By publishing wide you also increase the areas your promotions need to reach, but thanks to social media, authors can now do that fairly easily. When I was interviewed on the Stark Reflections podcast, Mark Leslie Lefebvre asked me what my best marketing tool was. I replied, hands down, this blog, Writing to be Read. He seemed surprised by my response. But, I post here, then use social media channels to promote the post. I promote on X, Pintrest, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Occasionally, I share a promotion on Instagram, but I don’t generally use that platform. It’s a soft sell, promoting the blog, rather than the product. Once I get them to the blog, the post promotes the product.

Every book I release gets a blog tour with WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, and I use this blog to promote those posts and spread the word with social media, as well. My own books also get a Kickstarter campaign, which I promote mostly through social media. Kickstarter has their own platform for updates for folks who are already following the campaign, so I just need to spread the word on social to draw in new backers.

So, what do we do to solve the problem of our perfectly legitimate reviews being taken down? Well, you can go wide with those, too. If you send out review requests, ask reviewers to post their reviews on other platforms, in addition to Amazon. You might also consider purchasing paid reviews, like Kirkus Reviews, which can be placed in the area for Editorial Reviews on your Amazon page, but I’m not a big fan of these either. On the one hand, you are guaranteed a good review. Even if they claim they are honest reviews, you must wonder, because no one wants to pay for a bad review.

And when posting your own reviews, don’t limit yourself only to the distribution platforms. When I post my reviews, I post them first on my blog, where no one can pull them down. Then, on Goodreads and BookBub, in addition to Amazon. If I have the time, I may also post on the Barnes & Noble site. Those aren’t the only ones out there. These are just the ones which I know and use.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Amazon dilemma. Where do you post your reviews? How do you handle Amazons reviewing requirements? And while we’re at it, what is your best marketing tool? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by The Ones Who Stayed With Me, by Nurse Sammy, and WordCrafter Press.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/OnesWhoStayed

Writer’s Corner: Person & Tense

Posted: April 6, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Fiction, Point of View, Tense, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: Kaye Lynne Booth, Point of View, Tense, Writer's Corner, Writing, Writing to be Read | 14 Comments

I recently wrote a short story for the upcoming Legends anthology. I wrote it in third person, present tense to give the tale a sense of immediacy. My beta reader sent back comments, saying that, while the story was a good one, the present tense put her off, as she does not care for stories in present tense. Who would have known?

I had a similar reaction when I first read The Hunger Games, which was written in first person, present tense. It really was a bit off-putting, particularly in the dialog tags when reading aloud. But as I got into the story, I became more accustomed to the style and by the end of the book, I hardly noticed it anymore. First person, present tense is difficult to write, because it must be done well, or it doesn’t work. I’m not that brave.

But, I have been playing around with third person, present tense, which I find a little easier to pull off. I like using present tense because it makes the story feel more immediate, pulling the reader into the story and helping to build suspense. I’ve been using third person, present tense in writing Marta, the third book in my Women in the West Adventure Series, although the first two books were written in third person, past tense. I felt using the present tense in Marta helped to build tension and move the story along.

After the comments from my beta reader, I am wondering if I should rethink that. Readers are put off by different things, and I realize I can’t please all of the people all of the time. But, if this is off-putting to one reader, how many others may feel similarly? If I do change it, that means going back and rewriting the three quarters of the story that is already written, roughly 55,500 words, but if it will turn away readers, perhaps it is worth the effort to go the other way.

So, I’m asking you. Please tell me how you feel about the passage below. Is first person, past tense off-putting to you? Would it be better in third person, past tense?

It’s a passage from chapter one of Marta, just a few paragraphs:

“Excuse me. Is this seat taken?” a man’s voice draws her attention away once more. She turns to see a man, fancily dressed, standing in the aisle and addressing her, indicating the seat next to hers. She had met the infamous Doc Holliday once during his stay in Leadville. This man is like him. She’d seen plenty of his type in Leadville. They dress like a dandy, and come to gamble, but they aren’t particular about how they come by their money and aren’t above working on the other side of the law, and they all carry guns on their hips.

The man is staring at her, expectantly, waiting for a response to his question. He had been polite enough to ask, and the seat wasn’t taken. How could she say no? “No sir, it is not,” she admits. She doesn’t own the train seat and can’t stop him from sitting there, but she doesn’t have to trust him. A woman traveling alone can’t be too careful.

She reaches down by her feet to be sure her carpet bag is still there. Not only does it contain all her money, but also the thirty-two caliber pistol which she purchased in Leadville. Before sitting up straight in her seat once more, she brushes her fingers over the top of her boot to check that her knife is still there, as well. That knife had saved her life with Franz, the dirty traitor, and it gives her comfort to know it was within reach.

He gives her a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes as he slides into the seat. “Why, thank you, Ma’am,” he says. “William Barnesby is the name, but my friends call me Bill.”

She plasters her best smile across her face and says, “I’m Marta Olmstead, and this young woman is Rose… uh… Dunbar, is it?” she says, looking toward the young woman.

“Yes, Ma’am,” she says, nodding her head and quickly averting her eyes from the gentleman, toward the window. Obviously, the man’s presence made Mrs. Dunbar uncomfortable, as well. But what could she do? The seat didn’t belong to her, and Mr. Barnesby had purchased a ticket just like everyone else on the train.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” with Kaye Lynne Booth sponsored by WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services.

Whether it’s editing, publishing, or promotion that you need, WordCrafter Quality Writing & Author Services can help at a price you can afford.

Stop by and see what we have to offer today: https://writingtoberead.com/readings-for-writers/wordcrafter-quality-writing-author-services/

Writer’s Corner: Author of the Future – Selling Books

Posted: March 2, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Promotion, Book Release, Book Sales, Books, Crowd Funding, Direct Sales, Kickstarter | Tags: Crowd Funding, Direct Sales, Kaye Lynne Booth, Kickstarter, The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2 Double Visions, Writer's Corner, Writing to be Read | 2 Comments

I’ve run a few Kickstarter campaigns in the past, and I’m running one this month for my Time Travel Adventure Series and the release of the second book, The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions. It began yesterday, March 1, and will run through March 28th, 2026. (Little secret: March 3rd is my birthday, but your gift of support lasts forever.) If you’d like to check it out, and maybe even support this author with a pledge, you can check it out here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kayelynnebooth-wcp/the-rock-star-and-the-outlaw-2-double-visions

I started down this road back in 2023, when I successfully funded two campaigns, including one for the first book in this series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw. I chose to sell my books through Kickstarter because the buzz is, that Direct Sales and Kickstarters are the successful author’s future. Since the WordCrafter website isn’t set up for direct sales as yet, Kickstarter looked to be the best option.

We’ve Come a Long Way Baby

When I first started writing books, the publishing world was entering a transition phase. Traditional publishers had run the show for a very long time, and if you were an author, you peddled your book to literary agents. Once you found one of those, they would peddle your book to publishers and hopefully, found it a home with one of the Big Five. Or, you could peddle your book to smaller, independent publishers and try to find a home for your book yourself. Either way, very few authors found a way in, and even fewer made the best seller lists. If you were fortunate enough to be picked up by a traditional publisher, you might get a substantial advance when you signed your contract, which the book would have to earn out in sales before you could receive any further royalties. If the book didn’t earn out, you never saw another dime. But this was the way the publishing industry worked. You didn’t get in without making it past the gatekeepers; the agents and publishers who held all the power.

At that time, independent publishing carried a nasty taste with it. The world of independent publishing was filled with vanity presses that would publish your book for a cost, and they thoroughly took advantage of authors who tried to buck the system and bypass the gatekeepers. As publish on demand (POD publishing) gained popularity, it offered authors the opportunity to publish their work for much cheaper, but it also opened the door for anyone who wanted to, to claim authorship. Not everyone cared about quality, and authors who chose this cheaper route were likely to have skipped costly steps like editing, too. This flooded the market and gave independent authors a bad name, but traditional publishers still viewed them not as a threat, but a nuisance.

Traditional publishers stuck to their guns, and continued to do things the same way they always had, because that was the way it had always been. But as they began to falter, their advance payments grew smaller and smaller, and today, even if you get a traditional deal with one of the Big Three, you may not receive an advance at all. Indie authors began to hit the best seller lists, offering some real competition and traditional publishers began to take indie publishing more seriously. Suddenly, there was a new route past the gatekeepers. If your book hit the best seller lists, a traditional publisher might come knocking with an offer, even if you weren’t looking for one.

And why should independent authors go trad? With only small advances being offered, if at all, and less and less of the marketing efforts being put forth by trad publishers, there really was little reason to go with traditional publishing unless you were just after the literary prestige. An indie author, who did the work to publish and market their own work got to keep more of their royalties than the 40% traditional publishers were offering.

With the rise of aggregators, such as Lulu, Smashwords, and Draft2Digital, independent publishing became even cheaper for authors, and traditional publishing continued to look less and less appealing, at least to me. So today, authors can do it all. Write the story, publish the book, and market it, all by themselves. That’s a lot. So, of course, they can also choose to outsource any of the work, depending on how much they want to spend. Because it’s all up to them. The author is the boss and the choices are all theirs.

Now we are faced with more choices about where to sell our books. We can publish exclusively, placing them on Amazon in Kindle Unlimited, but to me, that’s putting all your eggs in one basket. We can publish wide and place our books on retail sites around the globe. Or we can sell direct from our website, start a store on Shopify, or sell through crowd funding on Kickstarter.

Many authors use a combination, selling direct or crowd funding and placing their books on retail sites, as well. This is what I perceive to be the future of book marketing. Direct sales are how authors can make the most money from their books, but retail stores have the visibility to get their books discovered.

Why do I say these are the future of book marketing?

Come along as we explore the pros and cons, below.

Direct Sales

Direct sales are the best way to go if you are able to set up a store on your site. Having an onsite store would be a bigger expense from the hosting site, in order to give your site monetary capabilities, so it is more expensive initially. I’m still struggling to get enough sponsors and donations to cover the annual costs of the Writing to be Read site on the current level, so the upgrade must wait, although this would be my preference for selling my books.

Why?

One big reason is authors who sell through direct sales cut out the retailer middle men and get to keep more money from each sale. So, when you can buy a book directly from the author’s site, you are supporting that author more than the person who buys the same book through a retail site. Because they don’t have to pay 30-70% of their royalties out to retailers, the savings can be considerable.

Authors may have to do all the marketing for their books, but these days, that may be the case even with traditional publishing, so why not do the work and reap the reward?

The Kickstarter Platform

Kickstarter is a crowd funding platform that can be a great way to finance all your creative projects, if done right. They keep a small percentage of each project that is successfully funded. So, while you are giving them a small cut of the royalties, they handle the collection and distribution of monies, and provide promotional materials in return. Plus, it gives.you access to the crowd funding community, which is big on creative projects and accustomed to supporting them. And if it doesn’t fund, it doesn’t cost you anything.

I like running Kickstarter campaigns upon launch because I can offer books at less than the prices set on retail sites, and exclusive offers, such as signed print copies or special edition books, which aren’t available anywhere else, so my readers benefit, too. I can also offer package deals, combining two or more books.

For those same reasons, it pays to support your favorite authors on the Kickstarter platform because you can get some really awesome deals on some really great books. I not only sell on Kickstarter, but I’m also a supporter of the projects of others. You can show your support, usually for as little as $5. It’s a great way to get books and other exclusive merchandise, and of course, I wrote reviews for all the books I bought to further show support for the author.

International bestselling author, Kevin J. Anderson, runs at least two Kickstarter campaigns per year, with some astounding results. Likewise, Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Katherine Rusch run several each year. As does author Russell Nohelty. But you don’t have to be a big name to run a successful Kickstarter campaign. I’m the proof of that. To date, I have run three successful campaigns and only one that failed to fund.

The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions Campaign

If you’d like to support this author and help to fund my current campaign for The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions, drop in via the link below. We have great deals on Books 1 & 2 of the Time Travel Adventure Series, including signed print copies, plus posters and goodies bags available only through the Kickstarter campaign. All support is greatly appreciated.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kayelynnebooth-wcp/the-rock-star-and-the-outlaw-2-double-visions

About The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions

In 1887, LeRoy is stuck, bringing trouble down on those around him. Sissy is kidnapped and he’s the only one who can save her.

She wakes up in 2030, in a future very different to the one she knows, one in which she may not have been born. Amaryllis will stop at nothing to find LeRoy fix what she messed up in the past.

She and a version of Monique which is different from the one she grew up with travel back to 1887 to try and make things right.

Add two time travel regulators from the future who are after the time module, and things begin to get wild.

When the time loops are crossed, things change, but not the way Amaryllis intended and pretty soon, everybody is seeing doubles.

Book Cover: The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Double Visions by Kaye Lynne Booth

If you’d like to know more about the second book in the Time Travel Adventure Series, we’ll be running a book blog tour March 23-27, 2026, right here on Writing to be Read. Join us for readings and guest posts about the inspiration and creation of this series, and a great giveaway of digital and signed print copies.

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and Book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.

Writer’s Corner: Who Are You Writing For?

Posted: February 2, 2026 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Book Promotion, Writer's Corner, Writing | Tags: BookMarketing, Kaye Lynne Booth, Writer's Corner, Writing, Writing to be Read | 2 Comments

Who are you writing for?

This was the first question posed to me in graduate school. And it baffled me. What did my instructor mean? I write because I have something to say, because there are words inside of me that need to come out. At the time, if there was any one person I wrote for it was my deceased son, Michael, who had been my biggest fan when he was alive.

But that wasn’t what he meant. He meant who was my target audience. I wasn’t writing for an audience of teenaged boys, who were on the verge of becoming men, which is the audience my son would fall into. At the time I had written a few short stories, and had not yet tried my hand at a longer, book length work, but nothing that members of such an audience would be drawn to.

He meant that I needed to know about the persons who would want to read my books, so I could write them in a way that would appeal to them and draw readers from that group to them. I needed to know what their reader expectations are, so I can be sure my story meets them. After all, it’s not a romance if there isn’t a HEA (Happily Ever After), or at least a HFN (Happy For Now), in the ending.

That’s a trope of romance, but it is one that every reader of romance will expect to find, and they will be disappointed if your story doesn’t deliver it. So, it’s important to know the tropes for your genre, as well. But the original question of who you are writing for is important for more reasons than that one, because you need this knowledge about your target reader audience not only to write to expectation, but to market your book properly. You need to know who your book is aimed at and then you need to know where to find them, so you can get book promotions in front of them.

Being a multi-genre author makes it all more difficult. Multi-genre authors need to know tropes for each genre they write in, and they need to know the audience for each genre, as well. I must be sure I’m not marketing my western historical women’s fiction of my Women in the West adventure series someplace where all the gamers hang out, because they won’t give a fig about those books. However, they might be interested in the dark fiction anthologies in the Midnight anthology series, so it might be smart to market those books there. Anthologies have several authors, who all write to a slightly different audience, so in that way, they may widen the scope of audience appeal. But the need to know who you are trying to appeal to is just as great, if not greater than it was when I was creating the books.

Children’s books are tricky, because you’re writing for the kids, but marketing to the parents. Although the books aren’t written for adults, if they don’t appeal to the parents, they aren’t going to sell. When you write for kids, you bury the message within the story framework, so it is delivered subtly, as they are entertained by the story. In my marketing, I point out that each book carries with it a moral lesson, even though the kids wouldn’t give a fig about that. If the wonderful illustrations by Robbie Cheadle draw the child’s attention, the ammunition is there to help convince the parents.

As you can see, who you are writing for is important to know for several reasons. So, what’s your answer?

Who are you writing for?

About Author Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.

Writer’s Corner: NaNoWriMo No Mo

Posted: December 1, 2025 | Author: kayelynnebooth | Filed under: Books, Historical Fiction, NaNoWriMo, Western, Women in History, Women's Fiction, Writing, Writing Challenge | Tags: Kaye Lynne Booth, Marta, NaNoWriMo, Women in the West, Writer's Corner, Writing Challenge, Writing to be Read | 4 Comments

I look forward each year to participating in the NaNoWriMo challenge in November. In fact, I depend on it to get a major portion of one novel completed and I schedule it into my production calendar. Even if I do not make the word count for the set goal at the end of the month, I’m still that much closer to a finished novel, so it is a win-win situation.

November 2022 produced The Rock Star & The Outlaw, book 1 in my Time Travel adventure series. In 2023, I used it to get a start on Sarah, book 2 in my Women in the West adventure series. 2024 brought a good start for the second book in my Time Travel series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw 2: Doubles Visions, which will be released early in 2026. This year’s NaNoWriMo was scheduled to create the third book in the Women in the West series, also scheduled for release in 2026.

So, you can imagine my surprise when a few days before Halloween, I’d done my research, I had my outline, and I went to sign up for the challenge and found that NaNoWriMo is no more. Apparently, the traditional challenge which has been around for over a decade and attracted writers from near and far, had an incident involving AI material last year, unbeknownst to me, which turned the whole event topsy-turvy. I still am not sure what the problem was, or why it was so serious as to shut down the whole event permanently. I was too busy panicking as I searched the web for my favorite month-long writing event, to read any more in depth than that.

What I did find was a new event called Novel November which looked to similar to NaNo, so I signed up. After I had begun setting up my dashboard, it became apparent that they were expecting me to upload my manuscript so they could keep track of my word count, instead of self-monitoring, like NaNo. So… ProWritingAid will have direct access to the words I write? That made me pause.

All of the articles I’ve read about the hullaballoo over AI snatching authors’ works illegally for training, etc…, I had to wonder how smart that would be. Then, add to that, the fact that something happened which involved AI writing, which shut down NaNo after last year’s challenge, and doing the challenge through this site seemed like a a really bad idea. So, that’s as far as I got with that.

I started thinking about the aspects of NaNo which I found valuable. It was always fun to earn their little badges, but that and the word count was all I really used. For me, NaNoWriMo was a motivator that offered achievable goals and helped me keep track of my progress. I never really used the community aspects of the challenge, although I did adopt a writing buddy one year and we held each other accountable, sort of. I realized that both of the aspects I used most during the challenge, the ones I depended on, were actually things I could do myself pretty easily.

So, this past November, I ran my own personal writing challenge. It was the same challenge NaNo set; 50,000 in 30 days. That’s a good start on any novel, and it’s enough to enable me to finish the book within the next few months. And there was nothing stopping me from setting my own goal and keeping track of my own word count.

So, that’s what I did. On November first, I began writing on Marta. I’m keeping track of my word count on a sheet of notebook paper. I am maybe not quite as disciplined as I have been in past years during NaNo, but I’m following the same principles. I sit down to write every single day, utilizing every spare minute that I can to write.

I’m a realist, however, and I learned long ago that you can’t always put life on hold, so my writing times are spread out with ten minutes here, thirty minutes there. Of course, I try to get in as many hour, or two hour, stretches as I can. So, on days when I have to go out and work in the real world, and can’t stay in my world of fiction, I may not get as many words in. I don’t always make my daily word count goal, and I might be lagging behind in the overall goal, even on the days when I do make it. But, again, any number of words I get down adds to my overall word count and moves my story forward.

I am writing this post on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving, and to date, I have 39, 298 words down. If I had made the word count every single day, the expected word count by the end of this day is 43, 342, so I still have a ways to go, but the story line is coming along nicely. Where the first two books in the Women in the West series had long periods when the protagonists must survive alone in the wilderness, with inner dialog to carry the story, Marta is surrounded by a full cast of characters on her journey with lots of external dialog. The characters are diverse and colorful, and they find themselves in some unusual situations.

I don’t know how many words I will have by the time this post is published, on December first, or how many words I will have left to type. I’m sure this story will not be completed at 50,000 words, since they haven’t yet reached their destination with over 40,000 words. Whether I reach my goal or not, Marta will be scheduled to be released in June of 2026.

**Update: It is December 1st and I did not reach my writing goal for November, but I do have 47,651 words toward the story of Marta. That’s not a bad start. As I’ve said before, any way you look at it, a 50,000 word challenge is a win-win for me. 🙂

About Kaye Lynne Booth

For Kaye Lynne Booth, writing is a passion. Kaye Lynne is an author with published short fiction and poetry, both online and in print, including her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction; and her paranormal mystery novella, Hidden Secrets; Books 1 & 2 of her Women in the West adventure series, Delilah and Sarah, and book 1 in her Time-Travel Adventure series, The Rock Star & The Outlaw, as well as her poetry collection, Small Wonders and The D.I.Y. Author writing resource.

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This segment of “Writer’s Corner” is sponsored by the Robbie’s Inspiration blog site, where you can find ideas on writing and baking with hostess, Robbie Cheadle.