Jeff Sneider is the super sleuth scoop detective of Hollywood. If you don’t read his Substack, you’re missing out.
Jeff broke a great publishing story last night — I’m jealous. (PS Deadline.com has lifted it right up for themselves without credit. Terrible.)
The guy — whose name Sneider kept anonymous right now — was ecstatic. Everyone was breaking out Champagne.
But then, the writer’s UK agent, UK book agent, Sandy Hodgman of Hodgman Literary, said that when they were doing a check to make sure no AI was used in the writing of the book, they turned up evidence of AI infiltrating the writer’s work.
Hodgman sent word to the UK agent, and the publisher. All deals were suddenly off, although Minotaur still said they’d hear the writer’s story.
The writer denies using AI at all. “I was on the verge of success, and then all of a sudden, there were rumors, but no one asked me anything. I don’t know why my agency did not have my back,” the writer told Sneider.
AI is a tricky deal these days. I’ve written about it being used in music and films, and projects being made by magic. But publishing is the new frontier. Will writers plagiarize parts of existing material through AI? Or will vetting turn up false positives in the research? Will books be sampled, like music? And does no one have any shame? Plus, is everyone so scared of winding up in a scandal that no defends their client?
Do read Jeff’s story. As for Deadline.com, they are famous for snatching stories and claiming exclusives. No amount of complaining seems to stop them.
Sneider, by the way, has wrapped this story with books scoop that you will find fascinating about a novelist who’s now in tears after her book was turned into a movie set for release in a few months.
