Again and again, it’s the same slow-motion train wreck. An author, almost always self-publishing, shares a post featuring their new book. The book’s cover uses generative AI art. The comments start. Vicious sometimes, sharp swipes. “Ew, is this AI?” “I never touch books with AI book covers.” Within an hour, admin or moderators usually have to shut it down.
Self-publishing is brutal.
Look, I want to walk with compassion here. In self-publishing, you have to learn business, tech, and social media skills. It’s usually a long game, with success building slowly as a series stacks up—a series you have to write, revise, edit, proofread, and format. Budgets consist of about 80% heart and resolve, 20% actual money (at best).
Yet self-published writers are critical to a healthy cultural ecosystem. Self-published books often do it first. They bring the freshest ideas, the weird stuff, the non-traditional projects, the voices that traditional publishing tends to exclude. As an author, editor, and reader, I sincerely want to see self-published authors succeed.
But AI book covers do turn me off.
It’s not (just) the environmental issues. And it’s not only the questionable ethics—yeah, it’s gutting to know the creators whose work fed these tools never got asked for consent, let alone compensated, but that’s also not fully why AI book covers are a “nope” for me.
Tough truth: The issue is that the writing is often subpar.
The most common protest I see from defenders is that an AI book cover “doesn’t mean the writing is bad!”
True. And, yeah, “don’t judge a book by its cover” is a solid idiom. But reading is a buffet. And there’s only so many times I’ll risk getting burned by the sketchy looking shrimp. Especially not when there’s such steak-level bomb-ass book cover competition available. (See below.) Good book covers aren’t just a visual hook. They’re a signifier of investment. A mechanism of earning reader trust.
Image: Some absolutely bomb-ass covers.
So why don’t AI book covers inspire trust?
Why are AI book covers so often an indicator of troubled writing? What’s the link between AI book covers and writers who aren’t necessarily bad writers, but are definitely publishing too early?
Because AI book covers often indicate an author isn’t participating in writing communities.
Building your fellow-writer network is crucial. Fail to do it, and you suffer two huge disadvantages. The first is emotional.
I love writing. But writing is lonely. It’s grueling. While swimming in an ocean of rejection, you have to keep offering your heart on a platter to critique partners and beta readers who tell you what’s not working. (Fun fact: There’s always something not working.)
And that’s just product production.
Self-publishing means also starting a small business to sell that product. (See: “Self-publishing is brutal.”) To survive this, to stay the course, you need your people. You need a village.
Succeeding at self-publishing demands more resilience than one person can cultivate on their own. The desire to hold a copy of your finished, published book is always burning a hole in your chest. To resist the criticism, the skepticism, the profound urge to skip steps, you need fellow creators who get it. Folks who can cheerlead as much as critique. People who can remind you why you write. Friends who can rally your energy to respect your own art.
Writers who don’t have that community are way more likely to publish too early. To rush. And that includes resorting to an AI book cover. The temptation is too strong, and their support system is too weak.
The second disadvantage, though, is more practical. It’s a skills and resources deficit.
Community is key to craft.
Trying to go it alone stunts a writer’s growth. Writers who don’t participate in writing communities are missing out:
- They’re not learning from peers or mentors.
- They’re not improving their skills via mutual critique.
- They’re not testing and refining the purpose/heart driving their art.
- They’re not discovering or experimenting with new writing techniques and methods.
- They’re not becoming conscious of their own writing processes via discussion.
That’s not to mention the marketing gaps. You have to practice communicating your story in ways that will sell your story. Discovering what sells your book requires trial and error. You should also know your market, including hot points of debate. If you truly had no idea that an AI book cover might be contentious, you’re clearly not plugged into communities of folks seriously pursuing publishing.
That’s also not to mention the lack of resources. Writers using AI book covers often feel they have no alternative. But there are alternatives. Community is how you learn about alternatives and, importantly, how to take advantage of those alternatives. Beyond the resources themselves, think about shared tutorials, free webinars, successful examples, wisdom gained from failures, and immediate answers to specific questions that might take an hour or more to Google.
In short, for me, an AI book cover is an indicator of questionable writing because it’s an indicator of isolation, somebody cut off from the life blood of writer-camaraderie.
To be clear, it’s not enough to just join groups. You’ve got to build relationships.
Sincere participation is key.
I’m an introvert. Regardless, I think making new friends (especially as an adult) is hard. And being social online can have an ugly learning curve. Which platform? How does that platform work? What are the social norms on it?
That said, another common stumble I see from authors with AI book covers is insincere participation.
Another tough truth: Posting ads for your book is not real participation.
You’ve also got to give. Give feedback. Give it with love and a real wish to see people succeed. Give emotional support. Give engagement. Shout excitement about other folks’ successes and follow up with them. Check in without asking for anything. Read their books, if you can. Read books in general. Leave reviews. Talk about books. Talk about craft. Share resources. Ask questions.
I know you’re exhausted. I know it’s a lot.
But the cool thing about connecting with fellow creatives is that it builds energy. It builds knowledge, skills, and awareness. The momentum of creativity lives in community.
Resources
“Oh, who did your cover art?”
I expect to see readers asking more often. Authors should be ready to answer.
And if you’re an author, I hope nothing here feels too discouraging.
Creative community is so widespread, but like any relationship, it takes time to develop.
Be patient with yourself as you find your people and grow your squad.
If you have stories in your heart, and you know why you need to tell them,
I absolutely believe in you.
- “Author Resources: A Non-Comprehensive Guide to Finding Non-AI Budget Cover Art” — This Reddit thread covers a big list of options way better than I could hope to. Notably, the Smithsonian offers a lot of free art, and Canva has plenty of free stock images, not to mention tons of fonts. Indie Book Cover Marketplace on Facebook also strives to stay AI-free and offers a range of designers.
- On the subject of writing community, Dennis James Sweeney gave a really inspiring talk with Authors Publish (How to Get Published – And Love Doing It), albeit in the context of getting publishing in indie presses and small literary magazines.
- Jane Friedman’s blogs and videos are an endless source of wisdom on all things self-publishing (and publishing in general). Here’s a starter article by Jessica Bell on the “The Key Elements of Eye-Catching Book Cover Design.”
- My own Resources page includes a ton of writing platforms and tools, ordered by cost. There are plenty of options here for finding an entry point into writing communities.
- The Authors Guild has free resources and is well worth the money to join. Check out genre-specific guilds and organizations too.
- The Editorial Freelancers Association offers some free resources for authors and allows individual authors to submit job posts.
