Fight the Machine

Sometimes, it feels like the whole world is arguing about AI. How annoying, right? Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, these arguments have to happen. It's inevitable, as we navigate through a strange new technological realm, where we find ourselves in a reality very similar to our favorite sci-fi novels, a reality in which we have inadvertently trained robots to take our jobs from us and hijack our livelihoods.

Hey ... most of us had no clue we were training AI bots every time we used one of those AI-generative apps, games, or fun photo filters. We especially didn't realize that the same AI we accidentally trained (oops!) would start stepping on our very human toes! No creator can stay on top of everything, all the time. So it's okay if some of us aren't familiar with society's most recent hot button issue: AI and what we should and shouldn't use it for. It's okay if you are still learning the dangers of AI, and if some of the information in this article is news to you. That's why I wrote it. If we all do our best to stay informed, we can fight the machine, together. Isn't that what it's all about, anyway?

There is a quote from Maya Angelou that rings true to me here. She said: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better."  Such a simple idea, yet such a valid goal. She was right; that's all we can do!

By now, you may have heard how the environment is negatively impacted by the use of AI software. The same software that generates cute digital caricatures of your profile pic and test results for such pressing questions as “What breed of duck would you be if you were a duck?” is also destroying the planet every time we use it, many experts say. Then again, you may not have heard about this yet, since I see plenty of people still posting AI content to social media every day. I assume they either don't know, don't care, or don't believe the facts I'm getting ready to dump on you.

Let me break it down: AI-generative software requires massive amounts of electricity to run. This is energy we should be using to power more important things on our planet than Facebook quizzes. Plus, it's not just electricity that gets wasted to run these AI centers. The water consumption is off the charts! Yes ... water! Massive amounts of water are used to cool the computer software that gets super-hot from constantly running and running. So that social media users can see what they might look like ... as somebody else entirely.

But let's get back to the topic at hand: artwork! More specifically: book cover artwork. Everything else aside, to some of us, AI-generated artwork just feels like the death of art. Those machines steal imagery from real artists on a routine basis. Their AI mining tools search the internet for images from real artists and then mimic that work in a lazy, passionless attempt at being human. So, yes. It's the death of real art.

If someone asks me who did the cover of my book, I would feel ashamed to admit it was a machine. It would dent my pride to let a robot drain the emotion from my creative work. Because that's what it feels like, to me. In my eyes, art is about human emotion at its core. And I don't see much value in it otherwise. Not only would using AI poorly impact the art community as a whole, I would feel no pride or enthusiasm in it.

I have worked really damn hard at my craft. For decades. Being a wordsmith sometimes feels like a thankless position in life, but all the same, I work hard at it, because I care about it. It is my passion. My life's work. My skill. So, when I see an author using AI-generated book covers, I find myself questioning how many other shortcuts they are willing to take. Did they use AI in their writing, too? I have to wonder at that point. And if you think I have a poor opinion of AI book covers, don't get me started on robots writing literature!

So, why are authors turning to AI? One of the excuses I hear over and over again is that book cover art is too expensive. To that I say: No ... it's not.

I have come up with affordable cover art numerous times over the years, and I'll tell you exactly how I did it. I've been in the horror writing community for a couple decades, so I've done book covers several different ways. I've paid everything from $0 to $200, depending on what I was able to spare at the time. Sometimes, I am blessed to have creative friends willing to work for free just to be part of a cool project. Sometimes, I pay an artist what they quote me without hesitation because their skills are worth it to me. And sometimes, I just make the cover myself!

On my first anthology back in 2009, I paid a budding digital artist $30 for the job. She used a human model and built the perfect horror scene around that model using tools in PhotoShop. She was happy to have a paying art gig, and I was happy with the imagery she came up with. It was the perfect partnership, and it was only a matter of asking around until I found the right artist for me.

It was the same for my collections in 2011 and 2012. I paid a different PhotoShop artist the same rate: $30. I was learning PhotoShop at the time, and although I could design a rough cover by then, I still wanted to hire someone with more experience than myself.

But ... perhaps I am fortunate when it comes to finding artists, because I tend to surround myself with creative individuals. I mean, come on, let's face it: Some people just can't find an artist willing to work for a rate they can afford. Sometimes they ask around, and the prices quoted are all out of their budget. Not only that, but maybe there's no one they really trust. Trust is very important, because nowadays, art consumers run the risk of paying for custom art and ending up with AI art regardless. It's a common scam these days.

If those are your concerns, then ... do the cover yourself! I've made book covers, and so can you! About a decade and a half ago, I started teaching myself PhotoShop, and through trial and error and lots of frustration, I figured it out. Mostly. And the good news is ... these programs have only gotten easier over time! If you're willing to take a stab at constructing your own book cover, I bet you can do it! I believe in you!

Shoot, even when I was sixteen years old and printing a 'zine (with a circulation of a hundred copies) from my home computer and stapling each one by hand, I made the covers myself. I drew them with a pencil, or staged scenes for photographs, and scanned them into the computer. I didn't even know what an AI art tool was, but I came up with some covers, I did!

If sixteen-year-old me could do it in the year 2000, why can't these grown adults do it in 2026?

Maybe they're unaware of the options.

So, what are the options for avoiding AI in book covers? The sky is the limit, I promise. There are several options. That's why I don't understand why so many creators turn to AI. It's simply not necessary.

For starters, you could snap a photo, then edit it to your own unique style. Think about the possibilities. You could stage any sort of scene you want with the right model and props, and snap a few shots. Choose your favorite shot, play around with the photo in some basic editing software, and now you've got a custom book cover.

But suppose you don't feel like snapping your own photo. Suppose you think you're a lousy photographer with a crummy camera to boot. Okay! Did you know that everyone (including YOU) is welcome to use the Smithsonian Open Access library? This is a website which hosts millions of digital images that are free for public use. These images are considered “public domain” and they require no payment or permission, no matter how you use them. Throw a rad filter on whatever image you decide on (via a software that is not AI-generative), then add your book title and byline in a user-friendly program like Canva, and you've got a human-generated book cover. No AI whatsoever.

There are also subscription websites such as Shutterstock, Deposit Photos, and iStock, which host images from real artists and photographers. These artists and photographers benefit, because they earn royalties between 15% – 60% per download on photos, illustrations, and vectors, while retaining their copyrights. I have subscribed to both Shutterstock and Deposit Photos in the past, in order to obtain high-resolution images for my book covers, and though I ended up canceling both subscriptions in the long-run, I find this to be a morally-sound resource for book art and will re-subscribe if need be. Still, though, you must filter out the AI! Sadly, the aforementioned websites (Shutterstock and Deposit Photos) do allow AI-generated content in their search results by default, but there is an option to filter that AI out. I always make sure to click that option. According to the research I did for this article, iStock, which I have never tried, remains 100% AI-free to this day, so you can bet I'll be trying them next.

If you have zero interest in purchasing memberships and subscriptions, you could always just find a model. Think about it: Most book covers are really just some gal or some guy, standing there. Or some gal and some guy, standing there together. Well! Social media is full of aspiring models, who might jump at the chance to be featured on a book cover, especially if offered a few free copies of the book. Give it a try!

Maybe, though, you are envisioning a more complex cover. Maybe what I've described so far seems too simplistic. Perhaps you envision a cover with a lot going on, and you don't know how to bring this vision in your head to fruition on your own. My advice is to obtain some high-resolution imagery using one of the routes above, and then use a program such as Affinity Studio to layer different elements together and play around with them. You might be surprised what you come up with on your own. Just make sure to set aside some time to learn the program, and don't get frustrated if it takes a while. Good art isn't easy. But it's worth it.

So, although a lot of us say we are sick of discussing AI (I am guilty of saying this as well), we really have no choice but to get over it. It's a necessary discussion. I have seen creative partnerships dissolve over differences in opinion on this topic. I have seen two anthologies tank because the covers were announced to be AI and too many of the authors backed out as a result. I've seen authors pay for “custom” artwork that ended up being AI-generated instead. It's a scary new world. It really is. But here I am, presenting options, so that you don't get tangled up in your own AI drama, too.

Let's fight the machine together, united as one force, authors and artists hand-in-hand. Don't let the machine divide and conquer us. Take a photo, find a model, play with some image editing software, or just ... pay a flesh-and-bone artist what they deserve. Anything but AI. Please, don't let the robot drain the passion from your creative work. Keep your integrity. Fight the machine!