Keep AI Away From My Book

We live in exciting times where sophisticated technology is capable of arranging text and pixels in ways that make sense to human viewers. People hold all sorts of feelings and opinions about these generative AI tools. For this post, I want to focus on a fairly narrow topic within the current AI discussions: protecting your books from being used to train AI.

Authors and publishers get to choose how the text in their books may be used. In fact, it’s common practice to state how a book may be used on the copyright page using disclosures like:

“No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.”

Authors control what formats their books may appear in, whether the book can be translated into other languages, and whether Stephen Spielberg has permission to film a movie adaptation of their work. They also have the right to deny or allow the use of their book for training AI.

The Anthropic Settlement

So yes, a lot of books have already been used to train AI systems. I can’t argue against that. There was a major class-action lawsuit against Anthropic for training their AI system, Claude, on books without obtaining the authors’ permission.

I wish the lawsuit had been settled simply because training on books without permission is wrong. But the case took a different turn: the issue wasn’t just AI training. The company had allegedly obtained many of those books through piracy.

AI companies stole books to train AI.

Learn more about the Anthropic Settlement

Honestly, I wasn’t horribly surprised to learn this. Large AI companies have often treated publicly available content on the internet as “fair game” (it isn’t) when building training datasets.

But my focus here isn’t on what has already happened. I’m not here to convince you not to use AI tools trained on questionable data. I simply needed a starting point for this discussion, which is this:

Bad actors are going to act badly.

The most practical response is to protect yourself and your work. Make it clear that your books are meant for human readers, and put barriers in place so that if another Anthropic-style incident happens, you have legal standing to seek compensation.

Whether or not you think it would be cool for an AI chatbot to mimic your writing style, companies should obtain your permission before using your text to train AI tools.

Opt-out Where You Can

As a first line of defense, always read the terms of service for online tools before inputting text. Some platforms may use posts or user-generated content to train AI systems. Some platforms also offer ways to opt out of having your data used for AI training.

And remember: any publicly available content is easier for bad actors to scrape and reuse.

Say “NO” to AI Training on Your Copyright Page

An easy way to make others aware that your book should not be used as training data is to include a “No AI Training” disclosure on the copyright page.

The Author’s Guild has put together an excellent disclosure which they encourage all authors and publishers to use:

“NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author’s [and publisher’s] exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to “train” generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.”

Learn more on the Author’s Guild website

Of course, you can tailor this disclosure, but it serves as a strong first barrier.

Register Your Book’s Copyright Claim

Your work is automatically copyrighted the moment you create it. However, registering your work with the appropriate copyright authority, depending on where you live, is vital if you ever need to enforce your rights.

Remember the settlement mentioned earlier? Courts determined that Anthropic may need to compensate authors and publishers whose books were used.

In the United States, books must generally be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office before a lawsuit is filed in order to seek statutory damages. So to the indie authors who claim filing copyright isn’t that important? It actually becomes extremely important if you ever need to protect your book.

Registering copyright for a book in the U.S. is super simple and can be done online through the U.S. Copyright Office’s website. Registration currently costs about $45 (as of 2026), can be done right after you publish, and typically doesn’t require a mailed copy of the book.

Closing Thoughts

The internet is a wonderful place where people can freely share thoughts, ideas, and their creations. Unfortunately, it’s also very easy for bad actors to grab publicly available content and use it in ways the creator never intended.

I’m glad we have legal protections against theft and copyright infringement, and I’m hopeful that clearer laws and policies will emerge that allow companies to train AI models using only data where permission was explicitly granted.

There’s always a balance between protecting your work and hiding it in obscurity. I hope creators continue to put themselves out there, make new things, and share beauty with the world. I’m personally going to keep writing stories and making books. It’s something I enjoy and something I’m good at.

Want to keep the discussion going?
Find me on Instagram, Bluesky, and Threads.

Why I Love Fan Cons as an Author

Before I ever attended a comic con as a fan, I signed up for an artist table.

It was 2017. The venue was so close to home that I didn’t even have to cross a highway to get there. I packed books into a suitcase, put on an adorable pair of heels, styled my hair using a wig worthy of a drag show, and showed up not entirely sure what to expect.

By the end of the day, I was exhausted, slightly overheated, and completely hooked.

That first convention taught me more than I expected—about selling books, about presentation, about networking, and about myself as both a writer and a business owner. I met fellow artists who had been doing cons for years. I saw how a strong book cover could stop someone in their tracks. I realized very quickly that comfortable shoes matter more than aesthetic ambition.

But more than anything, I discovered that I had found my people.

Tell-All Post About My First Comic Con

Comic cons aren’t required to build a writing career, and plenty of successful authors never table at a single event. But for me, conventions have become one of the most rewarding and energizing parts of being an author. They’ve helped me grow my audience, build friendships, learn the business side of publishing, and stay connected to the creative community.

And after many events (and much better footwear choices), I’ve learned a thing or two.

Benefits of Comic Cons

I encourage other writers I meet to try conventions and vendor markets at least once. There are many reasons to attend beyond simply selling books. And even if you don’t make your table fee back at a particular event, you’ll still get a lot out of the experience.

Meet Friends and Network

As a social person, I enjoy meeting new people and making friends—but as a writer, networking is also an important part of my work. Writing is a solitary activity, and it’s easy to become isolated while pursuing it. Not only can other writers keep you company, but they can also become wonderful critique partners, help market each other's work, and recommend high-quality professionals (including editors, illustrators, book formatters, and web designers).

Me with authors Edward Swing (left) and Jason Abofsky (right)

Many writers I’ve met at comic cons have become close friends. Every time I meet new authors at an event, I make a point to say hello and sign up for their newsletters. I love feeling connected to the writer community, and fandom conventions have played a huge role in facilitating that.

Promote Your Work

Naturally, a big part of purchasing a table at a convention is getting the word out about your work. Everyone who attends the event and walks by your space has the opportunity to learn about your books. I ask people who stop by—even if they’re not interested in purchasing right then—to sign up for my newsletter and stay connected.

Beyond being physically present at the convention, there are often media professionals in attendance, looking for creatives to feature on their websites, artists to interview for their podcasts, or individuals wearing cool cosplay to photograph for their portfolios. Some events also showcase their vendors and artists in brochures or on their websites.

Share Your Knowledge

Most comic cons also host panels and workshops where artists and guests can appear. I haven’t hosted too many myself, though I love participating in panels. Hosting workshops can be a lot of fun, and they’re also an opportunity to share your writing knowledge with others. Plus, many people who attend your workshop may be interested in supporting your work and will stop by your table to purchase something or sign up for your newsletter.

Things I’ve Learned After Many Events

After attending countless events, I’ve learned quite a few tricks that make them easier and more enjoyable. Here are some highlights:

Only Bring a Few Titles

This first tip isn’t for everyone, but if you’ve written quite a few books, consider limiting the number of titles you feature at a single event. There’s something called the [Paradox of Choice](https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/economics/the-paradox-of-choice), which suggests that people are happier with their decisions when they have fewer options to choose from.

For most people at an event, my table is their first introduction to my work. It’s easier for me to highlight a few of my strongest and favorite titles. If readers enjoy the book they purchase from me, they can always explore my full catalog later on my website.

Wear a Conversation Piece

My conversation piece is my (currently) magenta hair. Before I took the plunge and dyed it, I wore colorful wigs. I try to be warm and approachable, and many people will come up to talk about my hair as an icebreaker before asking about my books or the event.

I find the “conversation piece” strategy more effective than focusing heavily on free swag. When you lead with swag, you’re constantly asking people, “Want a free item?” With a conversation piece, the other person initiates the interaction. Of course, I still offer bookmarks—but only after someone has shown interest in my books.

Your conversation piece doesn’t have to be bold hair color. It could be a cool hat, a statement necklace, a patterned blazer, or something else that ties into your work. Just make sure it’s comfortable enough to wear for several hours and easy for people to spot across a busy room.

How about a cow costume as a conversation piece!

Take Credit Card and Tap Payments

I can’t tell you how many sales I’ve seen neighboring vendors miss out on because they don’t have a credit card processor or can’t accept tap payments like Apple Pay. Something like Venmo can help in a pinch, but most consumers are used to quick, convenient payment methods. You really do need one set up. I use Square with a tap-and-chip reader, which I highly recommend.

It’s also important to plan for connectivity. Many convention centers and vendor halls have thick walls that block cellular signals. In those cases, the event or venue will usually have Wi-Fi available. Just ask around—there’s often a password you’ll need to access the network.

Weird Rules I Live By to Pick Events

I’ve been reasonably willing to try a variety of events, and after noticing some patterns, there are certain ones I now avoid.

Reasonable Driving Distance

I’ve only flown out for an event once, and I wouldn’t recommend it. First, it’s much easier to pack a car full of books than to ship boxes and hope the event coordinator or venue knows what to do with them. Plus, any unsold stock, table décor, and signage need a way to get back home. It turns out TSA won’t let you through security with a retractable banner.

I also kind of hate driving. If I can carpool to an event (and there’s enough room in the car for two people’s books), I’ll opt for that. Otherwise, I prefer not to drive too far. What counts as “too far” depends on the person. I also factor in hotel costs—some locations are simply too expensive to justify staying overnight, which can make the event not worth it financially.

Mid-Size Events Are Best

Although I LOVE big comic cons, they can be overwhelming. Even though large events draw huge crowds, there are so many competing attractions that some attendees might not even make it to Artist Alley.

I’ve found that I often sell about the same number of books at a mid-size event as I do at a large one. There are also several factors that make huge events less appealing as a vendor:

• Bigger events tend to cost significantly more
• They span multiple days, which usually means a multi-night hotel stay
• They often have long hours (10+ each day), and you’re required to be at your table the entire time

Small events can be fun, but they don’t typically draw as many people. They also don’t have the same marketing and networking reach as mid-size, two-day events. In my experience, those mid-size shows tend to be the sweet spot.

No Fairgrounds

Some of the best festivals and fairs I’ve attended have been held outdoors—on public roadways or in parks—and are free to attend. They attract passersby who are already out enjoying the weather. And who doesn’t want to buy a great new book on a beautiful sunny day?

However, free-to-attend festivals are where I draw the line when it comes to outdoor venues for comic cons.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with hosting a fandom event at a fairground—I’ve just learned they’re not for me. Fairgrounds typically offer a variety of structures and outdoor spaces. Often, attendees are unsure which buildings a particular show is using and may miss significant sections, even when clear signage and maps are available.

Also, buildings at fairgrounds tend to get hot and have poor air circulation, even when air conditioning is available. Sometimes organizers skip paying for AC altogether, making conditions inside unbearable. I’ve melted into a puddle while watching crowds leave early due to poor conditions more than once. And grumpy, overheated attendees are rarely in the mood to buy books.

Another drawback is location. Fairgrounds are often in rural areas, which can make it harder to draw large crowds. Events in towns or cities benefit from nearby restaurants, attractions, and hotels, making attendees more willing to stay overnight and spend a full day (or two) enjoying the con.

Pick Established Events

New comic cons can be exciting, but unless the organizers are experienced in running shows, I tend to lean toward established events that have been operating for a few years. Even better are cons that use the same location and vendor hall consistently.

There are many growing pains and logistical quirks to work out when putting on a successful comic con—one that’s both profitable for vendors and enjoyable for attendees. Many venues have specific challenges that organizers won’t discover until they’re physically in the space.

Perhaps someone more flexible and laid-back than I can roll with those hiccups, but I’ve found that I do best at well-oiled conventions where I know what to expect.

Parting Thoughts

If you’re also a writer, I hope I’ve convinced you to at least look into getting a table at a future comic con or fan expo. They’re a lot of fun *and* can do more for your writing career than you might expect.

After all these years, I’ve learned what works for me, what doesn’t, and which events are worth returning to.

One of those is GalaxyCon Richmond, happening March 19–22.

I try to attend most years because it’s a fun, well-run event—and they treat their creators well. This year, I’ll be sharing a table with fellow writer Gary Cohn in the comic book section. He wrote a story in *Starship Blunder 2*, so we’ll have plenty of copies of both Blunder anthologies at our table. I’ll also be bringing my Puzzling Escapes books and a couple of my novels.

Me at Galaxy Con Richmond 2025

If you’re in the Richmond area, I’d love for you to stop by and say hello. Otherwise, you can always keep an eye on my Events page to see what I have planned next—and be sure to sign up for my newsletter to get reminders about upcoming signings and appearances.

See you at the next comic con!

Beth Martin’s Events Get the Beth Martin Books Newsletter

No, You Cannot Have My Email Address

There are a lot of things writers do that make us think, “Wow, I really am a writer now!” There are the obvious activities like writing “THE END” for the first time at the conclusion of a story, essay, or book, or filling up an entire notebook with words. But there are other markers, like setting up a website and creating social media accounts specifically for writing.

As a beginning writer, I set up an email account just for writing. I used it for professional correspondence, sending stories to journals, reaching out to literary agents, and eventually for conversing with fans. My first email address for writing was a simple Gmail account: bethmartinbooks@gmail.com. I’m sharing this address with you today because it has been shut down and is no longer in use.

Wanting an even more professional-sounding email, I later established a new account using my custom domain. For the longest time, I had email forwarding set up from the older email to the new one, but as time went on, I started getting inundated with SPAM.

How the SPAM Began

I’ve been doing a handful of events every year ever since I published my first novel. About a month before a certain book event, I started getting emails with subjects like “Email List for Event Name Authors!” that said I could get the list of Author Names participating in the event and their email addresses for a modest fee. I thought these unsolicited offers were weird, and I was a little concerned that somehow private information had been leaked by the event, so I reached out to the coordinator.

Unfortunately, the book event coordinator had seen this grift before. No private information related to the event had been leaked; the list of all the participating authors was available on the event website. Someone, likely with the help of bots, went through the list, scraping each author’s website to compile a list of emails for sale. The coordinator encouraged me to remove my email address from my website, which I did.

SPAM Gets Sophisticated

It used to be that all the spam messages I got were pretty low effort. “Hey, I saw your book on Amazon. I have a popular bookish platform. Pay me to advertise your book!” Fine, they weren’t worded that egregiously, but they were clearly very low-effort, doing little to no research on me or my work before trying to sell me services.

But now, with the prevalence of AI, these SPAM messages have become much more sophisticated. It takes scammers no time at all to feed one of my book descriptions into a chatbot to produce a personalized message that almost feels like it was written by someone who read my book. The message will include specific (yet somehow still vague) praise about characters and themes in the book. They no longer go in with a blind sell; instead, they try to inspire a conversation, build your trust, and then launch into the sales pitch.

Here’s part of an example email I received:

Subject: Helping “The Party Guest” Reach More Readers Who Love Thought-Provoking Fiction

Dear Beth Martin,

I recently discovered your compelling short story, The Party Guest, and was immediately struck by its depth, nuance, and insight into the unexpected ways life challenges our assumptions.

Erin Swan’s experience arriving at the wrong party and uncovering truths that upend her perspective beautifully captures the complexities of human connection and self-reflection. You’ve crafted a story that balances relatability and surprise while exploring themes of change, acceptance, and vulnerability. It’s the kind of narrative that invites conversation long after the final page.

As a Book Club Expert and Literary Consultant, I help authors like you grow their visibility and reach new audiences through curated book club spotlights, author features, and interactive reader discussions…

The email goes on. It almost feels like the person reaching out is personally invested in my story's success, making it tempting to use their services. However, the actual details of the story in the email are lifted directly from the story description on Amazon. The theme of “human connection” is present in most stories, but mine doesn’t really delve into self-reflection. If the emailer actually read “The Party Guest,” they’d know the story deals more with accepting the challenges life gives us.

Also, I only sell my short stories for $1.99, so I won’t see a great return if I spend a bunch of money on marketing them.

Read The Party Guest

I Want Readers to Reach Me

Unfortunately, by removing my email address from my website, I no longer had an easy route for readers to reach out to me. In the past, I’ve gotten emails from fans who read and enjoyed my books, wanted to recommend an event to attend, or had questions about getting into writing. I love these emails, and I want to stay accessible to people who genuinely want to connect with me.

Although most social media networks let you send messages to people, I wanted something that everyone could access and didn’t require a third-party account. (A number of people don’t use social media, and I totally support their choice not to!) I decided that a contact form would work best, ultimately using a simple Google Form to let readers send me a message.

I was really excited when I got notifications that a bunch of responses had been sent through the contact form, but I was immediately dismayed when I read through them. When spammers couldn’t find an email address on my webpage, they sent their spam through my contact form! So instead of digging through junk emails, I was digging through junk form responses. I was back where I started.

After some research on how to prevent spam form responses, I settled on adding an anti-spam question. Common anti-spam checks include simple arithmetic problems or asking humans to leave a specific field blank. One of my long-standing gripes about marketing messages was individuals reaching out to me to sell their book services without doing enough research on me to even know the title of one of my books, so I used that pet peeve to inspire my anti-spam question: “Please list the title for one of Beth Martin's books or short stories.”

Beth has it all Figured Out… Right?

My contact form works for now, but I can see AI-powered SPAM becoming even more sophisticated in the future, forcing me to pivot my approach. But that’s part of being a writer: always learning, growing, and trying new things. In addition to the contact form, people reach out to me through social media or by replying to my newsletter. I’ve even had fans seek me out at a show or event to chat.

And that’s why I do all this. To share my stories. And I love it when people let me know how my stories impacted them.

So, thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought—shoot me a message. And good luck in the good fight against SPAM!

2025: My Biggest Year as an Author

2025 was a big year for me. Not only was I busy releasing books and stories, I also completely changed how I publish and manage my writing business.

The biggest happening for me this year was the release of the first two Puzzling Escapes books with Parragon Books, my first foray into traditional publishing. I also leaned into short stories, held my first few single-author events, and shifted my ebook store to reflect how readers currently find and buy books. Oh, and somewhere in there, I dyed my hair magenta.

The Year of Puzzling Escapes

For eight years, I was entirely self-published. However, when contacted in late 2023 about a possible partnership for a line of puzzle books with an established publisher, I was absolutely interested. After many talks, a little negotiation, and loads of hard work, the first and second Puzzling Escapes books were released in their beautiful new format with gorgeous, custom illustrations.

Read More: Puzzles Reimagined: Exciting Updates for Puzzling Escapes

The first book, Puzzling Escapes: The Haunted House Mystery came out on July 1, and a couple of weeks later, I held a huge signing event at my local Barnes & Noble. Loads of friends and family came out to support me and my work, and it was an amazing day!

Read More: My First Author-Signing: A Tell All

I was even more excited about the second book release since it’s my favorite title of the series (so far). A number of local independent bookstores were excited about Puzzling Escapes: Trapped in the Bookstore since it’s set in a small independent bookstore. Queen Takes Books graciously hosted the launch event, asking me to talk about the books and sign copies.

Starships Implode

While impatiently waiting for the release of the first Puzzling Escapes adventure, I busied myself with a particularly beloved project: a new Starship Blunder shared-universe anthology. I wrote a story reintroducing the crew from the first ship, unveiling a new starship, and setting the stage for interplanetary mishaps. For the next several months, I solicited stories, picked the best ones, wrote another short myself, edited the heck out of all the stories, and pulled them together for a late-November book release.

In addition to writing for the new Starship Blunder anthology, a number of other short stories I wrote came out as well. I released my stories “The Party Guest” and “A Delicate Deception” as ebook singles. Also, my story “Limited Vision” was published in the anthology Enigma Station, and another story I wrote, “The Giant Romance Fan” will be in an anthology titled Star-Crossed, which should come out on Valentine’s Day next year.

Events: Stepping Out From Behind the Keyboard

I’m no stranger to comic cons and craft fairs, and I attended a handful this past year. I also tabled at a couple book fairs, both of which were amazing! I definitely have plans to attend the Kensington Day of the Book Festival and the Fredericksburg Independent Book Festival again next year.

Although I was nervous as anything about doing a single-author event, I pulled myself together and did a number of them in 2025. They definitely have some advantages—I love getting treated like a VIP and not having to haul books or handle sales transactions. Perhaps one day I’ll have enough notoriety to demand an appearance fee as well. A girl can dream!

New Ebook Store

Behind the scenes, 2025 was also a year of big business shifts. Back when I first started publishing, Amazon was a great platform that gave independent books visibility. There were straightforward and affordable strategies that ensured your work reached the right readers. As time has passed, Amazon has made many changes to its marketplace, making it harder and harder to get eyes on indie books.

Read more: Leaving the Amazon Behind

Instead of chasing the Amazon algorithms and spending all my money on Amazon ads, I’ve decided to pivot and set up my own ebook store. This has been a fun endeavor, and I’m really proud of my online storefront.

Check out the Beth Martin ebook store

Life Beyond the Books

While books have been consuming my professional life, my personal life has been going well. Although most of my friends are fellow writers, I’ve also spent a lot of time playing Dungeons & Dragons with my husband and some new friends, which I’ve been really enjoying.

My husband and I are getting along great and actually like each other most days, which I count as a win. We both celebrated our 40th birthdays this year—his with a big party and mine with a beach vacation. I’m loving my 40s so far and am looking forward to a great decade.

My two kids are doing well and are both getting ready to start new schools next year—middle school for my daughter and high school for my son. They get along with each other (parenting win!) and still like spending time with me, which I love! They’re growing up so fast, and I’m incredibly proud of both of them.

In other news, the whole family somehow weathered the prolonged government shutdown, which added a fun layer of stress to everything. Unfortunately, the shutdown profoundly affected all of us in various ways. I won’t get into details or get political here, but we made it to the other side mostly unscathed.

Happy Holidays

Looking ahead, I’m excited for what’s on the horizon. My bookish pursuits are moving full steam ahead, and I’m hopeful for another great and productive year.

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped support me this year: my family and friends for always being there and having my back. The writing community, including my novel group, writing Discord, and writing coffee club, who inspire me, help me polish my work, and love talking craft. My professional partners at Parragon Books, the bookseller who hosted my author events, and wonderful clients who all strive to celebrate and embrace beautiful books. And of course, my readers and loyal fans who enjoy my work: I do it all for you!

Keep in touch by subscribing to my monthly newsletter!

Whatever you’re celebrating, I hope the end of 2025 brings you peace, love, and a really good book. Here’s to more adventures—on and off the page—in 2026!