Literary magazines are starting to receive AI-generated writing, prompting some editors to put a pause on submissions, which have also increased in number. I’m happy to see that (for now) editors are able to discern the real thing from that which is produced by AI.
It’s creating a frustrating slowdown in the publishing process. However, one magazine, Metastellar (speculative fiction and “beyond”), says “Yes, you can submit AI-assisted stories to us. But they better be good.”
Well, fine. But the automated aspect of these submissions is likely adding more work to the pile, increasing the wait period for a response, and taking up editing time reading submissions that are basically empty of content.
What does this mean for human writers who are putting in the hard work of thinking through an idea, drafting it, writing and revising–instead of relying on AI? What does this mean for the viability of fiction magazines? If you are interested in these issues, you may find this article interesting: “AI-generated fiction is flooding literary magazines–but not fooling anyone” (in The Verge).
Old Town Editing 