Startup Spines plans to use artificial intelligence technology to publish up to 8,000 books next year, sparking an outcry from writers and the publishing industry. The company charges high fees to provide AI-assisted publishing services from editing to distribution, a move that has been criticized as "vanity publishing" that ignores the quality of books and the rights of writers. This article will provide a detailed analysis of Spines' business model and the controversy it has caused, and explore its potential impact on the publishing industry.
A startup called Spines has sparked a backlash from writers and publishing circles over its plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to publish up to 8,000 books next year. The company charges authors anywhere from $1,200 to $5,000 to edit, proofread, format, design and distribute with the help of AI.
Independent publisher Canongate said on the social platform Bluesky that these people don’t care about writing or books at all, and Spines’ approach just pushes people who want to become authors into an automated publishing process that lacks attention and professional craftsmanship. Writer Sue Davis Okongbowa also spoke out on the platform, accusing the founders of Spines of being "opportunist extractive capitalists" and believing that they have no interest in books and reading.
Although Spines claims that authors keep 100% of royalties, co-founder Yehuda Niv defines the company as a "publishing platform" rather than self-publishing or vanity publishing. In this regard, Deidre J Owen, co-founder of the independent micro-publishing company Mannison Press, pointed out that ines is essentially a vanity publisher.
Some industry insiders also expressed concerns. Marco Rinaldi, co-host of the author podcast Page, thinks Spines is simply accelerating self-publishing, but that approach is unlikely to succeed. Anna Ganley, chief executive of the Writers Guild, the largest union of writers, illustrators and translators, also warned authors to think carefully before signing any contract that requires self-publishing. She pointed out that this model is likely to fail to meet the expectations of the author, and if it relies on AI systems, the originality and quality of the service may also be problematic.
Spines claims the time it takes to publish a book will be reduced to two to three weeks. Meanwhile, Microsoft announced last week that it is also launching a book printing business that aims to publish books faster than traditional publishers. HarperCollins earlier reached an agreement with Microsoft to allow some books to be used to train AI models, with permission from the authors.
Spines has yet to respond to requests for comment.
Highlight:
Spines plans to use AI to publish 8,000 books next year and charge between $1,200 and $5,000.
Several authors and publishers have criticized Spines as a "vanity publisher" that doesn't care about the quality of its books.
Industry insiders warn authors to be careful when choosing self-publishing contracts, as they may not achieve the desired results.
The Spines incident highlights the ethical and business challenges brought about by the application of artificial intelligence technology in the publishing field. It also reminds authors to carefully evaluate when choosing a publishing route to avoid falling into the trap of low-quality publishing services. In the future, the application of AI in the publishing industry will require stricter supervision and a better guarantee mechanism.