An author has been caught using artificial intelligence to write their book after accidentally leaving an AI prompt in the published manuscript.
The discovery was shared on Threads by a user, who posted about abandoning the book 14% through after encountering a jarring line that read: “You’re right. Here’s the Phoenix chapter ending properly formatted for a romance novel.” The AI instruction appeared in the middle of an Omegaverse romance, completely breaking the narrative flow.
What makes this incident particularly notable is the prompt’s placement early in the book. Readers pointed out that the author apparently never read through even the first 50 to 60 pages of their own work, which would take less than an hour to review.
One commenter captured the sentiment perfectly: “Not only are these people not writers or authors, they are also not readers because they aren’t even reading their own book to at least check for s**t like this.”
The book in question is the second installment of a series, and the revelation has impacted its reception. The Amazon page now features seven reviews, all one-star ratings, with readers highlighting screenshots of the AI prompt. Reviews warn potential buyers with comments like “Terrible writing, probably because it’s AI” and “The author was too lazy to even check and remove the AI prompts they used.”
The situation worsens with additional allegations that the author used artwork belonging to another Omegaverse writer without permission to promote their book. Screenshots circulated showing what appears to be hand-painted artwork used in promotional materials, which stands in stark contrast to other obviously AI-generated images on the author’s profile.
This marks at least the second documented case of an author leaving AI prompts in their published work, raising concerns about quality control in self-published books. The incident highlights a growing tension in the writing community, where AI-generated content is increasingly common but widely frowned upon.
The writing community views authorship as creative work deserving of human effort and artistic intention. When authors bypass this process entirely through AI, it undermines the relationship between writer and reader built on authenticity and craft.
