What the Writer Strike is All About and What it Means to Indie Authors

As of the start of the month of August, the Writer's Guild of America has been on strike for 100-plus days. But why should indie authors care?

 

What's the Fight About?

The WGA is a labor union. This gives members of the union the right to collective bargaining. As union employees, the members of the WGA are under contract. When the business entity or entities that a union works for offers a contract that most members of the union do not like and do not want, they can then choose to use their collective bargaining power to force that company or companies to meet the demands of the union by going on strike.

To put it plainly, a majority of the members of the WGA do not like the contract they were offered. Writer's strikes are not uncommon and in the past, the WGA has used their right to strike in order to get more money for their work.

But this strike is very different. This strike is about money, sure, but it's also about a much deeper issue that affects all writers everywhere, union and indie alike: AI writing software.

How the WGA is Standing Up to ChatGPT and AI Writing

AI has been creeping into storytelling for several years. When Netflix recommends new movies and shows to you, that's AI at work. When Harrison Ford gets to be younger than he is in a film that's AI, too. Now, programs like ChatGPT are capable of writing movie scripts, TV show episodes. Blog posts, articles, novels. And that's why this issue touches all writers. Soon, directors won't need scriptwriters because they can simply type some prompts into a software program. Soon, writing a novel could be as simple as coming up with the root of an idea. And this is why the WGA is taking a stand now, and trying to establish some rules and receive compensation when AI is used in place of flesh-and-blood writers.

That makes it a pretty big deal. The Writers Guild of America and now the Screens Actors Guild of America are united on one side of the bargaining table. That is, roughly, all the Hollywood scriptwriters and all the Hollywood actors and actresses. They stand against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. It's the talent versus the bosses, in short.

The writers and creatives say that under the new contracts, producers are seeking permission to use AI to generate new dialogue and create new scenes, extensively changing existing scripts, without the writers' knowledge or consent. As for the actors, they allege that producers are seeking the right to use their digital images and likenesses to create new performances using AI technology.

You can see why the creatives might not like that. And perhaps you can also see how this is a watershed moment for all writers everywhere. What happens in these negotiations could very well set the tone for how writers are compensated regarding AI software going forward, not just in Hollywood but in all industries. What about articles you write online that are significantly altered by AI? Should your name still be on them? Should you receive less compensation because AI was used? 

 

 

There are lots of questions to ask, lots of angles to consider and this is why the strike continues to drag on and on and on. It's brand-new territory and it's playing out right now, in real time. Precedents are being written in the moment. Decisions made today could affect a generation of writers or more.

It's pretty thrilling stuff. Anything brand-new is scary. Once upon a time, seeing the wheel for the first time terrified somebody. Simply using metal to cut a piece of meat was a gigantic innovation. AI writing software could be a civilization-changing innovation…or it could be a flash in the pan, a fad that quickly fades like others have done before. There is no way of knowing what will happen with AI software in the future, which is exactly the point of the strike. Writers and actors are seeking some protections now, some rules and a foundation laid in place now, because AI tools are only going to expand going forward from here.

What's the solution? What's the answer to the problem? Where do you fall in this debate? Plugging the questions into an AI program won't help.

For now, some solutions still take human minds and human words. Eventually, that will be enough to resolve the contract disputes and end the strike. Because for now, humans are still the ones leading the discussion. In a few years, depending on how these talks go today, that might not be the case. 

What Readers Are Saying About Justice

When you build an entire life on a foundation of lies, it only takes one truth for the whole thing to come crashing down. I never invited the truth in. I never went searching for it. I never had any reason to suspect that the two people I loved most were dishonest with me every second of every day. I made one bad decision, and in a single day my entire world changed.

Recommended to all YA book lovers!

I seriously couldn't put it down once I started reading it. All the characters were nice and the story as a whole was amazing!

I'm so, so glad I got a chance to read such a wonderful story! There were many surprise elements neatly tucked into the story and just the right amount of romance in it.

I could easily just relax and lose myself in the story without any problem. I really, really liked Ms. Varden's writing style. It was simply superb!

- Josheka, Amazon

 

 Oh wow! I LOVED this book!

Justice was well written, had a good pace, and had so many twists to the plot it was really hard to work out what might happen next….You definitely should go and download a copy after reading this review, I don't think you'll regret it.

 - Kelly,  havebookwillread

 

Gripping…the book kept a good pace throughout and included lots of twists to keep me engrossed and in suspense of what was going to happen in Rain's life.

- Sienna @ Lost to Books

 

I was keen to find out how the story develops from the beginning - such is the quality of the writing - but soon the reading became compulsive…the plot thickens quickly and the protagonists faces several dilemmas that challenge her sense of belonging, loyalty and class.

- diebus, Amazon

 

This book is a rollercoaster of emotion, full of so many twists and turns that it's hard to remember what's real. Everyone has secrets but these secrets are unlike anything Rain has ever come across.

 A book that's shrouded in mystery, tainted with sadness and full of intrigue. Varden does not disappoint. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

- SMoakes, Amazon

 

I LOVED every minute of it!! Nearly every passage had some sort of twists and turns and it kept wanting me to read page after page (seriously I sometimes stayed up until 5 in the morning just so I could finish the book). Let's just say it left me thirsty to read the second book and try to find (if that can be possible) all the delicious secrets that has been plunged into poor old Rain's new and highly complex life.

 - Nourin, Amazon

 

I bought this for my 14 year old daughter and have read it myself. My daughter thought that it was 'awesome' hence the title of this review. This is a very well written novel. The characters are good and the story is well thought out, told well and flows nicely. Also, the grammar and format is of a high standard…I would recommend this to any teenager but will be reading the second instalment myself as I enjoyed it so much.

- jfholmes, Amazon

 

 

What happens when everything you know is a lie? When your life is turned upside down? How can a single choice change EVERYTHING?

Rain is one of the girls you most can feel relate to, a bit shy, a little awkward at times , true to herself, and in the search of her identity and is in the battle between who she wants to be and what other want her to be that she finds herself.

About the other characters: River, Owen and Tom, are the trio of boys we get to know in the book and I think they made the perfect team with Rain when it was needed. Each one has his moment in the story and brings something new to her life. And Carsyn is the perfect villain in the story, every good story has one, and she is plays her part perfectly.

…This is an EXCELLENT book -it doesn't matter if you label it as YA, suspense, thriller, drama, what truly is important is that these is a great book. Well written, with characters very developed, with great backgrounds and with the perfect amount of romance, action and secrets to resolve.

-Ruty, Amazon

 

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