The real cost of setting ‘zero AI’ targets in fiction

Pledging to write and publish fiction with zero AI involvement is a bold creative stance — and a logistical gauntlet. It can preserve artistic intent and reassure readers who want wholly human-made stories. It also reshapes your budget, timeline, and toolkit in ways most authors don’t anticipate. Here’s what changes when you aim for 100% AI-free in the UK, plus practical paths to get there without breaking the bank.

The financial hit (and where it lands)

When you remove AI aids, you’re replacing speed and automation with human labour and extra hours — yours or someone else’s.

• Editing. Without AI draft polishers, you’ll lean more on human editors. Typical UK ballparks: developmental editing (£800–£2,500+ for a novel), copy-editing (£600–£1,600), and proofreading (£300–£800). Trim costs by tightening your manuscript via multiple self-revision passes and strong beta readers before hiring pros.
• Proofreading & spell-checking. Turning off smart checkers means more manual passes. Budget extra time (3–5 slow, focused read-throughs) or hire a dedicated proofreader. A print proof can catch errors your eyes skip onscreen — add roughly £6–£25 per round.
• Cover design. Skipping AI-assisted generators means a human designer or your own manual design. Custom covers commonly run £400–£1,500; premades £80–£300. To economise, provide a tight brief, your own properly licensed imagery, and choose typography-led concepts.
• Interior layout. If you avoid ‘smart’ layout tools, you’ll spend more time learning manual typesetting or pay a designer (£150–£800+). Good templates help, but expect extra hours nudging widows, orphans, and spacing by hand.
• Book promotion. Refusing AI-driven ad platforms pushes you towards slow-build strategies: newsletters, bookshop relationships, blogs/podcasts, events, and street teams. Money outlay can be modest, but time costs soar. Paid human-run PR or blog tour services often run £150–£1,200+.

Bottom line: cash-strapped authors can still go AI-free, but you’ll pay in either pounds (outsourcing) or time (DIY mastery).

Where AI hides in the background

Even if you never touch a chatbot, AI (or machine learning features) often sneaks in:

• Word processors: grammar/style suggestions, predictive text, and ‘Editor’-type features.
• Spellcheckers: many now use context-aware machine learning.
• Design suites: auto subject selection, content-aware fill, image upscaling, smart masking.
• Stock sites & photo apps: AI denoisers, colour matching, and enhancement filters.
• Ad platforms & social feeds: algorithmic targeting, optimisation, and recommendation.

If you’re serious about zero AI, audit settings and workflows — not just the writing.

A practical 100% AI-free workflow

• Define your boundary. Are classic rule-based tools okay (e.g. Hunspell-style dictionaries), or do you mean no automated assistance at all? Write it down and stick to it.
• Drafting tools. Use plain-text editors with all suggestions disabled, or write by hand and type later. Keep autosuggest, grammar, and style helpers off.
• Manual language checks. Rely on a print dictionary, UK style guides (e.g. New Oxford Style Manual, Butcher’s Copy-editing), and human beta readers. Create a personal style sheet to maintain consistency without software nudges.
• Human editing stack. Stage your help: critique partner → beta readers → copy-editor → proofreader. If funds are tight, pay for the most impactful stage (often copy-editing) and barter for the rest (swap reads with fellow authors). The CIEP (Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading) is a good place to find UK professionals who’ll agree to AI-free workflows.
• Covers & layout. Hire human designers who confirm they’ll avoid generative or ‘smart’ features. If DIY, use tools without generative assistants (or disable them) and stick to manual adjustments. Open-source layout tools and traditional typesetting workflows keep you in control.
• Promotion without algorithms. Build an email list, pitch indie bookshops, attend fairs and festivals, collaborate with book clubs and libraries, pursue podcasts and local radio, and assemble a launch team. It’s slower — but durable.

Final thought

Zero AI is less a purity test than a project plan. Name your boundary, budget for the human labour it requires, and choose processes that align with your values. Your readers will feel the intention on every page.