Kate Gale talks with literary agent and longtime editor Barbara Jones about what makes a human-written book worth reading in a world where AI can produce one in minutes. Barbara explains why the best books hold a ”perfect equipoise of countervailing forces,” why using AI for even grammar fixes marks your manuscript, and what she looks for in the first ten pages of a query. She also shares why memoirists must be a ”just god of the page,” why young writers shouldn't try to sound like the old masters, and why a book with only a few passionate readers can still be a great book.

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CHAPTERS

00:00 Why read a book written by a human?

02:08 What makes a book worth rereading

06:20 AI editing vs. AI writing

09:16 What AI misses that an editor catches

11:13 Can agents spot AI in a query?

15:38 Can a bestseller be literary?

18:10 Why beautiful books fail to connect

22:10 Memoir: about the reader or the writer?

26:47 Do writers need to practice every day?

29:42 Coming back to writing after a long break

33:29 How to reach Barbara

KEYWORDS

Barbara Jones, literary agent, DeFiore and Company, Kate Gale, Red Hen Press, Red Hen Radio, AI and writing, AI in publishing, AI generated books, AI editing, querying agents, query letter, first ten pages, how to get a literary agent, book editor, Henry Holt, Hyperion, E.B. White, The Elements of Style, dramatic tension, rereading books, Chekhov, literary fiction, bestseller, Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, Paul Auster, 4 3 2 1, Jane Eyre, memoir writing, Mary Karr, The Liars' Club, Jeannette Walls, Toni Morrison, Cynthia Ozick, The Lesson of the Master, Henry James, writing practice, writer's block, young writers, writing advice, craft of writing, literary podcast