200 novels in eight months. One author. Zero writer's block.

A recent article in the New York Times has been stuck in my head. South African author Coral Hart, who previously published under various pseudonyms for Harlequin and Mills & Boon, produced more than 200 romance novels with the help of AI last year. 21 different pen names. Dozens of subgenres. From dark mafia romances to sweet teen stories. Collectively, the books sold around 50,000 copies and earned her a six-figure income.

During an interview with the newspaper, an AI programme was running in the background, turning her prompts and an outline into a complete novel about a farmer who falls in love with a city girl running from her past. Time elapsed: roughly 45 minutes.

45 minutes for a novel. It takes me 45 minutes to decide whether I'm having pasta or rice for lunch.

The German text is available at meiersworld.de, and the English version is here.