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Harold Underdown

@hunderdown.bsky.social
3K followers 282 following 2.6K posts

I'm a children's book editor, teacher and workshop presenter, owner of The Purple Crayon website -- www.underdown.org --and part of Kid's Book Revisions Plus: @kbrplus.bsky.social. I post about #kidlit and other things.

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Reposted by Harold Underdown
Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
George Saunders on using AI: "Writing is the most precious way one person can communicate their essence to another person. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to get better at making myself present in my writing. Why would I want to sacrifice even one iota of that?"
Have you spent time trying to write or revise with AI? Is there an experiment that would be interesting enough to try?

I have not. Not for a second. To me, this whole idea of using AI to write is . . . anathema. A thing to be most radically avoided.

Writing is the most precious way one person can communicate their essence to another person. I’ve spent a lifetime trying to get better at making myself present in my writing. Why would I want to sacrifice even one iota of that? Not even in an email and certainly not in a short story or novel.Who are we ceding our authority to, exactly, when we let AI write for us? And why? Why surrender our agency (that amazing ability we have to reach across time and space, with our strange, idiosyncratic phenomenon, and land within the sensibility of another human being) to something that, by its very design, pushes the individual sensibility aside? And in the name of . . . what, exactly? Ease, I guess? Efficiency? The person who chooses to write with AI has also sacrificed, from the start, the opportunity of experiencing difficulty, of struggling to say what he wants to say, of making himself evident in his prose, of trying to find out what he believes. By this, he sacrifices a chance to know himself and his mind better. To me, that’s a shame. And it’s dangerous, because, as we are now finding out, it affects the brain and lessens our capabilities. Thanks, but no thanks, get thee behind me, etc.
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 6h
New from @timnitgebru.blacksky.app and me: "It is high time for us to regulate usage of systems sold as “AI”, not because they are magical machines, but because they are error-prone products that shouldn’t be used in high stakes scenarios." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Forget ‘superintelligence’: error-prone AI nearly sparked world war three this month | Timnit Gebru and Emily M Bender
The risks of AI aren’t what we think they are, as a recent security incident between China and the United States reveals
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Harold Underdown @hunderdown.bsky.social · 5h
ICYMI re updates to the Anthropic claims: "If you already updated the allocation for a work, then you do not need to submit those updates again. Any changes you submitted previously through the online portal are recorded, but the portal is not being updated in real time."
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Jane Rosenzweig @janerosenzweig.bsky.social · 5h
That "the google one" was easiest to access because it was available on their school computers is interesting paired with this response from Google:"Google focuses on encouraging critical thinking and has specific protections for users under 18, she added"
Kaitlyn Ruano saw the effects of AI in the Advanced Placement Art History class she taught in Miami, where the school district made Google’s Gemini chatbot available to all high-school students last year. She was shocked in July when she saw a much larger portion of students than she’d expected hadn’t passed the AP test, including kids who had been getting A’s and B’s in class. “I had kids come to class after saying, ‘Miss, I had no clue what half the material was, I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve been using AI all year,’” she said. The Miami school district declined to comment.

“The Google one was the biggest temptation, because it’s the easiest to access,” said 15-year-old Sophia Chatzigianni of Fairfax County, Va. She saw her Human Geography and Algebra II grades nosedive to C’s on assessments as she relied on Google Search AI summaries and interactions with its AI mode chatbot on her school computer. Once she quit using AI, her grades improved.
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Authors Against Book Bans @authorsabb.bsky.social · 6h
So many different people, groups, and organizations have come together to push back against the attack on the freedom to read, including students themselves. Read more about what students in Florida are doing here:
theguardian.com
No more book bans: how Florida students are pushing rightwingers out of school boards
Local communities are fighting back against the influence of conservative groups like Moms for Liberty in education
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 5h
America today is a country where regulators won't allow private companies to air interviews of the opposition on TV, but declare that taxpayer funded propaganda is fine.
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El Brento @andbrent.bsky.social · 21h
"There is no longer a public sphere, but there is a public flat earth." Slop, memes, conspiracy and misinformation run rampantly free while factual news from reputable sources comes with a fee. @sarahkendzior.bsky.social sums up the dark societal costs. sarahkendzior.substack.com/p/a-public-f...
sarahkendzior.substack.com
A Public Flat Earth
How paywalls killed the public sphere.
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K.L.Going @klgoing.bsky.social · 7h
One Good Thing: Thankful Thursday klgoing.substack.com/p/one-good-t...
klgoing.substack.com
One Good Thing: Thankful Thursday
Boyds Mills Retreat Center
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Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 17h
This 33-year-old nurse told the FBI she knew she was “going to set him free” after border patrol agents brought in a man whose face was bloodied and seriously injured. She treated him and helped him escape, and she faces charges now. He got away, and they never relocated him.
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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 20h
"Those in attendance...received a book called “The War Department Field Manual,” a compilation of Hegseth’s past speeches. In a forward written by President Trump, the troops were told: “As your commander in chief, I will not ask you to fight dumb wars.” Perfect www.wsj.com/politics/nat...
wsj.com
Five Takeaways From Hegseth’s Speech
The defense secretary gave a “State of the Force” address to hundreds of officers and enlisted servicemembers at a Marine Corps base in Quantico, Va.
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22h
We’re addressing these critical capital needs and more with a $607 million renovation — every dollar guided by residents.
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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 23h
Your 3rd dose today of Anthropic settlement madness (at least from me). Authors, CHECK YOUR CLAIMS! Your situation may have changed, per this email from the settlement administrator that some authors are receiving (subject heading: Anthropic Copyright Settlement: Allocation Updates)
We made updates that may affect your claim.
What Changed?
Wed, Sep 30,
2026 at 5:35 AM
Based on feedback from claimants, we updated how certain works are categorized.
In particular, where multiple claimants submitted default claims for the same
ownership interest in a work, we changed those works from agreement to
disagreement.
In addition, the portal is updated to reflect that some claimants changed their sole
ownership claims to default claims, and some claimants withdrew their claims.
What This Means for You
As a result of these updates, some works on your claim may now be categorized
differently. We encourage you to review the current allocations for your works.
How to Review and Update Your Allocations
Please use your claim number and PIN above to log into the portal below.
Claim Summary and Allocation Portal
For help making updates, please visit the allocation portal instructions.
If You Already Submitted Updates
If you already updated the allocation for a work, then you do not need to
submit those updates again. Any changes you submitted previously
through the online portal are recorded, but the portal is not being
updated in real time. If you submit multiple updates for the same
copyright number, your most recent submission will replace any earlier
submissionsWhat’s Next?
We will continue to work with claimants to help resolve disputes.
For works where all rightsholders are in agreement and where all necessary
payment information is provided, we expect to send a first round of payments in
November 2026.
If You Have Questions
Please contact us at 1-877-206-2314 or info@AnthropicCopyrightSettlement.com.
Regards,
Settlement Administrator
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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 30/09/2026
More Anthropic settlement stuff: here's the email Wiley is sending For Dummies authors to explain the percentages it's claiming. Also note that they're saying payment for the author share will go to agencies rather than directly to authors.
Dear Author,

 

A number of For Dummies authors have asked why the claim percentage Wiley submitted for their titles in the Anthropic settlement differs from the settlement's Default Option for trade titles. We want to explain why.

 

Wiley classifies For Dummies works as Education Works, based on their instructive nature and the substantial editorial and production investment Wiley makes in developing each title. The For Dummies trademark, series format, and visual identity are owned and controlled by Wiley. Each title is developed within a Wiley-established voice and structure covering organization, icons, and design, and Wiley edits and produces every title to this pedagogic standard. The terms of Wiley's author contracts for For Dummies works reflect this level of publisher investment and control.

 

Because For Dummies works are Education Works, Wiley's claim reflects the electronic royalty rate set out in your author agreement rather than the Default Option reserved for trade titles. The percentage due to you under that rate is what you should claim. If a work has more than one royalty-bearing author, that percentage divides proportionately based on the author royalty split in the agreement.

 

If sums due under your agreement with Wiley are payable via your literary agency, your agency will receive the settlement payment for your share, and you should receive it from your agency, as with any other sums due under your agreement. If you and your agent are already paid separately, the allocation will reflect that division.

 

If you have questions, or would like to provide documentation you believe supports a different percentage, please reach out to your Wiley editor.

If Wiley and an author are unable to agree on the percentage, the dispute is resolved by a Court-appointed, neutral special master, as described in Question 24 of theAnthropic Publisher FAQ. Claim percentages can be updated by navigating to the following link (https://secure.anthropiccopyrig…
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The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Every time a discourse kicks off over whether AI music, literature or art will be "as good as" the real thing, I'm always amazed more people don't cite that **there already are** creative pursuits where human-free spectacles have been available for decades, and nobody has ever wanted to watch them.
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”
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Kate McKean @katemckean.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I could write a whole book about what comparable titles are when you're trying to sell your book, what they aren't, and why most of yours are wrong. But I won't because that would be the most boring book ever. This post, however, is just the right length. www.agentsandbooks.com/gizmo-vs-lilo/
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Karen Leader @proftinkerbell.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Fall of Freedom is a call to action against censorship. Timed with Banned Books Week, creative activations are happening all over the country. Join us. www.falloffreedom.com/fall-of-free...
A hand with a torch, and the words I'm with Fall of Freedom, October 2nd, 3rd, & 4th 
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Anne Helen Petersen @annehelen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
This is *the* piece. Kate Manne, professor of philosophy at Cornell, speaks truth to the totality of failures at the university — and why students protesting the war in Gaza have faced far harsher consequences than any of the Cornell 7: www.thecut.com/article/what...
thecut.com
What It Feels Like at Cornell Right Now
As a professor at the Ivy League school, Kate Manne has known many, many victims. There’s a palpable feeling on campus, she writes, that this is big.
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Children's Bookshelf @pwkidsbookshelf.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Literary agent Edite Kroll, known for her passion for mentoring and supporting authors, and her keen eye for talent, has died at age 87. See our tribute buff.ly/78cQ0J2
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The funniest thing about the Schmitt rake stomp is that if it'd been a Dem we'd have a week of think pieces about how Dems lack of hoops literacy was alienating them from real America.
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Matthew Gertz @mattgertz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The underlying theory Senate Republicans are going with is that Joe Biden secretly ordered DOJ to investigate Trump, something they have produced no evidence to support and also they're all fine with Trump publicly ordering DOJ to investigate his enemies.
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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 29/09/2026
A win on fair use: court rejects fair use defense of AI training
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Walker Bragman @walkerbragman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
NEW from @accountabilityji.bsky.social and @assignedmedia.org: Reporter @billiejsweeney.bsky.social has an important story on the changing dynamics of the politics around transgender rights and issues. www.importantcontext.news/democrats-lo...
importantcontext.news
Democrats Lose by Punching Down on Trans Issues, Strategists Say
Insiders, including at centrist think tank Third Way, are cautioning Democratic candidates against echoing Republican talking points on trans rights.
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
as a satire on so-called late stage capitalism how could one beat investors pouring a trillion into a company offering to wipe out humankind
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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 28/09/2026
Be careful, friends—this scam is everywhere writerbeware.blog/2026/03/27/w...
writerbeware.blog
Watch Out For This Scam Impersonating Editors at Major Publishing Houses - Writer Beware
I’ve recently gotten a slew of reports of emails purporting to be from editors at Big 5 and other large publishers, in which the supposed editor expresses interest in the writer’s work and asks whethe...
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 29/09/2026
Stopping the fascists from sabotaging the midterms is what the next No Kings is all about. On October 17, we need millions of people in the streets putting the regime on notice that We The People won’t accept any of Trump’s bullshit: www.nokings.org?SQF_SOURCE=i...
NO KINGS
NO THRONES. NO CROWNS.
VOTE EARLY
OCTOBER 17
NOKINGS.ORG
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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 28/09/2026
Dystel, Goderich & Bourret resigns from AALA over changes to the Canon of Ethics they deem conflict of interest--namely, new rules allowing agents "to charge editorial fees with the potential to then sign those authors as clients and retain those fees". www.dystel.com/aala-statement
dystel.com
AALA Statement — Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC
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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
States can and have banned 287 agreements within their borders. There’s a template for this, and any state that hasn’t done so is choosing not to do so.
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Anna Holmes @annabookwriter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
That said, the fact that there is so much interest makes me feel like I should mention them at least a little. This thread in no way can stand in place of working with a sensitivity consultant with lived experience! Here is a brief, nonexhaustive list of harmful disability tropes in fiction.
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Dr. K. Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Scientists - be careful what ideas and data you share with chatbots in the name of "productivity" 🧪
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
@jkbjournalist.bsky.social reopened the Epstein case; Heidi Blake seems to have restarted the UK prosecuting Andrew Tate; Ronan Farrow, Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor made the system finally go after Weinstein for real. Journalism has again and again made the justice system do its job.
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More Perfect University @mpuniversity.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
@aoc.bsky.social: The best thing that we can do to rein in runaway costs at private institutions is by having tuition free public colleges and universities. “For anyone who wants to say that that’s pie in the sky and unrealistic… this is literally what baby boomers gave themselves.”
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Harold Underdown @hunderdown.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Gift link: share.inquirer.com/pQJhI2
share.inquirer.com
We need to find the words for Trump’s madness before things blow up | Will Bunch
The media and politicians haven’t pinned down anything resembling a suitable description for a president’s downward spiral or the looming battle for U.S. democracy.
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tagerai.bsky.social @tagerai.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
It’s interesting to think about this fake award on the same day that nature published the story on fake academic societies. Billionaires creating new awards for ideological capture and to launder their reputations is also a scam, but its not treated as such and gets a ‘Newsvertisement‘ in the WSJ
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Jonah Blank @jonahblank.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I worked in government for 12 years, and in journalism for another 6: I've seen a lot of politicians lying. ♦️There's absolutely no comparison between Trump's lying and that of any other politician. Indeed, any other human. It's just not even the same universe. Truth isn't a concept he understands.
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@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I think it’s fair to say that the student journalists at Cornell are braver than the news networks who just gave up on their WH pool ban even though CNN is still being denied access. www.cornellsun.com/article/2026...
cornellsun.com
EDITORIAL | Cornell Won’t, We Will
The Editorial Board demands that Cornell stops protecting the alleged Chi Phi rapists through the University's opaque sexual assault policies.
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Jane Rosenzweig @janerosenzweig.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"Anything worth remembering came from a person who did not know where she or he was going until arriving. No shortcut gets you there: the process leaves a trace"
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Dan O’Sullivan @osullyville.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Today I saw the new 4 hour documentary Musk, directed by Alex Gibney. There were too many times to count that a sold out theater burst out laughing at Elon Musk, something he said or did, even sometimes just how he looked. I believe that is his worst nightmare come to life.
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Naomi Kritzer @naomikritzer.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The thing that's infuriating about our squeamishness about consequences for traitors and corrupt officials is that we are one of the most punitive countries in the world in most other respects.
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Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I don’t even know what to say anymore. The only thing Covid conscious people are trying to do, truly, is not get sick. That we’ve become the country’s newest freak show is predictable given the pandemic, but truly despicable on a base human level.
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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
A couple quick observations here, which should be obvious. 1) insurance “risk pools” work by requiring younger/healthier people who make few or no claims to sign up and pay premiums alongside older/less healthy people who do, essentially covering their costs.
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Harold Underdown @hunderdown.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Fascinating Philly food story--gift link: share.inquirer.com/M9dSz2
share.inquirer.com
What’s in a pepper pot? Black chefs gather to celebrate, revive, and update Philadelphia’s signature soup.
In a year full of historical reflections for America's 250th anniversary, the time is ripe to consider an iconic Philadelphia soup that has nearly disappeared — and attempt to revive it.
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Hope For The Planet @h4tp.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
We now have rigorous pooled data showing that even without active restoration efforts, cleared rainforest can rebound to 75% of their former species composition and 90% of species diversity within just thirty years. #goodnews
optimistdaily.com
Rainforest biodiversity rebounds within a single generation | The Optimist Daily
A major Ecuador study finds cleared rainforests can recover 90 percent of their species diversity in just 30 years, as long as humans leave the land alone.
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Aparna Nair @disabilitystor1.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
"There is also a “natural link between cuteness and deception … I call it ‘charming and disarming’, because one of the things cuteness does to us unconsciously, it’s just how our brain processes it, is lets down our guard. We can’t really help it.”
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026
In response to our reporting, Susan Collins has mustered a defense that is full of incorrect and misleading claims. We’ve reviewed FBI evidence, examined thousands of pages of records and interviewed dozens of people. Here are the receipts.
propublica.org
ProPublica Debunks Susan Collins’ Claims About FBI Anti-Corruption Probe
ProPublica revealed that the FBI was circling Sen. Collins over a defense contractor’s donations — until President Trump gutted the unit in charge. Collins has since mustered a defense with a series o...
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026
I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility
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Carol Hinz @carolhinz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Love this chatty & informative thread, much as I love Danna's book about Jeanne, THE LADY AND THE OCTOPUS!
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Harold Underdown @hunderdown.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Watch out for the framing of headlines like this. AI programs don't "go rogue"--they are computer programs built by humans, doing what the humans designed them to do, or failed to design for properly. OpenAI is responsible for what the programs it builds do.
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Ursula K. Le Guin Bot @leguinbot.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one.
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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 25/09/2026
New #WriterBeware blog post: If you're a writer, you've probably gotten one (or more) of those AI-generated scam marketing emails or book club invites that make it seem like the sender really read your book. Here's a little peek at how it's done. writerbeware.blog/2026/09/25/h...
writerbeware.blog
How Those Personalized Generative AI Scam Emails Are Built - Writer Beware
One of the things I often hear from writers whose inboxes are crammed with incredibly personalized marketing or book club or editor impersonation emails–you know, the ones that make it seem the sender...
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