How I use AI

12 Willows Press is run by one person. There’s no marketing department, no design team, and no assistant down the hall, so AI tools help fill some of those gaps. I use them for marketing, promotion, administrative work, and editorial support, such as organizing my own notes. They never replace my own reading.

AI doesn’t make editorial decisions. Which books I publish, what goes into them, and how I work with 12 Willows authors are my responsibility, and they will remain so. The same goes for The Publisher’s Read: I read every manuscript myself first and form my own judgment. I may then use AI as a second reader to check my thinking and help organize my notes. Every judgment in the letter is mine.

Author work and review manuscripts are never used to train AI.

AI uses real energy and water, and for a press devoted to the natural world and a changing climate, that’s a genuine tension. I’ve decided the trade-off is worth it, because these tools help 12 Willows reach more readers than I could reach alone. I understand if you see it differently.