Writing is no longer only something authors do. It is also something sold back to them through courses, critiques, webinars, mentoring, self-publishing advice and promises of access. This essay asks when publishing stopped merely selling books to readers and began selling the dream of authorship to writers.

The rise of AI-generated 'slop' books on Amazon hasn’t broken publishing—it’s simply exposed the fault lines that have been there all along. If we’re serious about defending authorship, we need more than polite concern. We need credits, clarity, and structural accountability - across the board.