This South African author has sold millions of books, thanks to AI

• South African author Coral Hart published more than 370 books using artificial intelligence, drawing both massive sales and fierce online backlash
• Hart revealed she received tens of thousands of hate messages and death threats after going public about her AI-assisted writing process
• Despite the controversy, Hart claimed she sold over a million books across digital, print and audio formats in 2026

A South African author writing under the pseudonym Coral Hart has stirred up a storm in the publishing world after revealing she has churned out more than 370 books since February 2025, all produced with the help of artificial intelligence. Rather than hiding from the controversy, she has chosen to defend her process head-on.

Hart, who uses a pen name to shield her identity, has been branded a "Grifter" and a "villain" on social media since details of her AI-assisted writing went public. In a candid interview with AFP, she stood firm, saying she made a deliberate choice to be the face of a conversation the industry could no longer avoid.

"I chose to be the one to step up and say, these are conversations we need to start having," Hart said. "This is here… They're not going to switch it off or unplug it because a bunch of authors said so."

From manuscripts to machine learning

Hart is no newcomer to publishing. She spent 14 years in the industry and wrote several dozen books entirely on her own before turning to AI. It took her three months to get comfortable with various tools and build a workflow capable of producing full manuscripts.

Her process is more structured than critics might assume. She maps out the story concept, writing style, character details, and chapter outlines herself before her system generates a draft. She currently works across multiple platforms, including ChatGPT and Grok, noting each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Early on, she could only produce one paragraph at a time, often requiring two or three prompts per section. She can now draft an entire book in a single sequence. The first draft then passes through a second AI system for developmental edits before landing on the desk of a human proofreader, who makes further changes ahead of publication.

"Books are selling," but at what cost?

The backlash has been significant. Hart said she received "tens of thousands" of hate messages and several death threats. Yet commercially, the numbers tell a different story. By her own estimate, she has sold more than a million books across digital, print and audio formats, earning more than R16.5 million in 2026 alone. Social media users had plenty to say about her story.

mhmtshnedu questioned the nature of her output:

"'Books are selling.' But are they books?"

mikolaj_pawlak responded with sarcasm:

"Come on, why not a million books? Why so slow?"

looksbizarre raised a pointed question:

"Again, I ask: how can there possibly be so much demand for new literature to justify 'authors' putting out books faster than they can be read?"

Berita speaks on AI use in music

In an earlier report, Briefly News shared Berita's concerns about the rise of AI in music.

The singer noted that while she has not used AI to create songs, some of the music she has heard sounds a lot like the existing artists she knows, saying she fears for her and fellow artists' future.

Source: Briefly News