The Battle Rages On

FIND OUT HOW IT ENDED

A week ago today, I found out that my book cover was AI created without my knowledge. Since then, I've contacted Fiverr's support team, spoken to three different Customer Service Representatives, and gotten nowhere.

Since my explanation post, it's been little but a back-and-forth between me and Fiverr's CS. The ticket was forwarded to a different rep, who reminded me once again that the date falls out of Fiverr's 14-day grace period. He then said, "if you can provide evidence that the freelancer’s work directly caused the copyright rejection for your book...I can escalate this to the relevant team for further review to ensure your concerns are properly addressed." He also asked me to "kindly clarify where in...communication...[I] explicitly indicated that AI-generated work would not be accepted."

Here, I'll direct quote what I wrote back to them.

"I've attached a screenshot of when the artist told me that she did the drawings herself. I asked her at the very beginning of the gig so I would know how to proceed. According to Fiverr's terms of service, "Freelancers must disclose their use of AI tools when asked by clients to ensure transparency in the process". After I asked the artist about if she did the drawings herself, I felt reassured that she was telling the truth. She was not "transparent" at all.

"Fiverr's terms of service also say, "AI use is encouraged, as long as it’s compliant with laws and platform standards." According to the United States Court of Appeals No. 1:22-cv-01564, "the Constitution itself requires human authorship of all copyrighted material." The artist told me that the $120 I paid her would also pay for commercial rights (the copyright). In other words, she told me I would receive a copyrightable cover, and AI generated covers are uncopyrightable under the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, the artist went against Fiverr's terms of service by not being transparent about her use of AI and not complying with laws.

"I have also attached a full screenshot of the email I received from the U.S. Copyright office, including the email address and the use of my full name, to prove that this artist's work led directly to the rejection of my copyright."

I also attached my list of expenses to that response. Fiverr owes me:

• Cover cost: $134.20

• File revision uploads to IngramSpark (printer): $75

• Copyright registration: $70 ($65 for registration plus $5 shipping to Copyright Office)

• Unsellable books ordered: $36.35

• Total: $315.55

I thought that would clear everything up.

Fiverr was unsatisfied.

Once again, they asked for "a screenshot showing that the correspondence you received from the U.S. Copyright Office is specifically linked to the work provided by the freelancer".

Baffled at how they could be missing the connections, I decided I really would have to spell it all out for them. So I attached the following screenshots.

A screenshot of my Electronic Copyright Office account, showing that I only have one open case.

A screenshot of the full email from eCo, showing the case number and book name to prove that they are indeed referring to The Otherfolk.

A screenshot of sightengine.com, proving that my cover is AI created.

A (rather poor) screenshot of my cover for Fiverr to double check if necessary.

Finally, they connected the dots and forwarded me to a higher-up CSR. Finally, right?! After all this mess, I'm going to get back my $315.55 and everything will be fine.

Wrong. My third CSR replied this afternoon. I was granted a $120 credit (which I can only use on Fiverr) and a 5% credit to use on my next purchase.

If there is another purchase.

I would love to hire someone I actually know. But there's only a week (a week and a half at most) before I need the cover, and I simply don't know how to get it that quickly.

It's really looking like I'll need to push the date. Not because of editing, not because I'm behind, not because my team has slacked off at all - because my cover artist used AI and set me back two weeks and three hundred dollars.

I don't need the cover of The Otherfolk in a week - what I need fast is Beyond the Wall's cover.

How can you help?

1 - an artist. Anyone who can do the same thing my artist did but without AI.

2 - publicity. Anything. Likes, reposts, shares, word of mouth, interviews, anything at all - Fiverr needs to understand that this isn't just a random teenager begging for money. This is a problem that is all over the world, and they need to gatekeep AI if they want to keep their business model.

"Anyone who's tried to write much of anything at all has had the same terrible feeling—that all your work is a waste of time, that no one could possibly care about it, that there are better things to do.... They need someone who gets what you're trying to do, who is moved by your work and will encourage you to keep fighting when the battle is long.... Thank God for resonators.

-Andrew Peterson, Adorning the Dark

Thank everyone reading this for being my resonators. I'm this close to giving up... but I know you all really do want to read BtW, you really do want TO on your shelves with a wonderful, hard earned cover, so I'll keep going.

Stay tuned and write on.