I’m pretty dang proud of myself

QueryTracker really does help make this process substantially easier. The last time I really made efforts to query agents was in February this year. Truthfully, that was one of the reasons why I started this website—every form asked for a website if available, and a Twitter handle. I ditched Twitter soon after the Muskrat took it over, and I had no site. I worried that it may hinder my results, so after not having a website for a whopping 18 months or so for the the first time since 1999, I registered this site. And I’ve not utilized it nearly enough. 😅

However, one thing really stood out from the last batch of queries: now the forms all ask about AI usage. I’ll be honest, I have mixed emotions about AI, but this question does kind of worry me. Not because I use AI to write, but because every time I have attempted using those AI detectors with my writing, I’ve gotten results that are 75%+ likely to be AI. Then I’ve dumped actual generative AI content into those detectors and gotten around 15%.

Em-dashes are a favorite punctuation of mine—I use them constantly! People now claim that “the dash is a clear giveaway that you used ChatGPT.” But… No! I just like em-dashes! They work in ways that parentheses and commas do not! Generally speaking for me, an em-dash is an add-on bit that is very relevant. Commas are necessary for relevant info. Parentheses are just a pure aside, and also far more conversational. I rarely use parentheses in my writing, but I use it when chatting/blogging very often. (Or, in work documents, but that’s neither here nor there.) All very different and practical, and not an indicator that I am artificial.

Then there’s the issue that I am neurospicy, and it’s been well documented that neurodivergent writing is often misidentified as AI. That’s a whole different can of worms and a tangent I could go on about far longer than anyone probably wants right now. But I’ve got that trinity of ADHD, anxiety, and depression, and the more my mental health care team and I manage my ADHD, the more there’s a suspicion of autism in the mix. Sucks learning all this in my late thirties, but at least I feel a lot of vindication about my past quirks—particularly when it came to academia and procrastination.

Anyway. AI is a complicated subject, em-dashes are cool, and Oxford comma for life! Also, textbook grammar is not always applicable. Context is everything!

And yes, I have many opinions about grammar. Strong opinions.