You know that moment when you’ve spent half the night doom-scrolling through headlines, only to finally reach for a well-worn paperback just to feel… human again? That’s exactly the tension at the heart of the August 2025 Krehbiel Letter—“Hope for Humans in an AI-Dominated Industry” (PDF alert). The author isn’t here to bash AI—rather, they’re asking us to remember what machines can’t replace: genuine moments of craft, curiosity, and connection.
When I first dove into the piece, I was struck by how each wave of publishing technology—from laser printers to blogging platforms—has turned both opportunity and constraint in publishers’ favor. We gained PDF and lost the tactile flip of pages; we got lightning-fast SEO hits and sacrificed nuance. Now, AI threatens to do the same on steroids: churning out vast seas of content optimized for clicks, but often leaving our brains feeling parched and our souls a bit empty.
Here’s why that matters: engagement stats don’t measure meaning. They track eyeballs and dwell time, not serendipitous discoveries or the warmth of a handwritten note. We’ve all felt the calm of browsing a cozy bookstore—where a surprise find sparks genuine joy—versus the frantic scroll that leaves us drained and craving more. The Krehbiel Letter argues that publishers (and creators of any stripe) must double down on the human-only experiences: boutique print magazines, live readings, local meetups, even the occasional handwritten postcard.
One of my favorite insights was the notion of “depth over reach.” Sure, a virtual book tour can rack up views, but those fleeting impressions rarely convert into lifelong fans. By contrast, a $5,000 road trip to meet 100 readers face-to-face can yield 50 book sales and a handful of passionate ambassadors—people who’ll spread the word long after the algorithm has forgotten you. That’s the kind of ROI no spreadsheet can fully capture.
So, what can you do today?
- Host a Micro-Event: Try a pop-up reading in your neighborhood coffee shop or a mini workshop at your local library.
- Balance Your AI Use: Let automated tools draft outlines and handle metadata, but reserve your voice and narrative arcs for your own craft.
- Track Human Metrics: Beyond clicks, note RSVP counts, handwritten replies, or how many copies of your print zine people keep on their shelves.
AI isn’t the enemy—it’s the new baseline. In a sea of machine-generated content, your humanity is the true standout. As the Krehbiel Letter reminds us, “When mass-produced content is everywhere, the rare thing is not quantity, but craft, authenticity, and insight based on human experience.” Let’s lean into that.