I wrote my first book review about Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, when I was 17. It was written on an index card and pinned to a brown shelf just below eye level, in a little independent bookstore in northern NJ.

During the day, the shoppers would trickle into the store. An older woman, a mom with a stroller, a guy with curly dark hair and a 2-door Nissan. They’d shuffle in through the front door, turn right, and stop in front of that small, taped-to-the-shelf index card, to read my book review.

Some of them would pull a copy of Fast Food Nation off the shelf to buy.  Instead of no sales, we were selling copy after copy. The review itself must’ve been 6-7 sentences max, given the size of the index card, and I’d trade an arm and a leg to read what it said, today.

I must’ve made a case.

I had no idea, of course, that twenty years later, I’d be a writer (and copywriter) who was charging $5,000+ for 20 pages of compelling, original work. All I knew was the new thrill of my words being read.

something I wrote might change a mind; might spark a feeling.

Those were certainly different times, as there was no debate about whether or not I used a Large Language Model (like ChatGPT or Claude) to generate that review, a topic that we’ll turn over thoroughly, together.

Back then, there was no way to fake writing. You were either good at it, or you were asking someone like me to help you write your paper in the 11th hour.

Hey, it’s Jillian Anderson —

What you just read is a piece of writing from my (currently messy) second book project.

This project focuses on the intersection between Big Tech and writing.

We don’t have to go [oh wait I can’t say that word because it’s been appropriated by a probability-machine].

Anyway, I’m making statements and aiming to give other creatives a language of resistance.

Entering your name + email below will allow me the privilege of sending you my best long-form writing.

You’ll be the first to know when I’m finished with my first draft, when I’m getting a professional developmental edit, and when the book is ready for early readers.

My communication(s) promise: this is a promo free zone, FR. No ads. Nothing like that. Just my best writing.

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Have a Q? Email us at hello@jillian-anderson.com and we’ll be right with you.