Self-publishing platforms are starting to ask
Uploading to a self-publishing platform used to mean answering questions about rights and formatting. Increasingly, it means answering one about AI too.
Read the actual disclosure question, not just the checkbox
Some platforms ask narrowly about generated text in the manuscript itself; others ask more broadly about cover art, editing tools, or marketing copy too. A single checkbox often covers more, or less, than an author assumes on first read.
Retroactive changes to platform policy are a real risk
A platform that adds a disclosure requirement after you have already published can leave existing authors uncertain whether earlier titles need updating. Watch for policy changes on any platform you publish through, the same way you would watch for a royalty-rate change.
Keep your own drafting record regardless of the platform’s rule
Notes, drafts, and a rough timeline of how a book was written protect you the same way they protect any writer, independent of what any single platform currently requires — platform rules are moving faster than most authors’ record-keeping habits.
If you use AI tools at any stage, decide your own disclosure line now
Research, outlining, light editing, drafting — decide where your own comfortable line sits before a platform’s specific wording forces the question, using the same four-decision approach as building a policy in an afternoon.