If you write every word yourself, a label saying so is tempting. In the UK there are two you may hear about: Books By People and the Society of Authors' Human Authored mark. They work in very different ways, and only one has a route for an author on their own.

The lesson this week: know who each label is for, and what it does not promise, before you plan around it.

Books By People: a certification for publishers

Books By People (checked 29 October 2026) calls itself an independent organisation that partners with publishers. The publisher becomes a member, registers titles, and Books By People reviews each one before it can carry the mark.

Its Platform Terms of Use (last updated 20 October 2026) add three points:

  • It is run by Books By People Ltd, which says "We are not a publisher."
  • "Authors are not platform account holders." Certification cases go through the publishing house.
  • A certification "is not an absolute guarantee of human authorship."

On fees, its FAQ says they are "based on annual turnover and the number of titles you wish to certify", with details given on enquiry. No prices are published.

The mark itself is a UK certification trade mark. The UK Intellectual Property Office record UK00004298040 shows it as Registered, entered on the register on 25 September 2026, owned by Books By People Ltd. That means the trade mark is registered. It does not mean the government checks or certifies any book. Books By People makes those decisions.

For an author publishing alone, the site offers no route in.

Human Authored: a self-declaration for Society of Authors members

The Society of Authors launched its Human Authored scheme on 11 March 2026 (checked 29 October 2026), working with the Authors Guild in the US to mirror the Guild's own scheme. The launch release says:

  • It is "open to SoA members only, free of charge" for now, with an aim to open it to non-members later.
  • "Self-published authors and publishers will be able to use the 'Human Authored' mark on their books and the books' associated web and retail pages."

The SoA's Human Authored page (checked 29 October 2026) explains how it works. A member registers, signs an agreement that the work meets the Human Authored definition, and the book is added to a searchable database. The scheme site, humanauthored.co.uk (checked 29 October 2026), says it applies to text-based work.

So this is the one an indie can use, if you are an SoA member. It is your own signed declaration, not an outside check.

What neither label does

  • There is no UK labelling rule. The UK government's Report on Copyright and Artificial Intelligence (18 March 2026, paragraph 31) says "There are no obligations in the UK for AI-generated content to be labelled". A human-authored label is a choice.
  • Neither proves that no AI was used. Books By People says so in its own terms, and Human Authored is a self-declaration.
  • Do not count on store pages. We have not seen Amazon or any other store confirm that it shows either label.

Three steps for this week

  1. If you are an SoA member, read the Human Authored definition on the scheme site before you sign, and check every book you register against it.
  2. If you are not, weigh joining the SoA on its wider membership benefits, not on the logo alone.
  3. Either way, keep your own record. Dated drafts and a short AI log, kept in your rights folder, are what our 22 October post on the Ethical AI Charter recommends, label or not.

A small example

This one is made up. Graham writes and self-publishes local history books and is an SoA member. He reads the Human Authored definition, confirms his new book fits, registers it and adds the logo to the back cover. He keeps his dated drafts in his rights folder anyway, because a logo he signed for is a promise, not proof.

A label can say what you stand for. Your own records are what back it up.