The Empty Chair
A faceless channel still needs an author.
Who it’s for: Creators making faceless videos, using AI in production, licensing stock assets, or assessing an automation workflow before putting it into regular use.
Read Chapter 1 free →The complete ebook will be sold through Greenlight Publishing.
The first three chapters. In full.
Read Chapters 1–3 here, with every paragraph, table and worked example from the EPUB. No email address or purchase required.
- 01Ten Businesses, One WordFull chapter · 14 min read
- 02Seven Headings on One PageFull chapter · 16 min read
- 03The Price List for Human LabourFull chapter · 16 min read
These chapters reproduce the current book edition. Source dates and the book’s wording are preserved.
There’s more beyond Chapter 3.
The complete edition includes all ten chapters, the introduction, epilogue and three appendices. Here’s where the investigation goes next.
- 04Buying the Author BackIncluded in the paid EPUB
- 05The Exempt List and the Disclose ListIncluded in the paid EPUB
- 06Eight SecondsIncluded in the paid EPUB
- 07The Licence You Did Not ReadIncluded in the paid EPUB
- 08The Words the Machine Gets WrongIncluded in the paid EPUB
- 09Who Owns the OutputIncluded in the paid EPUB
- 10The Page That Changes Under YouIncluded in the paid EPUB
Also included: introduction, epilogue & three appendices
- Introduction: The Chair Is Empty. The Invoice Is Not.
- Epilogue: Monday
- Appendix A: Primary Sources, With the Date Each Was Read
- Appendix B: The Authorship File
- Appendix C: The Debunk Ledger
The complete ebook will be sold through Greenlight Publishing.
Your first three chapters stay free. Buy the complete EPUB through Greenlight Publishing when the edition is released.
Inside The Empty Chair
Removing the presenter from the frame does not remove the research, judgment or responsibility from a video. The Empty Chair examines faceless YouTube production by asking what the human contributed, what rights cover the materials, and what the finished upload needs to disclose.
The book reads channel monetization and disclosure guidance alongside the workflows those rules affect. It keeps copyright permission, original editorial contribution and disclosure separate, because each addresses a different question. AI-assisted writing, generated media, narration, stock footage and music are considered with their licenses, limitations and review work in view.
The practical answer is a contribution file: preserve the research, drafts, source assets, editing decisions and checks that explain how a video was made. This makes the often-hidden work of fact checking, correcting and reviewing visible in the production budget. Read it when an automation pitch promises to remove the labor, or when you want a clearer account of the labor your own workflow still needs.
This synopsis describes the book’s scope. The free lesson includes source links and the date its platform guidance was checked. Read our research method.
The human contribution desk
Permission, original contribution and disclosure answer different questions.