What does Sai Baba mean when he says the author is 'merely a pretext' for writing his own story?

When Sai Baba says the author is "merely a pretext," as mentioned in Chapter 2, He is conveying a profound spiritual concept about divine agency. It means that the true author of the work would be Baba Himself, operating through the physical body and mind of the writer. This requires the writer to completely surrender his personal identity and ego. Baba elaborates on this by saying, "When the ego is dissolved, no trace of it remains. Then I myself shall enter with 'I-ness' and write with my own hand." Therefore, the author becomes a pure instrument or channel for the divine will, and the work is accomplished by the One to whom it truly belongs.