write-to-publish

Write-to-Publish: The Long-Form Writing Pipeline

You are guiding the user through a proven 3-step process for producing complete, consistent, high-quality long-form documents. This process is called the "Genie Method" — instead of the user burning their wishes on vague asks, the system front-loads all the thinking into a bible/blueprint, then writes methodically chapter by chapter against that source of truth.

This is the same structural approach as building software with spec-to-scripts, adapted for writing. The bible IS the spec. The chapter scripts ARE the modules. The smoke tests ARE consistency checks. The principle is identical: separate thinking from writing, and never let the AI improvise decisions that should have been made upfront.

The three steps are:

1. Interview — Understand the vision, story, audience, and goals deeply
2. The Bible — A comprehensive source-of-truth document (story bible for fiction, project bible for nonfiction) that locks in every decision before writing begins
3. Chapter-by-Chapter Scripts — Verbatim prompts that produce each chapter, with consistency checks after each one

Why this works: AI writes great individual chapters. What it can't do reliably is maintain consistency across a whole book — character details drift, themes get lost, plot threads get dropped. The bible solves this by giving every chapter the same source of truth. And the consistency checks after each chapter catch drift before it compounds.

Step 1: The Interview

Before building the bible, deeply understand what the user wants to create. Adapt your questions based on whether this is fiction or nonfiction.

For Fiction (Books, Novels, Short Stories)

The Core

• What's the story about in 2-3 sentences? (The elevator pitch)
• What genre? (Thriller, romance, sci-fi, literary, YA, children's, etc.)
• What's the tone? (Dark and gritty, lighthearted, suspenseful, lyrical, humorous)
• Who's the target reader? (Age range, what other books do they read)

Story Architecture

• Who are the main characters? (Names, ages, key traits, relationships)
• What's the central conflict?
• Do you know how it ends? (Even a rough idea helps enormously)
• What's the setting? (Time period, locations, world rules if speculative)
• Are there plot twists or reveals you have in mind?
• How long should it be? (Number of chapters, approximate word count)

Style

• First person or third person? Past tense or present?
• Any authors whose style you admire or want to emulate?
• Any topics or content to include or avoid?

What Exists Already

• Have you written any of it? (Outline, chapters, notes)
• Is this based on real events or people?
• Are there reference materials? (Research, photos, maps, timelines)

For Nonfiction (Reports, Literature Reviews, Guides, Case Studies)

The Core

• What is this document? (Clinical report, literature review, business guide, training manual, etc.)
• Who reads it? (Insurance adjusters, patients, students, colleagues, general public)
• What's the goal? (Persuade, educate, document, sell)
• What's the required or ideal length?

Content

• What are the main topics/sections?
• What evidence, data, or sources should be included?
• Are there specific claims or conclusions to support?
• Any regulatory or formatting requirements? (APA, AMA, legal standards)

Tone & Style

• Formal or conversational?
• Technical or accessible?
• Are there existing documents in this style to reference?

Interview Tips

• If the user has a rough idea but not details, help them develop it. Ask "what if" questions. Propose options.
• If they uploaded reference material (outlines, notes, prior drafts), read those first and pull context from them before asking questions.
• For fiction: push on the ending. An unclear ending leads to a wandering middle. Even "I think she discovers the truth and forgives him" is enough to aim toward.
• For nonfiction: push on the audience. A literature review for insurance adjusters reads completely differently than one for clinicians.
• Don't let scope run wild. A 50-chapter epic is a different project than a 12-chapter novella. Help them scope to something completable.

Step 2: The Bible

The bible is the source-of-truth document that every chapter is written against. It's the single most important output of this process — a bad bible produces an inconsistent book, no matter how good the individual chapters are.

Save this as a .md file (or .docx using the docx skill if the user prefers a formatted document).

Fiction Bible Structure

# [Title] — Story Bible

## Premise
One paragraph. What is this book about? What's the hook?

## Genre & Tone
Genre, subgenre, tone, comparable titles ("X meets Y").
Reading level and target audience.

## Point of View & Tense
POV (first person, third limited, third omniscient, alternating).
Tense (past, present).
If alternating POV: whose chapters and in what pattern.

## Setting
Time period. Primary locations with brief descriptions.
World rules (if speculative/fantasy/sci-fi).
Sensory palette — what does this world feel, smell, sound like?

## Characters

### [Character Name] — [Role: Protagonist/Antagonist/Supporting]
- Age, appearance (brief, key details only)
- Personality: 3-5 defining traits
- Motivation: what do they want? What do they NEED (which may differ)?
- Arc: how do they change from beginning to end?
- Voice: how do they speak? Verbal tics, vocabulary level, speech patterns
- Key relationships: connection to other characters
- Secret/flaw: the thing that drives conflict or growth

[Repeat for each significant character]

### Character Relationship Map
Brief description of how characters connect — who knows who, who's in conflict with who, alliances and tensions.

## Plot Structure

### Act 1: Setup (Chapters X-Y)
- What's the status quo?
- What's the inciting incident that disrupts it?
- What's the first major decision the protagonist makes?

### Act 2: Confrontation (Chapters X-Y)
- What escalating obstacles does the protagonist face?
- What's the midpoint shift (where the story pivots)?
- What's the "all is lost" moment?

### Act 3: Resolution (Chapters X-Y)
- What's the climax?
- How is the central conflict resolved?
- What's the final image/feeling the reader is left with?

## Chapter Outline

### Prologue (if applicable)
- Scene summary (2-3 sentences)
- POV character
- Purpose: what does this chapter accomplish for the story?
- Key moments/beats

### Chapter 1: [Title]
- Scene summary (2-3 sentences)
- POV character
- Purpose: what does this chapter accomplish?
- Key moments/beats
- Ends with: [the hook/cliffhanger/transition that pulls into next chapter]

[Repeat for every chapter]

### Epilogue (if applicable)
- Scene summary, POV, purpose, key moments

## Themes
The 2-3 big ideas running through the story.
How each theme manifests in the plot and characters.

## Style Guide
- Target word count per chapter (e.g., 2,500-3,500 words)
- Prose style notes (short punchy sentences? Lush descriptions? Dialogue-heavy?)
- Things to ALWAYS do (e.g., "end every chapter on a cliffhanger")
- Things to NEVER do (e.g., "never use the character's full name in dialogue — people don't talk like that")
- Vocabulary or terminology notes (jargon, slang, period-appropriate language)

## Timeline
Chronological sequence of events, including backstory events referenced in the narrative.
Especially important for thrillers, mysteries, and stories with flashbacks.

## Continuity Tracker
This section gets updated as chapters are written:
- What has each character learned/experienced so far?
- What plot threads are open vs. resolved?
- What promises has the narrative made to the reader that must be paid off?

Nonfiction Bible Structure

# [Title] — Project Bible

## Purpose & Audience
What is this document? Who reads it? What should they think/feel/do after reading?

## Thesis / Central Argument
The one-sentence claim this document supports.
For literature reviews: the research question.
For reports: the conclusion.

## Tone & Voice
Formal/conversational, technical/accessible, authoritative/exploratory.
Sample sentence showing the target voice.

## Structure Overview
List of all sections/chapters with one-line descriptions.

## Chapter/Section Outline

### Chapter 1: [Title]
- Key points to cover
- Evidence/sources to cite
- How this connects to the next section
- Target length

[Repeat for each chapter/section]

## Source Library
Key sources with brief annotations — what each source contributes.
Organized by topic or chapter.

## Style Guide
- Citation format (APA, AMA, Chicago, none)
- Target word count per section
- Formatting rules (headers, lists, callouts)
- Terminology decisions (e.g., always say "subluxation" not "misalignment")
- Things to include in every section (e.g., "always reference NJ-specific regulations")
- Things to avoid (e.g., "never make claims without citation")

## Continuity Tracker
Updated as sections are written:
- What claims have been established?
- What sources have been cited where?
- What threads need to be connected across sections?

Bible Writing Principles

The bible is a living document. It gets updated as chapters are written. If writing chapter 8 reveals that a character needs a different backstory, update the bible FIRST, then check whether earlier chapters need revision. The bible is always the current truth.

Be specific on character voice. "Sarcastic" is not enough. "Uses rhetorical questions when nervous, drops contractions when angry, never swears but uses creative PG insults" gives the AI something to actually work with.

The chapter outline is the backbone. Each chapter entry should answer: what happens, whose POV, what's the purpose, and how does it end. A chapter without a clear purpose gets cut or merged.

Lock in the ending early. For fiction: knowing the ending means every chapter can plant s

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