name: loom description: "AI-native publishing system: autonomous multi-phase workflows from ideation to export. Fiction, non-fiction, and technical books. Trigger: /velith or book-related requests."
Velith — AI-Native Publishing System
Overview
Build books like software. 6-phase pipeline from blank page to published book, with dedicated skills, agents, and quality gates at every stage.
Phase 0: Onboarding → Phase 1: Ideation → Phase 2: Outlining → Phase 3: Drafting → Phase 4: Editing → Phase 5: Publishing
Genre Support
| Genre | Key Differences | Reference File |
|---|---|---|
| Fiction | Plot structure (Save the Cat!/Snowflake), character bible, scene beats | book-fiction |
| Non-Fiction | Problem-solution structure, persona-driven, evidence hierarchy | book-nonfiction |
| Technical | Concept progression (novice→expert), code examples, diagrams, API docs | book-technical |
| Screenplay | 3-act + sequence method, dialogue/action, A/B story | book-screenplay |
| Poetry | Form-driven (sonnet/haiku/free verse), imagery systems, collection arc | book-poetry |
| Game | Quest trees, branching dialogue, lore bible, flag system | book-game |
| Academic | IMRAD, literature review, argument chains, citation practices | book-academic |
| Custom | Compose patterns from any genre via book-genre-creator |
book-genre-creator |
Phase Router
When /velith is invoked without arguments, detect current project state and route:
- No project exists → Run Phase 0 (Onboarding)
- Project exists, no outline → Run Phase 1 (Ideation)
- Outline exists, no drafts → Run Phase 2 (Outlining) validation, then Phase 3
- Drafts exist, incomplete → Continue Phase 3 (Drafting)
- All drafts complete → Run Phase 4 (Editing)
- Editing complete → Run Phase 5 (Publishing)
Detection: check for drafts/ directory, outline.md, STYLE.md, PRD.md in current project.
Phase Details
Phase 0: Onboarding (/velith onboard)
- Genre selection (fiction/non-fiction/technical/screenplay/poetry/game/academic/custom)
- Target audience definition
- Language selection
- Project directory setup
- Source material scan (existing notes, articles, code)
- Generate
STYLE.md(voice, tone, conventions) - Generate
PRD.md(book requirements)
Phase 1: Ideation (/velith ideate)
- Market research (competing titles, gaps)
- Core concept distillation (elevator pitch)
- Unique value proposition
- Scope definition (chapters, word count, timeline)
- Save to
ideation.md
Phase 2: Outlining (/velith outline)
- Generate full chapter outline with dependencies
- Per-chapter specs: title, hook, key concepts, word target, difficulty level
- Cross-chapter reference map
- Save to
outline.md - Agent:
book-architectvalidates structure
Phase 3: Drafting (/velith draft)
- Plan-Then-Execute pattern: chapter-by-chapter generation
- Each chapter gets: outline context + previous chapter summary + style guide
- Parallel chapter generation via subagents (max 4 concurrent)
- Agent:
scene-generatordecomposes chapters into scenes first (fiction only) - Agent:
chapter-writergenerates each chapter (from scenes if available) - Agent:
continuity-editorchecks cross-chapter consistency - Quality gate: line count, frontmatter, style compliance
Phase 4: Editing (/velith edit)
- 5-stage editing pipeline:
- Editorial Assessment (macro structure)
- Developmental Edit (flow, pacing, gaps)
- Line Edit (sentence-level clarity)
- Copy Edit (grammar, consistency)
- Proofread (final typos)
- Agent:
style-doctorenforces voice consistency - Generate editing report with severity-ranked issues
Phase 5: Publishing (/book-publish)
- Format conversion (EPUB/PDF/MOBI/TXT/MD via Pandoc + Calibre)
- Agent:
cover-designer→ concepts + image prompts - Agent:
illustrator→ interior illustration plan (optional, after drafting) - Agent:
marketing-expert→ launch strategy - Metadata, title candidates, KDP checklist
Interior Illustrations (/book-illustrate)
- Can run after Phase 3 (Drafting) or during Phase 5 (Publishing)
- Agent:
illustrator→ scene extraction, style bible, prompts - Produces illustration plan with placement metadata
- Integrates image references into chapter drafts
Project Structure
{project-dir}/
├── PRD.md # Book requirements (Phase 0)
├── STYLE.md # Voice, tone, conventions (Phase 0)
├── ideation.md # Ideas, market research (Phase 1)
├── outline.md # Full chapter outline (Phase 2)
├── drafts/ # Chapter drafts (Phase 3)
│ ├── ch00-foreword.md
│ ├── ch01-xxx.md
│ └── ...
├── edits/ # Editing reports (Phase 4)
│ └── editorial-report.md
├── publish/ # Final outputs (Phase 5)
│ ├── book.epub
│ ├── book.pdf
│ └── metadata.yaml
└── sources/ # Source material references
Sub-Skills
Each phase has a dedicated skill in skills/book-{name}/SKILL.md:
| Skill | Phase | Description |
|---|---|---|
book-init |
0 | Project setup, genre selection, STYLE.md + PRD.md |
book-ideation |
1 | Market research, concept distillation, scope |
book-outline |
2 | Chapter outline with dependencies and cross-references |
book-draft |
3 | Plan-Then-Execute chapter generation |
book-edit |
4 | 5-stage editing pipeline |
book-publish |
5 | EPUB/PDF/MOBI packaging, cover, marketing |
book-illustrate |
3-5 | Interior illustrations, scene extraction, prompts |
book-status |
— | Project status dashboard and web UI |
book-fiction |
— | Fiction patterns (Save the Cat!, character bible) |
book-nonfiction |
— | Non-fiction patterns (problem-solution, persona) |
book-technical |
— | Technical book patterns (concept progression, code) |
book-screenplay |
— | Screenplay patterns (3-act + sequence method, dialogue) |
book-poetry |
— | Poetry patterns (form types, imagery systems, collection) |
book-game |
— | Game scenario patterns (quest trees, branching, lore) |
book-academic |
— | Academic patterns (IMRAD, lit review, argument chains) |
book-genre-creator |
— | Meta-skill for genre selection and custom genre creation |
Agents
| Agent | Role | When |
|---|---|---|
book-architect |
Structure validation, outline generation | Phase 2 |
chapter-writer |
Chapter draft generation | Phase 3 |
continuity-editor |
Cross-chapter consistency check | Phase 3-4 |
style-doctor |
Voice and tone consistency | Phase 4 |
scene-generator |
Scene-level breakdown with GMC+RDD (fiction only) | Phase 3, fiction |
cover-designer |
Cover concepts + image generation prompts | Phase 5 |
illustrator |
Interior illustrations — scene extraction, style, prompts | Phase 3-5 |
marketing-expert |
Reader personas, channel strategy, launch calendar | Phase 5 |
Quality Gates
Each phase has mandatory completion criteria before proceeding:
| Phase | Gate | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Project initialized | PRD.md + STYLE.md exist |
| 1 | Concept validated | Elevator pitch + 3 competing titles analyzed |
| 2 | Outline complete | All chapters specified + cross-reference map |
| 3 | Drafts complete | All chapters meet word target + frontmatter |
| 4 | Editing complete | 5-stage pipeline passed + <5 issues remaining |
| 5 | Publish ready | EPUB/PDF generated + metadata complete |
Integration with Existing Tools
- alcove: Search existing project docs as source material
- episteme: Validate technical content against knowledge graph
- discover: Run problem discovery for book concept
- council: Get multi-voice input on structure/outline decisions