newbook

name: newbook description: Scaffold a new book project — folders, memoir-based LaTeX skeleton, custom style with voiced sidebars, bibliography stub, CLAUDE.md, README, and a chapter-per-file structure that converts cleanly to HTML later. Use at the start of a book project to get a compileable skeleton in one step. Parallel to /newproject and /bibcheck. allowed-tools: Bash(mkdir*), Bash(cp*), Bash(ls*), Bash(pdflatex*), Bash(touch*), Read, Write, Edit argument-hint: '[book-slug] [optional --title="Title"] [optional --chapters=N]'

Newbook: Scaffold a Book Project

Scaffold the standard structure Scott uses for a long-form book: memoir-based LaTeX, Palatino body, Gov-2001 palette, voiced-sidebar callouts, one chapter per file, a bibliography stub, a CLAUDE.md with voice and lineage rules, and a README.

This is the skill that produced AI Agents and the Research Worker. Use it any time a book-shaped project is starting.

When this skill is invoked

The user is starting a book or book-shaped manuscript. They will give a slug (the folder name) and optionally a title and a chapter count.

Step 1: Get the arguments

1. Slug (required): the folder name. Convert spaces to dashes; lowercase. If absent, ask.
2. Title (optional, default = title-case of the slug): the book's working title.
3. Chapter count (optional, default = 11): how many numbered chapters to scaffold (plus 00_frontmatter and an unnumbered conclusion).

If unclear, ask before scaffolding. Do not guess.

Step 2: Confirm location

Default location is the current working directory. Confirm if the user has not stated where. If a folder with the slug already exists and is non-empty, stop and ask whether to continue (this skill never overwrites).

Step 3: Create the directory structure

mkdir -p <slug>/{chapters,style,bibliography,correspondence,decks,figures,code,drafts,progress_logs,substacks}

Step 4: Write the core files

Each file below is written from a template in this skill's templates/ directory. Substitute __TITLE__, __SLUG__, __AUTHOR__, __DATE__, and __CHAPTERS__ per the arguments.

For the chapter stubs, generate 01.tex through <N>.tex (default 11) with placeholder titles like Chapter <n> that the user will replace. Each stub contains a \chapter{}, a % SUBSTACK MAP: placeholder block, a TODO bullet list, and one example \voice{Verifier}{...} sidebar.

Step 5: Sanity compile

Run pdflatex book.tex once and report whether it compiled. Do not require zero warnings on the first compile — the skeleton is a starting point, not a finished book.

Step 6: Report

Show the user:

<slug>/ scaffolded.

  Title:     <title>
  Chapters:  <N> + frontmatter + conclusion stub
  Compile:   <pdflatex book.tex> succeeded / had warnings (see book.log)

Next steps:
  - Open CLAUDE.md and edit the voice cast and lineage rules for this book.
  - Open chapters/01.tex and replace the placeholder title.
  - Run /bibcheck bibliography/<slug>.bib once you have real entries.

Design decisions baked into the templates

• memoir as the document class. Maximum flexibility; converts cleanly to HTML for online versions.
• Palatino via mathpazo (Palatino math is included; no eulervm because it's not in TinyTeX by default).
• Gov 2001 palette (charcoal, slate, ocean, forest, crimson, warmgray, lightbg).
• Voiced sidebars via \voice{<name>}{<text>} — named voices have fixed colors; unknown voices fall to charcoal.
• idea and warn callouts as tcolorbox environments.
• One chapter per file under chapters/, all \input-ed from book.tex. Enables HTML conversion later.
• \graphicspath{{figures/}{substacks/}} — figures from either folder work without per-include path.
• \flushbottom + \emergencystretch=3em — fewer overfull-hbox warnings on book-length text.
• \documentclass[..., openany]{memoir} — chapters do not force right-side opens (cleaner page count for skeleton).

Voice cast (default — user customizes via CLAUDE.md)

User adds or renames voices in style/<slug>.sty and documents the cast in CLAUDE.md.

What this skill does NOT do

• It does not write prose. It writes stubs.
• It does not invent citations. The .bib is empty until the user provides entries.
• It does not run biber or process bibliography. The first compile is pdflatex only; once entries exist, the user runs the full chain.
• It does not push to GitHub. That is a separate user action.