Create detailed book plans from theme/concept collections — chapter outlines, course companions, bonus worksheets, sales page copy, and pricing tiers. Use when Joseph asks to plan a book, create book outlines, design a course companion, or package content for Lemon Squeezy (store.jjude.com).
Load this skill when:
references/devotional-book-variant.mdBefore creating a book plan, read:
1. The relevant theme file(s) in wiki/produce/hermes/writing-themes/ — these contain domain mappings, concept lists, and Gumroad product potential notes
2. Any existing concept files linked from the theme (sample 2-3 to capture Joseph's voice)
3. The wiki README at wiki/readme.md for directory conventions
Every book plan lives at wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/plan.md and follows this structure:
1. Book Identity — core promise, target reader, competition positioning, voice, estimated length
2. Chapter Outline — organized in Parts (3-4 parts, 9-12 chapters total). Each chapter has a title and 3-5 bullet points describing what it covers. Chapters should flow naturally from why → how → maintain/apply.
3. Bonus Materials — exactly 3 worksheets with names and one-line descriptions
4. Course Companion — format (self-paced or cohort), weekly structure mapping to chapters
5. Pricing Tiers — always use the 3-tier structure
Always create exactly 3 worksheets per book:
1. One diagnostic/audit (e.g., "Identity Audit," "Five-Layer Resilience Audit")
2. One design canvas (e.g., "System Design Canvas," "Flywheel Mapper")
3. One action planner (e.g., "30-Day Launch Pad," "Weekly Review Template")
| Tier | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Digital | ₹___ | Full PDF |
| Complete | ₹___ | PDF + bonus materials (prompt library, templates, worksheets) |
| Supporter | ₹___ | Everything above + consultation call |
Pricing varies per book — confirm with Joseph before finalizing. The template above is a starting point, not a fixed rule.
wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/plan.md ← Book plan (Hermes writes)
wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/README.md ← Book project README
wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/sales-page.md ← Sales page draft (Lemon Squeezy description)
wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/free-pdf-outline.md ← Free lead magnet / variant outline
wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/cover-brief.md ← Cover design brief
wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/pricing.md ← Pricing strategy + launch plan
Sales materials live at the book directory root (not in a gumroad/ subdirectory).
The plan.md is the source of truth. Sales materials are derived from it.
Platform: Lemon Squeezy (store.jjude.com). See references/lemon-squeezy-platform.md for platform details.
When the book is built from an existing corpus of blog posts (not from themes), use references/blog-to-book-adaptation.md for the full workflow. Key steps:
1. Inventory all posts, group by chapter, identify gaps
2. Decide framing: "how I use" (usage story) vs tutorial — usage stories age better
3. Per chapter: strip blog framing, convert "you" to I-voice, adjust depth, add cross-references
4. Write in batches of 2-3 chapters with Joseph review between batches
5. Use Google Doc as writing workspace, markdown for PDF production
1. Read all 7 theme files (or the specific theme Joseph wants) from wiki/produce/hermes/writing-themes/
2. For each theme, extract: the pattern description, the domain table (which concepts map to which life areas), and the existing Gumroad product potential notes
3. For each book, create plan.md using the template above
4. Derive chapters from the domain table — each domain row becomes at least one chapter
5. Name worksheets based on the book's core framework (e.g., SWAN portfolio → "Five-Layer Resilience Audit")
6. After all plans are done, update wiki/produce/hermes/books/catalog.md
7. For the book closest to launch, create Gumroad materials
When the book is a collection of existing short pieces (meditations, devotionals), use the variant process in references/devotional-book-variant.md. Key difference: audit existing pieces first, lock the format, then write new ones — don't plan chapters from themes.
For multi-session book projects, use three files with distinct roles:
| File | Role | What it tracks |
|---|---|---|
plan.md |
Structure | What we intend to do — chapters, approach, decisions. Don't pollute with session logs. |
task.md |
Checklist | Chapter-level status — done/not done per phase. The progress indicator. |
progress.md |
Session log | What happened each session, decisions made, pending items, thread handover context. |
After the editorial pass (no-ai-slop, consistency check) and before final PDF generation, there is a distinct formatting phase:
1. Export Google Doc to Markdown (pandoc)
2. Set up PDF template: margins, fonts, heading hierarchy, page breaks
3. Design cover: brief, image generation, front/back cover
4. Format TOC: auto-generated from headings, page numbers
5. Typography pass: body font, heading sizes, code block styling, blockquotes
6. Image placement: diagrams, visuals
7. Header/footer: chapter names, page numbers
8. Generate test PDF, inspect each page, fix layout issues
This is distinct from editing (which fixes voice/content) and production (which is the mechanical export + Gumroad setup). Formatting is about how the book looks.
PDF generation without pandoc: When pandoc/LaTeX are not available (no root access), use weasyprint via Python. Seebook-writing-gdoc skill for the full workflow and CSS template. Key: markdown → HTML (Python markdown lib) → PDF (weasyprint), with embedded CSS for typography.
For the complete production-to-launch workflow — sales page template, launch content templates (LinkedIn, X, blog, WhatsApp), pricing tiers, and file organization — see references/gumroad-launch-workflow.md.
Joseph's preferred sales page style (learned from the devotional product): clean prose, no tables, no bullet feature lists. Mirror the devotional's structure:
1. One-liner tagline — who it's for, one sentence
2. Problem — "In a world of..." (the pain point)
3. What it is — one sentence, specific (not generic)
4. What's inside — concrete details, not a feature list ("Each chapter walks through...")
5. Differentiation — "This is not a..." (what it isn't)
6. Closing hook — one memorable sentence
Do NOT use: pricing tables, bullet-point feature lists, numbered "What's Inside" sections, or marketing-speak. Write like the devotional: honest, direct, specific.
Example (from the devotional):
> "In a world of metrics, noise, and pressure, it's easy for founders and executives to lose sight of what truly matters. In the World, Led by the Word is a 30-day devotional designed to help you realign your leadership with Scripture..."
For a 1-2 page free overview PDF (not a chapter excerpt):
Purpose: Give the reader everything they need to understand the book's value, compressed. Make them want the full thing. Structure:See references/lemon-squeezy-platform.md for platform-specific setup details.
When a Slack thread gets long (~50+ messages) or phases span multiple sessions:
Starting a new thread:> Continuing the [book name] from the previous thread.
> Plan: /wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/plan.md
> Task brief: /wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/task.md
> Progress log: /wiki/produce/hermes/books/<slug>/progress.md
> Google Doc: [link]
> We left off at [Phase X / Chapter Y].
Before closing a thread:1. Update progress.md with session summary
2. Update task.md checklist items
3. Post summary in thread: what was done, what's next, open decisions
google-workspace skill references for the setup steps.