kdp-publish

What this skill does

# KDP Book Publishing Workflow

Orchestrate the full workflow for publishing a book through Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing): audit the manuscript, craft the listing, prepare files, and submit. This skill coordinates `/kdp-audit` and `/kdp-listing` into a phased pipeline, then walks through the mechanical submission steps on the KDP dashboard.

## Strategy

The recommended publication sequence:

1. **Audit** -- Verify the manuscript meets KDP formatting and content requirements
2. **Listing** -- Craft blurb, keywords, categories, and author bio (the marketing artifacts that determine discoverability)
3. **Prepare** -- Convert manuscript to final format, verify cover specs
4. **Submit** -- Walk through the KDP dashboard, upload files, set pricing, publish

Each phase gates the next. Do not submit a manuscript that fails audit. Do not fill in listing fields without the artifacts from `/kdp-listing`. Present the phase map, confirm the plan, and proceed one phase at a time.

## Workflow

### Phase 1: Assess Current State

Determine where the book stands in the pipeline to skip completed phases.

**Load user config** (Read tool): Read `.claude/kdp.local.md` if it exists. Extract the `kdp` section and `author` metadata from YAML frontmatter. If the file is missing, offer to create one from the template at `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/docs/user-config-template.md`.

**Detect manuscript files** (Glob tool): Search for manuscript files in the project:
- `.tex` files (LaTeX -- technical books)
- `.docx` files (Word -- fiction/nonfiction)
- `.epub` files (eBook source)
- `.md` files (Markdown manuscripts)
- `.pdf` files (final output)
- `.kpf` files (Kindle Create project)

Classify the manuscript type: Technical (LaTeX, math, code), Fiction (chapters, dialog), or General nonfiction.

**Check what already exists** (Glob/Read tools):
- Cover files? (`cover*.jpg`, `cover*.pdf`, `paperback-cover.*`, `full-cover.*`)
- Audit already done? (Look for recent audit report in conversation history or notes)
- Listing artifacts in config? (`kdp.blurb`, `kdp.keywords`, `kdp.categories` populated?)
- Manuscript in final format? (compiled PDF, validated EPUB)

**Present status table** to the user summarizing findings.

**Decision matrix** -- determine where to enter the pipeline:

| State | Next Phase |
|-------|------------|
| No manuscript found | Cannot proceed -- ask user for manuscript location |
| Manuscript exists, no audit done | Phase 2: Audit |
| Audit passed, no listing artifacts in config | Phase 3: Listing |
| Listing artifacts ready, manuscript not in final format | Phase 5: Manuscript Preparation |
| Everything ready, not yet submitted | Phase 6: Cover Preparation or Phase 7: Submit |
| Published, not verified | Phase 10: Post-Publish |

Present the recommended plan and confirm with the user before proceeding.

### Phase 2: Audit

Run `/kdp-audit` to evaluate the manuscript against KDP requirements.

The audit checks interior formatting, cover specs, metadata completeness, and genre-specific requirements. It produces a structured gap report with Critical / Warnings / Passed sections.

If critical gaps are found:
1. Present the gap report to the user
2. Offer to fix automatable issues (margins, missing front matter, scene break markers)
3. Guide manual fixes (cover creation, content revisions)
4. Re-audit after fixes

**Gate**: The manuscript must pass audit (no critical gaps) before proceeding to Phase 3. Warnings are acceptable but should be noted for later attention.

### Phase 3: Craft Listing

Run `/kdp-listing` to generate the four marketing artifacts:
- Blurb (book description, max 4000 characters with HTML formatting)
- Keywords (7 keyword phrases for Amazon search)
- BISAC categories (2-3 browse categories)
- Author bio (for the product page and Author Central)

The listing skill reads manuscript context, generates drafts, iterates with the user, and saves all artifacts to `.claude/kdp.local.md`.

**Gate**: All four artifacts must be saved to the config before proceeding. Phase 7 reads them during dashboard submission.

### Phase 4: Pre-Order Setup (Optional)

Ask the user whether they want to set up a pre-order before the book is finalized.

**When pre-orders make sense**: Fiction launches where Day 1 ranking matters (pre-orders count toward release-day sales rank), books with an existing audience, or series releases.

**Pre-order mechanics**:
- Available up to 90 days before publication date
- Upload a placeholder or final manuscript; set publication date and price
- Final manuscript must be uploaded at least 72 hours before publication date
- Missing the 72-hour deadline may result in KDP blocking pre-order privileges for one year

**How to set up**: Create the title on KDP dashboard (see Phase 7), choose "Make this book available for pre-order," set the release date, upload manuscript, and complete pricing (Phase 8).

If not using pre-orders, skip to Phase 5.

### Phase 5: Manuscript Preparation

Ensure the manuscript is in final publishable form.

**Format conversion** (Bash tool):
- *LaTeX to PDF*: Run `pdflatex` (multiple passes for cross-references; add `bibtex` pass if bibliography exists). Verify fonts embedded, margins correct, page numbers start after front matter.
- *Markdown to EPUB*: Use `pandoc manuscript.md -o manuscript.epub --toc`. Validate with `epubcheck` if available.
- *DOCX to PDF*: Use `libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf` or Word's built-in PDF export with fonts embedded.

**Final proofread checklist**:
- [ ] Front matter complete (title page, copyright, dedication, TOC)
- [ ] Chapter headings consistent in style
- [ ] Page numbers start after front matter
- [ ] All images/figures embedded and captioned
- [ ] Bibliography/references formatted correctly (if applicable)
- [ ] Back matter complete (acknowledgments, About the Author)
- [ ] No orphan blank pages

### Phase 6: Cover Preparation

Generate or verify cover files for the book. See `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/docs/kdp-reference.md` for full cover requirements (dimensions, DPI, spine width calculation, bleed).

**Fallback note**: This phase uses the `kdp-cover` MCP server for AI cover generation. If the MCP tools are not available (Node.js not installed, `OPENAI_API_KEY` not set, or the server is not configured), fall back to manual cover preparation: verify existing cover dimensions with `identify` or `file` (Bash tool), direct the user to the KDP Cover Calculator at https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/cover-calculator, and recommend hiring a designer or using KDP Cover Creator if no cover exists.

1. **Check for existing cover** (Read tool, Glob tool): Look for an existing cover path in `kdp.cover.front` from the config. If not set, glob for `cover*`, `front-cover*`, and `*-cover.*` files in the project. If a cover file exists, show it to the user (Read tool on the image file) and ask whether to use it or generate a new one.

2. **Gather art direction**: If no cover exists (or user wants a new one), ask the user for art direction preferences: visual style, mood, color palette, imagery. If the user has no strong preference, suggest a direction based on the genre from `kdp.genre` and the book title. Check `kdp.cover.art_direction` in the config for any previously saved preferences.

3. **Inform about cost**: Tell the user that each cover generation costs approximately $0.04-$0.08 via OpenAI image generation. Multiple iterations are normal (2-4 attempts to get a cover the user likes).

4. **Generate front cover** (kdp_generate_cover MCP tool): Call `kdp_generate_cover` with:
   - `title`: from the book title
   - `subtitle`: if applicable
   - `author_name`: from `kdp.pen_name` or `author.name`
   - `genre`: from `kdp.genre`
   - `art_direction`: from the user's preferences or suggested direction
   - `width`: 1600 (default)
   - `height`: 2560 (default)

5. **Show the cover** (Read tool): Read the generated image file to display it inline. Ask the user to verify:
   - Is the tit