Pipelines

Pipelines are collections of skills designed to work together in sequence, with structured handoffs between stages.

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Why Pipelines?

Complex creative work benefits from specialists, not generalists. Just as traditional publishing has developmental editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and indexers, skill pipelines provide specialized expertise at each stage.

Each skill in a pipeline:

• Has a specific job (not a vague responsibility)
• Receives structured input from upstream skills
• Produces structured output for downstream skills
• Knows its scope boundaries (what it does and doesn't do)

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Available Pipelines

Non-Fiction Book Factory

A complete pipeline for developing nonfiction books from initial idea to chapter-level architecture.

flowchart LR
    A[book-ideation] --> B[book-idea-validator]
    B --> C[book-market-research]
    C --> D[book-architect]
    D --> E[book-research-assistant]
    E --> F[chapter-architect]

Ebook Factory

A streamlined pipeline for creating ebooks—shorter, concentrated solutions.

flowchart LR
    A[ebook-discovery] --> B[ebook-concept-development]

Writing Pipeline

A pipeline for capturing and replicating authentic writing voices.

flowchart LR
    A[writing-dna-discovery] --> B[ghost-writer]

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Pipeline Principles

1. Skills Hand Off to Each Other

Each skill produces structured output that the next skill consumes. This creates a consistent, repeatable workflow.

Skill A → [Handoff Document] → Skill B → [Handoff Document] → Skill C

2. Validate Before Investing

Pipelines include explicit validation gates to prevent wasted effort:

• book-idea-validator — Is the idea intellectually sound?
• book-market-research — Is there commercial potential?

These gates produce Go/Revise/Kill recommendations before significant investment.

3. Each Skill Knows Its Boundaries

Skills are explicit about what they do and don't do:

This skill validates **intellectual merit**, not:

- Commercial viability (that's market-research)
- Structural decisions (that's book-architect)
- Writing quality (that's the editing pipeline)

This prevents scope creep and keeps each skill focused.

4. Upstream Skills Can Receive Feedback

Information flows both ways:

• Forward: Handoff documents move work downstream
• Backward: If a downstream skill discovers problems, feedback goes upstream

Example: If book-research-assistant discovers the thesis is flawed, feedback goes to book-architect for structural revision.

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When to Use Pipelines

Use a pipeline when:

• Work is complex enough to benefit from specialized stages
• You want consistent quality through structured processes
• Multiple skills naturally chain together

Use standalone skills when:

• Work is self-contained (like general brainstorming)
• You need just one capability
• The task doesn't fit a multi-stage process

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Entering a Pipeline

You don't have to start at the beginning:

For example, if you already have a Book Concept Document, you can skip book-ideation and start at book-idea-validator.

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Pipeline vs. Standalone

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Related Concepts

• Handoffs — The structured documents that pass between skills
• Session Continuity — How work persists within a skill
• Modes & Registers — Adapting to different situations