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FAQ

General

What is Book Genesis?

A set of 15 custom skills (prompt modules) for Claude Code that form a complete literary production pipeline. Give it a one-sentence idea, and it produces a publishable manuscript with an editorial package.

Is this an AI that writes books for me?

Yes and no. Book Genesis orchestrates Claude to write a complete book, but the quality depends heavily on your initial idea, your feedback during the process, and editorial decisions you make along the way. Think of it as a highly structured co-writing system with built-in quality control.

What language does it work in?

Any language Claude supports. The skills themselves are written in Portuguese (they were developed and tested in pt-BR), but Claude automatically adapts to whatever language you specify. Set idioma: "en-US" when prompted, and everything — from character profiles to the manuscript — will be in English.

How long does it take to generate a full book?

It depends on length, complexity, and how many revision cycles are needed. A ~60k-word novel typically takes several Claude Code sessions. The system is designed to persist state between sessions via PROJECT_STATE.yaml, so you can stop and resume at any point.

What's the maximum book length?

There's no hard limit from the system. The proof-of-concept was ~60,800 words (13 chapters + intro + epilogue). For longer works (90k+), the revision loop may require more iterations to maintain consistency.


Installation

Do I need to install all 15 skills?

No. The book-genesis orchestrator contains inline logic for every sub-skill. If a dedicated skill isn't installed, it uses its own version. Installing dedicated skills unlocks more depth and nuance, but the orchestrator works solo.

Minimum install: Just book-genesis Recommended: All 15 for the full experience

Can I use individual skills without the orchestrator?

Yes. Every skill works standalone. You can use /character-forge to develop characters for a book you're writing manually, or /beta-reader-sim to get feedback on any manuscript.

The installer failed. What do I do?

The installer just copies files. You can do it manually:

# Copy all skills to your Claude skills directory
cp -r skills/* ~/.claude/skills/

On Windows:

Copy-Item -Recurse skills\* $env:USERPROFILE\.claude\skills\

Where are skills stored?

In ~/.claude/skills/ (or %USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\ on Windows). Each skill is a directory containing a SKILL.md file.


Usage

How do I start a new book?

  1. Open Claude Code in a new empty directory
  2. Type /book-genesis
  3. Provide your idea when prompted
  4. Choose guided mode (up to 3 questions) or autopilot mode ("just go")

How do I resume a book in progress?

Open Claude Code in the book's directory and type /continuar (or /book-genesis — it will detect PROJECT_STATE.yaml and offer to resume).

Can I skip phases?

Yes. Use individual commands to jump to specific phases:

  • /outline — skip to architecture
  • /score — skip to evaluation
  • /beta — skip to beta readers
  • /pacote — skip to editorial package

What are the "5 obligations" for each chapter?

Every chapter must simultaneously fulfill:

  1. Plot — advance at least one plot point
  2. Character — reveal, deepen, or transform a character
  3. Emotion — shift the reader's emotional state
  4. Theme — echo the central theme without preaching
  5. Surreal — manifest the chosen register organically

What if the Genesis Score never reaches 9.0?

After 5 revision iterations, the system escalates to you with three options:

  1. Accept the current score
  2. Restructure a specific part
  3. Change the premise/approach

Most books reach 9.0 within 2-3 iterations.


Surreal Registers

Do I have to use a surreal register?

The system is designed around them, but you can choose a register that's very subtle (like Oneiric or Magical Realism at low intensity). The surreal register is a slider, not an on/off switch.

Can I mix registers?

Yes. You can specify a primary and secondary register (e.g., "Lynchian-Kafkaesque" or "Oneiric with Magical Realism elements"). The orchestrator adapts.

What if I want pure realism?

Use the Oneiric register at minimum intensity. The surreal dimension in the Genesis Score will still be evaluated, but it can score well with very subtle touches — a metaphor that's slightly too vivid, a perception that's slightly off, a dream that echoes reality a bit too precisely.


Quality & Output

How good is the output, really?

The proof-of-concept (Protocolo Nao Encontrado) scored 9.04 on the Genesis Score after 3 iterations. It's a complete, structurally sound, emotionally engaging manuscript. Whether it's "good" by literary standards is subjective — but the system's scoring methodology is rigorous and the output is significantly above unstructured AI writing.

Can I edit the output myself?

Absolutely. The manuscript is just markdown files. Edit them directly, then run /score to re-evaluate if you want.

Does it handle non-fiction?

Yes. The proof-of-concept is actually a non-fiction book (confessional essay / generational diagnosis). The system adapts the pipeline to the genre — non-fiction replaces "plot" with "argument structure" and "characters" with "figures/subjects."

What formats can I export to?

The book-formatter skill generates a formatting guide and structure ready for conversion to EPUB, MOBI, DOCX, and print-ready PDF. You'll need external tools (Pandoc, Calibre, etc.) for the actual file conversion.


Contributing

How can I contribute?

See CONTRIBUTING.md. Top priorities:

  • Translate skills to other languages
  • Add new surreal registers
  • Create genre-specific skill variants
  • Improve the Genesis Score rubric
  • Add proof-of-concept examples

Can I create my own skills that work with the pipeline?

Yes. Any skill following the SKILL.md format in ~/.claude/skills/ will work with Claude Code. To integrate with the book-genesis orchestrator, follow the naming conventions and artifact file paths described in the architecture docs.