kdp-book-creator

name	kdp-book-creator
description	Create a KDP coloring book end-to-end (planning, image generation & review, and book assembly) running every step inline — no sub-agents. USE WHEN the user says 'tao sach', 'create coloring book', 'kdp create book', 'build coloring book end to end', 'make a coloring book', 'tao sach to mau', or otherwise asks to produce a complete KDP coloring book from a concept. Trigger even when the user only gives a concept (e.g. "a book about cozy cats") without explicitly naming the pipeline.
user-invocable	true

KDP Book Creator — End-to-End Pipeline (skills only, no agents)

You run the entire pipeline yourself, in one continuous flow. There are no sub-agents — every phase is done inline by you, calling other skills where noted. Claude writes ALL prompts and metadata; never call any external LLM API for writing.

Execution Protocol — READ FIRST

• Run ALL phases in sequence without stopping, except Phase 1 (interview) and Phase 3 (plan review), which require user input.
• Do NOT ask for confirmation between phases. The user invoked the skill — that is the green light.
• After finishing a phase, immediately proceed to the next phase in the same turn. No "ready to continue?", no summary-and-stop.
• Between phases, emit ONE short progress sentence (e.g. "Plan done, generating images now"), then continue.
• Stop only when: (a) Phase 8 / Deliver is done, (b) a blocking error you cannot recover from, or (c) Phase 1 / Phase 3 needs user input.

Pipeline

Phase 1: Interview                     (you — pause for user)
Phase 2: Plan Writing                  (you — write prompts + kdp-book-detail skill)
Phase 3: Plan Review                   (you — pause for user)
Phase 4: Images — generate + review    (you — generate_images.py + kdp-image-reviewer criteria + regen loop)
Phase 5: Interior PDF                  (you — build_pdf.py basic interior)
Phase 6: Frontmatter Pages             (you — kdp-frontmatter-pages skill → illustrated pages → rebuilt interior.pdf)
Phase 7: Cover + Preflight             (you — kdp-cover-creator + kdp-cover-checker)
Phase 8: A+ Content                    (you — kdp-aplus-content skill → aplus_content.json + aplus/*.png)
   + Deliver                           (you — present to user)

Note: config.THEMES auto-discovers any output/{theme_key}/plan.json — you do not register themes in config.py anywhere.

---

Phase 1: Interview (pause for user)

Use AskUserQuestion to collect:

1. Concept — e.g. "cozy cats in a cafe". Skip if passed as invocation args.
2. Audience — Adults (cozy/cute) or Kids (6–12).
3. Book size — 8.5x11 (portrait, default) or 8.5x8.5 (square).
4. Page count — recommend 25–30.
5. Theme key — snake_case slug; suggest one based on concept.
6. Author — first name + last name.

→ Once answered, IMMEDIATELY proceed to Phase 2. Do not re-confirm the answers.

---

Phase 2: Plan Writing

Write the complete plan yourself in one pass — page prompts + cover prompt + SEO metadata.

2.1 Read the prompt guide

• Adults → .claude/skills/kdp-prompt-writer/references/adult-prompt-guide.md
• Kids → .claude/skills/kdp-prompt-writer/references/kids-prompt-guide.md

2.2 Write the cover prompt

Full-color artwork matching the concept. Never bake text into the image — title/subtitle are overlaid later by the cover generator.

2.3 Write page prompts

SIZE_TAG:

• 8.5x8.5 → "SQUARE format (1:1 aspect ratio)"
• 8.5x11 → "PORTRAIT orientation (3:4 aspect ratio)"

Adults — every prompt starts with:

Black and white line art illustration for an adult coloring book, cute cozy cottagecore aesthetic, medium detail, bold clean outlines, large open shapes for easy coloring, no shading. NO borders, NO frames, NO rectangular boundary lines around the image. White background. {SIZE_TAG}.

Structure: Scene / Foreground / Midground / Background. End each prompt with:

Clean bold outlines, cozy relaxing cottagecore environment, easy-to-color shapes, adult coloring book page. NO borders or frames.

Large stylized shapes only. NO dense micro-patterns. Minimize characters per scene. If 2+ characters, append:

IMPORTANT: Each character must have clearly defined, complete body with no overlapping or merged body parts

Prefer pet companions over a second human character.

Kids — bold thick clean outlines, single centered subject filling most of the page, NO shading/gradients/borders/frames, simple enough for crayons and markers. SIZE_TAG must be included.

All audiences: ensure variety across settings, activities, moods, and poses. Do not repeat the same scene twice.

2.4 SEO metadata via kdp-book-detail skill

Invoke:

Skill: kdp-book-detail
args:  "Concept: {concept}, Audience: {audience}, Author: {author_first_name} {author_last_name}, Page count: {page_count}, Page size: {page_size}"

Collect: Title, Subtitle, Description (HTML), 7 Backend Keywords, 2 BISAC Categories, Reading Age. If the skill fails twice, write the metadata yourself following best-seller Amazon patterns.

2.5 Write output/{theme_key}/plan.json (fully filled — no empty strings)

{
  "theme_key": "{theme_key}",
  "concept": "{concept}",
  "audience": "{audience}",
  "page_size": "{page_size}",
  "title": "...",
  "subtitle": "...",
  "description": "...",
  "keywords": ["...", "..."],
  "categories": ["...", "..."],
  "reading_age": "...",
  "author": { "first_name": "{author_first_name}", "last_name": "{author_last_name}" 
   
   
    

Validate it parses as JSON. Also write output/{theme_key}/prompts.txt — one prompt per line, in page order.

cover_prompt + back_cover_prompt feed the cover skill — write both in the detailed "ads-marketing" format:

• cover_prompt (front): Use case: ads-marketing. Bake all text into the art — title, subtitle, two short taglines, author spelled letter-by-letter. State panel shape from page_size (square 1:1 for 8.5×8.5, portrait 3:4 for 8.5×11). All text inside safe margins; no barcode/watermark/mockup.
• back_cover_prompt (back): Use case: ads-marketing. A 2×3 grid of six preview cards — top row 3 fully COLORED, bottom row 3 black-and-white line art. Each preview card MUST match the book's page shape — for a square 8.5×8.5 book every card is a SQUARE (1:1) card; for an 8.5×11 book every card is a PORTRAIT (3:4) card. Say the card shape explicitly in the prompt (e.g. "six equal SQUARE preview cards in a 2×3 grid, each card 1:1") — image models default to tall rectangular cards otherwise. Same size, evenly spaced, surrounded by on-theme decorations. No title/author text, no barcode box, no blank white rectangle (barcode stamped by code).

2.6 Write frontmatter prompts + the external render queue (image_prompts.json)

So the whole book — cover, the illustrated front/back matter, AND every coloring page — can be generated in one pass in an external tool, write the frontmatter prompts now (not only in Phase 6) and bundle everything into a render queue.

1. Write the 3 frontmatter prompts to output/{theme_key}/frontmatter/{1,2,3}.txt using the blueprints in .claude/skills/kdp-frontmatter-pages/references/prompt-templates.md, personalized to THIS book (same style/characters as the page prompts; adults omit the "AGE:" line). 1.txt = Title, 2.txt = This Book Belongs To, 3.txt = Thank You. Match orientation to page_size (SQUARE for 8.5×8.5, PORTRAIT 3:4 for 8.5×11) and spell the author + all baked-in text exactly.
2. Build the render queue:

   python scripts/build_image_prompts.py {theme_key}
   

   This writes output/{theme_key}/image_prompts.json — a flat [{prompt, size, filename}] list in book order: front_artwork.png, back_artwork.png, frontmatter/1.png (Title), frontmatter/2.png (Belongs-To), images/page_01.png … page_NN.png, frontmatter/3.png (Thank You). size is the aspect ratio (1:1 for square, 3:4 for portrait). Re-run this script any time plan.json or a frontmatter .txt changes.

The user can render every item externally and drop the PNGs back at the listed filename paths; the pipeline (Phase 4 image gen) is then skippable. If you DO auto-generate via Phase 4 instead, image_prompts.json still serves as the canonical prompt manifest.

→ IMMEDIATELY Read output/{theme_key}/plan.json and go to Phase 3.

---

Phase 3: Plan Review (pause for user)

Present to the user:

• Title + Subtitle
• Description (HTML, show raw — it's short)
• 7 Keywords, 2 Categories, Reading Age
• 3–5 sample page prompts

Ask: "Duyệt để tiếp tục generate images, hoặc cần sửa gì?"

If changes: edit plan.json directly with the Edit tool, re-present the delta, loop until approved.

→ Once approved, IMMEDIATELY proceed to Phase 4.

---

Phase 4: Images — generate + review + regen (inline)

4.1 Generate

python generate_images.py --plan output/{theme_key}/plan.json --count {page_count}

The script auto-handles page size, parallel workers, and retries. --start N skips existing pages, so reruns are resumable.

4.2 Verify files

ls -la output/{theme_key}/images/

Confirm every page_01.png … page_{page_count:02d}.png exists and is non-empty. For gaps, re-run generate_images.py --start N --count 1 (N = missing page index − 1), up to 2 attempts per page.

4.3 Review every image

Open each image with the Read tool (Claude vision). Batch Reads ~5 at a time. Score each page PASS / WARN / REDO using the criteria in the kdp-image-reviewer skill:

CRITICAL (any one ⇒ REDO): not line art (color/photos/heavy shading); borders/frames/rectangular boundary; AI anatomy errors (missing limbs, extra fingers, merged characters); mirror/reflection duplicate; clothing without a person; gibberish text; body horror; ghost/faint duplicate.

Quality (multiple ⇒ REDO; one minor ⇒ WARN): lines too thin/broken; too cluttered or too sparse; dense micro-patterns (adults); not single-subject-centered (kids); blurry/distorted; subject doesn't match prompt.

4.4 Regenerate REDO pages

For each REDO page XX: rm output/{theme_key}/images/page_XX.png, then python generate_images.py --plan output/{theme_key}/plan.json --start {XX-1} --count 1, re-review. Retry ONCE more (max 2 regen attempts/page). If still bad, mark WARN ("unresolved after 2 regens") and move on.

Keep PASS/WARN/REDO-resolved/REDO-unresolved counts. If > 30% of pages are unresolved REDOs, pause and ask the user: ship as-is, or regenerate the whole set with a stronger prompt?

→ Otherwise IMMEDIATELY proceed to Phase 5.

---

Phase 5: Interior PDF (inline)

5.1 Build basic interior PDF

python build_pdf.py --theme {theme_key} --title "{title}" --subtitle "{subtitle}" --author "{author_first_name} {author_last_name}"

--author is required (KDP needs the author on title + copyright pages to match the cover). Verify output/{theme_key}/interior.pdf exists, > 1 MB.

→ IMMEDIATELY proceed to Phase 6.

---

Phase 6: Frontmatter Pages (inline)

Invoke the kdp-frontmatter-pages skill:

Skill: kdp-frontmatter-pages
args:  "{theme_key}"

The skill reads plan.json, writes 3 personalized illustrated page prompts, generates the art with the built-in image_gen tool, and runs assemble_frontmatter.py to replace the plain title/copyright/thank-you pages — rebuilding interior.pdf in-place. Fully automated; no user pause needed.

After the skill completes, verify:

• output/{theme_key}/frontmatter/1.png (Title), 2.png (Belongs To), 3.png (Thank You) all exist
• output/{theme_key}/interior.pdf is updated (mtime newer than Phase 5 build)

If the skill reports that image_gen is unavailable: write the 3 prompts yourself from the templates in kdp-frontmatter-pages/references/prompt-templates.md, ask the user to generate the PNGs manually, then run python .claude/skills/kdp-frontmatter-pages/scripts/assemble_frontmatter.py {theme_key} once the PNGs are in place.

→ IMMEDIATELY proceed to Phase 7.

---

Phase 7: Cover + Preflight (inline)

7.1 Cover via kdp-cover-creator skill

Skill: kdp-cover-creator
args:  "--theme {theme_key} --author \"{author_first_name} {author_last_name}\" --size {page_size} --renderer ai33"

Verify cover.png and cover.pdf exist (> 500 KB). For 8.5x8.5, confirm cover height ≈ 8.75" (not 11.25").

7.2 Preflight via kdp-cover-checker skill + manual checks

Skill: kdp-cover-checker
args:  "output/{theme_key}/cover.pdf"

Then manually verify: metadata consistency (title/author match across title page, copyright, cover, spine); interior even page count + correct page size; spine text only if ≥ 79 pages; barcode area clean; 300 DPI; no banned terms ("spiral bound", "leather bound", "hard bound", "calendar") and no promo claims ("best seller", "#1", "guaranteed", "award-winning") in plan.json.

7.3 Fix simple failures yourself

Rerun build_pdf.py with corrected flags, rerun cover with correct --size, or edit plan.json to remove banned terms (then rebuild PDF so the title page matches). Keep fixes conservative — don't hand-edit PDFs. Only escalate if a fix needs user input.

→ IMMEDIATELY proceed to Phase 8.

---

Phase 8: A+ Content (inline)

Invoke the kdp-aplus-content skill:

Skill: kdp-aplus-content
args:  "{theme_key}"

The skill reads plan.json + page_prompts, writes aplus_content.json (5 kawaii modules: hero, specs, features/friends, two sample showcases), then generates the 5 images with the chatgpt renderer to output/{theme_key}/aplus/aplus_<id>.png.

After the skill completes, verify:

• output/{theme_key}/aplus_content.json exists
• output/{theme_key}/aplus/ contains 5 PNG files (aplus_01_hero.png … aplus_05_sample_showcase_b.png)

If the renderer fails: the skill will write aplus_content.json with the prompts — inform the user the images need manual generation and point them to the prompts file.

→ IMMEDIATELY proceed to Deliver.

---

Deliver

BOOK COMPLETE!

Interior PDF:   output/{theme_key}/interior.pdf
Cover:          output/{theme_key}/cover.pdf   (+ cover.png)
Frontmatter:    output/{theme_key}/frontmatter/   (1.png Title / 2.png Belongs-To / 3.png Thank-You)
A+ Content:     output/{theme_key}/aplus/         (5 kawaii modules)
                output/{theme_key}/aplus_content.json  (copy text for KDP A+ layout)
Plan:           output/{theme_key}/plan.json
  - Title:    {title}
  - Keywords: {keywords}

KDP PRE-FLIGHT: {pass/fail summary}
{Unresolved-pages list from Phase 4, if any — label "manual review recommended"}

NEXT STEPS
1. kdp.amazon.com → New Paperback
2. Upload interior.pdf + cover.pdf (not PNG)
3. Trim: {page_size}, No bleed
4. Copy title / description / 7 keywords / 2 categories / reading age from plan.json
5. KDP A+ Content → upload 5 images from aplus/ and copy text from aplus_content.json

NOTE: KDP limits 10 titles / format / week.

---

Error Handling

Failure	Recovery
kdp-book-detail fails	Write the metadata yourself, continue.
Image generation API fails	Retry once. If > 30% unresolved, pause and ask user.
build_pdf.py fails	Check images exist + plan.json valid; fix and retry.
Cover fails	Check renderer key in .env; retry once.
kdp-frontmatter-pages: image_gen unavailable	Write prompts to frontmatter/*.txt, ask user to generate PNGs, then run assemble_frontmatter.py.
kdp-aplus-content: renderer fails	aplus_content.json is still written; inform user images need manual render.

Don't stop the chain on soft failures — retry inline. Only surface blockers that genuinely need user input.

Rules

• Never call any external LLM API for writing prompts or metadata — Claude writes everything.
• Continue in the same turn after each phase. Do not end your turn waiting for a nudge.
• Only 2 user pauses in the whole pipeline: Phase 1 (interview) and Phase 3 (plan review).
• For multiple books, use kdp-batch-planner (ideas → plans) then kdp-batch-assembler (plans → books).