editorial-calendar

name	editorial-calendar
description	Pillar to cluster to repurpose cadence. Polyhymnia's playbook. Atomic-unit framework.
user-invocable	false
argument-hint	<plan|atomize|quarter-arc>
allowed-tools	["Read","Write"]

Editorial Calendar

Polyhymnia's playbook for sustained content production. Translates a CreativeBrief.objective into a quarterly arc of pillars, clusters, and repurposed atoms.

Purpose

Maximize compounding return on creative work by producing fewer, denser pillar pieces and atomizing each into 8-12 channel-native units. Avoid the trap of bespoke per-post effort.

When to use

• A new CreativeBrief arrives with objective spanning more than 2 weeks.
• A /brand-refresh requires a content rollout plan post-launch.
• Quarterly planning kickoff.
• An evergreen asset is ready for a repurpose pass.

Inputs

• CreativeBrief with objective, target_audience, channels, key_messages
• Optional: prior quarter's editorial_calendar.json for theme continuity
• Optional: SEO clusters from Urania (semantic-clustering)

Outputs

• editorial_calendar.json written to RLM/output/content/{campaign_id}-calendar-{date}.json with structure {quarter_arc, pillars[], clusters[], atoms[], cadence}
• A weekly cadence schedule per channel
• Per-pillar AssetJob envelopes for the long-form deliverable

Pillar -> cluster -> atom hierarchy

• Pillar — one substantial long-form unit per quarter month or every 2-3 weeks. Format options: 2000-4000 word essay, 8-12 minute video, podcast episode, research report. Carries one key_message end-to-end.
• Cluster — 3-5 supporting mid-length pieces per pillar that deepen sub-topics. 800-1500 words, 3-5 minute videos, carousels, infographics. Each cluster targets a SERP intent or a platform-native format.
• Atom — 8-12 short repurposed units per pillar. Single quote cards, 15-30s video cuts, single-tweet hooks, single email subject-line tests, single carousel slides as standalone posts.

Atomic-unit framework

From one pillar (e.g. a 3000-word essay + 8-minute companion video):

1. Twitter/X thread (8-12 tweets) carrying the spine
2. LinkedIn long-form post (text-only, 1300-1900 chars)
3. Instagram carousel (8-10 slides, image + caption per slide)
4. Two TikTok hooks (15-30s each) from the most quotable moments
5. YouTube Short (45-60s) — the strongest TikTok cut re-edited 9:16 with subtitles
6. Threads post (sub-500 chars) seeding the discussion
7. Email newsletter section (200-400 words + CTA)
8. 2-4 quote cards (1:1 image + pull quote, for IG feed and Threads)
9. Pinterest pin (vertical infographic of the core framework)
10. Substack note or Medium cross-post
11. Podcast-style 60s audiogram (waveform + pull quote)
12. Internal sales-enablement one-pager (PDF, gated)

Not every pillar yields all 12; pick by channel mix.

Quarterly theme arc

Structure: 13 weeks per quarter. Reserve weeks 1 and 13 as bookends.

• Week 1 — theme announcement pillar (sets the macro thesis)
• Weeks 2-4 — pillar A + clusters + atoms
• Weeks 5-7 — pillar B + clusters + atoms
• Weeks 8-10 — pillar C + clusters + atoms
• Weeks 11-12 — pillar D + clusters + atoms (lighter; reserve capacity for reactive content)
• Week 13 — synthesis pillar (recap + roadmap; recirculates atoms with new framing)

Reactive content (industry news, trending audio, real-time response) lives outside this cadence and uses 10-20% of channel capacity.

Cadence per channel (typical, tune per audience)

Channel	Cadence
Blog / pillar	1 pillar / 3 weeks
Newsletter	1 / week
LinkedIn	3-5 / week
X / Twitter	1-5 / day mix of original + reply
Instagram feed	3-5 / week
Instagram Reels	3-7 / week
TikTok	1-3 / day
YouTube long	1 / week to 1 / 2 weeks
YouTube Shorts	3-7 / week
Threads	3-10 / day light
Pinterest	5-15 / week (compounds well)

Procedure

1. Read CreativeBrief.objective and key_messages. Each pillar maps to one key_message or sub-theme.
2. Recall: eights.memory.recall(tags=["calendar","pillar"], k=10) for prior cadence + performance data.
3. Draft the 13-week arc; assign 3-5 pillars; align pillar topics with Urania's semantic-clustering output.
4. For each pillar, draft the cluster list (3-5) and atom backlog (8-12).
5. Pick channel cadence per channel from the table; adjust for team capacity.
6. Emit editorial_calendar.json; hand pillar + cluster items to Erato (copy) and Helios (visuals). Atoms flow to Terpsichore for distribution.
7. After publication, write episode eights.memory.remember(tags=["calendar","performance"], domain="creative") with engagement metrics so next quarter's planning recalls what cadence + topic combos worked.

Failure modes / escalation

• Team capacity cannot sustain cadence — cut cadence in half rather than reduce pillar depth.
• Pillar topic conflicts with brand-safety taboo list — bounce to Calliope.
• Quarter-arc collides with launch campaign — calendar pauses; campaign takes channel space; document the swap in DecisionRecord.

References

• SEO clusters: semantic-clustering (Urania)
• Distribution: platform-voice (Terpsichore)
• Memory tags: calendar, pillar, cluster, atom, performance