lizTheDeveloper/make-zines

Make Zines

Create the zine as an editorial and production system. Treat page JSON as an intermediate artifact, not a required input.

Route the request

Choose the least burdensome route:

• Topic or seed: ask a short guided intake, then write and design the zine.
• Arbitrary content: ingest it, identify its argument and usable material, propose a page plan, and transform it without requiring the user to structure it.
• Complete manuscript: preserve its meaning and voice; edit only to the requested degree; paginate and design it.
• Existing JSON: validate and repair it, then render or revise it.
• Partial zine: continue its established editorial voice and visual system.

Do not ask questions already answered by supplied material or conversation context.

Intake

Ask one question at a time when the user wants collaboration or the choices materially change the result. Otherwise infer sensible defaults and state them compactly. Resolve, in order:

1. Purpose and intended reader
2. Source material and required claims
3. Desired size or approximate page count
4. Voice, reading level, and editorial stance
5. Visual references, format, and print/digital destination
6. Mandatory inclusions, exclusions, citations, credits, and calls to action

If the user says “surprise me,” proceed. If no page count is given, choose a multiple of four for a folded print zine; otherwise choose the smallest length that supports the material. Count covers as pages unless the user says otherwise.

Editorial workflow

1. Ingest all material. Separate direct source claims, interpretations, and proposed additions.
2. State the zine’s one-sentence promise and editorial spine.
3. Build a page map with page number, job, key message, copy budget, and visual function.
4. Draft the full manuscript before visual rendering. Write headlines, body, captions, sidebars, callouts, credits, and back-cover copy.
5. Check pacing: alternate dense and light pages; create an opening hook, escalation, synthesis, and satisfying ending.
6. Check fidelity. Never invent quotations, facts, citations, or source-derived claims. When fresh research is requested or needed, use authoritative sources and retain URLs in the manuscript and JSON.
7. Obtain user approval of the manuscript/page map when they requested a collaborative process. If they requested immediate completion, continue autonomously.

Preserve a supplied authorial voice. Do not flatten provocative, funny, political, technical, or idiosyncratic material into generic marketing copy.

Page JSON

Read references/page-spec.md before creating or repairing JSON. Produce valid JSON, not JavaScript or Markdown-like pseudo-JSON. Keep copy as semantic fields; never bake layout instructions into visible copy.

Create two levels:

• zine: publication-wide metadata, editorial rules, visual system, continuity rules, and export settings.
• pages: ordered page objects containing exact copy, layout modules, art direction, accessibility text, and continuity references.

Use stable IDs for repeated characters, icons, stickers, and components. Allow page-specific overrides without duplicating the global system.

Run scripts/validate_zine_json.py against saved JSON before rendering. Fix every error; review warnings deliberately.

Rendering strategy

Choose production method by content, not habit:

• Use deterministic HTML/CSS, SVG, canvas, or document layout for text-heavy pages and exact typography.
• Use image generation for illustrations, textures, covers, collage elements, and art-dominant pages.
• For pages combining long copy and generated art, generate the art without text and composite the exact text in a deterministic layout.
• Do not rely on an image model to reproduce paragraphs, citations, URLs, code, or precise diagrams.

When image generation is used, read and follow the image-generation skill. Keep character sheets and visual references consistent across calls. Render in small batches only when continuity can be checked between batches.

Default production order:

1. Establish a contact sheet or style frame.
2. Approve or infer the visual system.
3. Render representative cover, text-heavy, and illustration-heavy pages.
4. Correct systematic issues.
5. Render remaining pages.
6. Assemble in reading order and, when requested, printer-spread order.

QA

Before delivery, verify:

• Every planned page exists exactly once and page numbers are sequential.
• All approved copy appears exactly once unless repetition is intentional.
• No prompt directions or hidden notes appear as visible text.
• Titles, body, captions, and URLs are readable at final size.
• Safe areas, bleed, trim, margins, contrast, and image resolution match the export target.
• Repeated characters and graphic motifs remain recognizable.
• Claims, quotations, citations, and credits are traceable.
• Blank pages, covers, and printer imposition are intentional.
• JSON validates and filenames sort naturally.

For a print-ready PDF, use the PDF skill for assembly and visual verification. For standalone page images, inspect representative pages at full resolution before delivery.

Deliverables

Unless the user narrows the scope, provide:

1. Brief creative direction and assumptions
2. Page map
3. Final manuscript
4. Validated zine JSON
5. Rendered page assets
6. Reading-order PDF, plus print-ready output if requested

Save reusable artifacts as user-facing files. Keep filenames generic to the project, such as {slug}-manuscript.md, {slug}-pages.json, {slug}-p01-cover.png, and {slug}-reading.pdf.

Never claim rendering or validation happened if it did not. If a production tool cannot satisfy exact text or layout, deliver the completed manuscript and JSON and explain the remaining production limitation plainly.