The Self Publishing AI Playbook

AI skills for publishing your book in 90 days, inspired by Chandler Bolt’s bestselling book “Published”.

Built by Gen AI University.

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What This Is

The Self Publishing AI Playbook is a ZIP-installable skills package for Claude Code, Claude Cowork, and Markdown-friendly coding agents such as Codex. It gives you an AI publishing assistant for the full book journey:

• Find the right book idea
• Turn the idea into a clear outline
• Write the draft in a focused 30-day sprint
• Prepare for editing, title, and cover decisions
• Build a launch team
• Run a review campaign

No private connectors, API keys, paid companion repos, or Gen AI University internal systems are required.

Philosophy

Most people do not fail to publish because they lack ideas. They fail because the path is fuzzy, the milestones are too loose, and the writing process turns into an identity test.

This playbook turns publishing into a sequence of decisions and reps. Your AI becomes the coach, checklist, and accountability partner for each stage of the 90-day journey.

It is not a push-button ghostwriter. It helps you clarify the idea, organize the material, draft with structure, prepare for editing, and build the launch system. The author’s voice, expertise, stories, and final decisions still come from the author.

Quick Start

See QUICK-START.md for the two-minute install guide.

Short version:

1. Download this repository as a ZIP.
2. Unzip it somewhere memorable, such as Documents/Self Publishing AI Playbook/.
3. In Claude Code or Claude Cowork, install it from the folder.
4. Say: Run Self Publishing AI Playbook setup, or use /run-self-publishing-ai-playbook-setup.
5. Then say: Run published author navigator.

You can also paste this starter prompt into any Markdown-capable AI workspace:

Read skills/self-publishing-ai-playbook-setup/SKILL.md and run the complete Self Publishing AI Playbook setup process. Ask where I am in my book project, collect the needed project context, create my project context block, and recommend the next skill to run.

Skill Directory

Setup And Orchestration

Phase 1: Foundation

Phase 2: Writing Sprint

Phase 3: Editing And Polish

Phase 4: Pre-Launch Marketing

Phase 5: Launch Week

How To Use The Skills

After installation, ask for the skill by name in natural language:

Run Self Publishing AI Playbook setup
Run published author navigator
Run book outline architect
Run the 30-day writing challenge

The setup skill collects your current book context. The navigator then decides which specialist skill should run next based on where you are in the 90-day path.

You can also start setup with the slash command:

/run-self-publishing-ai-playbook-setup

The 90-Day Path

WEEKS 1-2   Foundation: purpose, mindset, idea, mind map, outline
WEEKS 3-6   Writing sprint: 30 days of focused drafting
WEEKS 7-9   Editing and polish: read-through, editor, title, cover
WEEKS 10-11 Pre-launch: launch team and buzz building
WEEKS 12-13 Launch: release, review campaign, momentum

Example Project

Use any nonfiction or story-driven book idea. For examples in the skills, we use a fictionalized SideHustle LIVE-style project: a book about turning a comedy business game show into a community-building engine for founders.

That example is only a sample. Replace it with your own topic, reader, and launch goal during setup.

What Is Not Included

This public package intentionally does not include:

• Gen AI University private repositories
• Private connector workflows or internal automations
• Customer data, personal data, or email lists
• API keys, credentials, or environment files
• Done-for-you publishing services

It is a portable skill package. You bring the book idea and the audience. The skills bring the structure.

Claude, Codex, And Other AI IDEs

This package is Claude-native today because it includes .claude-plugin/ metadata and follows Claude’s skills/*/SKILL.md format.

The core playbook is portable because each skill is plain Markdown. Codex and other AI IDEs can read and run the skills if you point the agent at the repo or copy the relevant SKILL.md files into that environment.

For a first-class Codex or multi-IDE release, add a separate adapter layer instead of changing the Claude package:

• AGENTS.md with routing instructions for Codex-style agents
• A manifest.json or index.md that lists each skill, purpose, and trigger
• A short install guide for copying the skills/ folder into the target IDE’s skill or instruction system
• Optional starter prompt: “Read skills/self-publishing-ai-playbook-setup/SKILL.md and run the setup process.”

License And Support

This project is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE.

This repository is distributed as a standalone Gen AI University release. You may use, copy, modify, and adapt it under the MIT License.

Gen AI University maintains this canonical package. Use GitHub Issues for install problems, packaging problems, broken links, or security concerns. For support expectations, see SUPPORT.md, SECURITY.md, and NOTICE.md.

Attribution

This project is inspired by concepts from Chandler Bolt’s Published: The Proven Path From Blank Page to 10,000 Copies Sold. We encourage authors to read the book:

• Published on Amazon

Gen AI University is an affiliate partner of Self Publishing School. If you enroll in a Self Publishing School program through our referral, Gen AI University may receive a referral commission. We refer authors there when human publishing guidance, coaching, accountability, and support are the right next step. This package is an independent Gen AI University release, not an official Self Publishing School product.

The Self Publishing AI Playbook is an experimental Gen AI University project designed to help authors use AI responsibly during the planning, drafting, editing, and launch process. Gen AI University also architects custom selfpublishing.ai systems for first-draft and manuscript production workflows. AI can accelerate the work, but human guidance, judgment, voice, accountability, and care still matter. See NOTICE.md.

Learn More

For workshops, examples, and the broader Gen AI University operating system, visit genaiuniversity.com.