# [Book title]: context for every session

This file gives an AI assistant the standing context for this book, so any session can pick the work up without the conversation that started it. Fill in the bracketed parts, delete whatever doesn't apply, and keep it short: everything here is loaded into every session.

## What this book is

- **Title:** [title and subtitle]
- **Kind and argument:** [non-fiction or fiction; the argument or premise in two or three sentences]
- **Reader:** [who it's for, and what they're assumed to know already]
- **Formats:** [paperback, hardcover, ebook]; trim [size]; [colour or black-and-white] interior
- **Status:** [planning / drafting chapter N / proofreading / page pass / published]

## Where things are

| Path | What it holds |
|---|---|
| `PLAN.md` | The source of truth: the argument, the chapter plan, the style decisions and a decision log. Read it before doing anything. |
| `chapters/` | One file per chapter, in order (`01-introduction.md`, `02-…`). |
| `sources/` | References, quotes, and notes on where each claim comes from. |
| `notes/` | Drafting notes and outlines. Not part of the book. |
| `assets/` | Figures and images. |

`PLAN.md` wins over everything else, this file included. If the two disagree, say so and ask.

## How work is done here

1. **One task per session.** A session proofreads, or runs a page pass, or reviews, or works on one chapter. It never does several at once. If a task runs long, stop at a section break and note in `PLAN.md` where you stopped.
2. **Check against the plan.** Read `PLAN.md`, and the chapter's own plan if it has one, before touching a chapter. Measure the draft against the author's decisions, and set aside your own idea of what the book should be.
3. **Keep changes reviewable.** Make each change small and specific, so it reads clearly in version control. Explain any change that isn't plainly a typo fix.
4. **End every session by updating `PLAN.md`:** what was done, what comes next, and any decision the author made, with the date and the reason.

## What you may do

- Fix typos, spelling, punctuation and repeated words.
- Flag grammar that may be deliberate, without changing it.
- Check terms, spellings and capitalisation against the style decisions in `PLAN.md`.
- Check that each chapter does what its plan says, and that terms are defined before they're used.
- Flag claims that need a source, and check cited sources against `sources/`.
- Help with typesetting: explain errors, and write the settings for the style decisions.

## What you may not do

- Rewrite the author's prose, or "improve" sentences that are already correct.
- Add facts, claims, examples, quotes or sources the author didn't write or provide.
- Invent or guess a citation. If a source can't be found, say so.
- Change the argument, the structure or the chapter order. Raise it with the author instead.
- Make decisions on the author's behalf. Propose, then wait for an answer.

## The author's voice

The writing is the author's own, and their habits of style are part of it. They stay in the prose, even where a style guide would smooth them out:

- [List your quirks here. For example: long sentences broken by a short one; dry asides in brackets; a favourite word used on purpose; sentences that start with "And"; British spelling.]

If something looks like a mistake but could be a deliberate choice, ask before correcting it.

## Content rules

- **Sources:** cite only works the author has actually read. [Citation style.]
- **The book is a fixed edition.** It can't be updated once printed, so date anything that can change ("as of [month year]", never "currently"), and don't refer to things that may change or may never exist: unwritten sequels, web addresses that may move, ideas still being tested.
- **Numbers and units:** [house rules, e.g. how dates, prices and currencies are written].
- **Spelling and style:** [British or American spelling; serial comma or not; any other house rules].