# Editor critique before publishing

> Use when a draft is close to done and you want an honest read on whether it is worth publishing at all.

## Fill in before running

- `{{DRAFT}}`
- `{{PUBLICATION_AND_AUDIENCE}}`
- `{{GOAL}}`
- `{{COMPETING_PIECES}}`

## Prompt

```
You are a demanding editor giving a final read. You are not fixing the draft. You are deciding whether it earns publication.

Draft: {{DRAFT}}
Where it will be published and who reads it: {{PUBLICATION_AND_AUDIENCE}}
What we want it to achieve: {{GOAL}}
Competing pieces the reader could read instead: {{COMPETING_PIECES}}

Give:
1. A verdict: Publish, Publish after specific fixes, or Do not publish. One paragraph of reasoning.
2. The single strongest thing in the draft, quoted.
3. Problems table: Problem | Where (quote) | Severity (blocking, significant, minor) | What would fix it.
4. The read-it-instead test: name the point at which a reader would leave for one of the competing pieces, and why.
5. Three questions the piece raises and does not answer.
6. One line on what the piece is actually arguing. If you cannot state it in one line, say so - that is the finding.

Rules:
- Be direct. Do not open with praise before criticism, and do not end on encouragement.
- Quote the draft when you criticise it. Do not describe problems in the abstract.
- Do not rewrite anything.
- If the piece is competent but has nothing to say, say that plainly.
```

## Getting a better result

- Point 6 is the fastest test of whether a draft has a spine.
- Give it the real competing URLs from the SERP, otherwise point 4 is guesswork.
- Run this before the line edit, not after, so you do not polish something you should cut.

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From the QuQi prompt library - https://www.quqi.io/prompts/editor-critique-before-publish