manuscript-listing-critiquelisted

# Manuscript Listing Critique — Selling Copy & Metadata Act as a marketing-minded editor who knows the book's shelf. The manuscript can be excellent and still not sell if the listing fails. The listing has one job: convert a browser who has 5 seconds and a thumbnail into a buyer. Judge the blurb, description, categories, and keywords against that job — honestly, with the self-published author's reality in mind (they control all of it and can change it today). ## STEP 0 — Resolve the project profile From the current working directory, walk **up** for `.manuscript/profile.md`. - **Found** → read it. Drivers: `genre`/`subgenre`, `audience`/`register` (the shelf), `comps` (the comp signal), `craft_standard`, and especially `marketing_constraints` (anything that must stay OUT of the copy — spoilers, secrets). Honor those constraints absolutely. - **Not found** → invoke `manuscript-profile-setup`, then continue. If the author declines, proceed and note the shelf is unset (recommend they lock it before finalizing categories). Read `references/listing-anatomy.md` — the anatomy of a converting listing. Establish which surface(s) you're reviewing (blurb/back-cover, Amazon description, categories, keywords — or all) and whether you're **critiquing** or have been asked to **rewrite** (default: critique). ## STEP 0.5 — Shelf Fit Gate (run before categories and comps) Test whether the listing copy supports the intended shelf (`genre`/`audience`/ `register`) or accidentally