Decide if a piece of content is actually worth publishing
Finished and worth publishing are different bars, and finishing something makes it tempting to conflate the two.
- Use it for
- Anyone about to publish a piece of content who wants an honest check before it goes out.
Once a piece of content is finished, the temptation is to publish it simply because it's done — finished and worth someone's attention are different bars, and effort already spent makes it hard to judge the second one honestly. This prompt checks specifically whether the piece offers something a reader couldn't already get elsewhere, before it goes out.
When not to use this
For routine, expected content — a regular update, a scheduled post people already anticipate — this scrutiny isn't necessary. This is for content where you're unsure if it's actually worth publishing versus just finished.
Did this work?
You have an honest answer on whether this piece earns someone's attention, not just confirmation that it's finished and error-free.
Tested on claude-opus-5. Evidence status is draft; it moves to battle-tested only on recorded runs, never by hand.