essay-publishing-pipeline

Run pandoc with the markdown+yaml_metadata_block input format and html5 output, adding a template, syntax highlighting style, and table of contents flags. The command produces a standalone HTML page from a single markdown file with frontmatter.

Build the feed with xml.etree.ElementTree by creating an rss element with a channel containing title, link, and description, then add an item per essay with title, link, abstract, and pubDate. Write the tree to feed.xml in the output directory.

POSSE means publishing on your own site first, then syndicating to platforms like Medium and Dev.to. Setting the canonical URL on each cross-post tells search engines your site is the original source, avoiding duplicate content SEO penalties.

Check the status field in each essay's YAML frontmatter during the build step and skip any file whose status is not published. This ensures drafts and in-review content never leak into the built site or RSS feed.

Each platform has format constraints, such as LinkedIn's 3000-character limit requiring excerpts instead of full text, and Dev.to allowing only four tags. Newsletters also need HTML email templates rather than standard web layouts.