# Budgets — explicit limits on every issue

Every dimension of an issue has a numerical limit. These exist to prevent the "each addition was justified, total ballooned" failure mode.

**CUSTOMIZE: Adjust numbers to match your audience and format. Don't remove the categories.**
Calibrate against your first 3 shipped issues, then lock.

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## Total issue budget

### Issues WITHOUT a god-tier prompt block

| Dimension | Target | Hard cap |
|---|---|---|
| Total word count | 600-900 | 1,000 |
| Reading time (200 words/min) | 3-5 min | 5 min |
| Total HTML size (raw bytes) | < 40KB | 60KB |

### Issues WITH a god-tier prompt block

| Dimension | Target | Hard cap |
|---|---|---|
| Total word count | 900-1,200 | 1,300 |
| Reading time | 4.5-6 min | 6.5 min |
| Total HTML size | < 50KB | 80KB |

**Why two profiles:** the god-tier prompt adds 350-500 words. Treating it as "extra" content within the same budget forces unnecessary cuts. The reader opted in.

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## Per-section budgets

| Section | Min words | Max words |
|---|---|---|
| TIP_HEADLINE | 5 | 10 |
| Subject line | — | 50 chars |
| Preview text | — | 110 chars |
| TLDR | 25 | 60 |
| TIP_INTRO | 30 | 80 |
| TIP_BODY | 200 | 450 |
| TIP_BODY: numbered steps | 2 | 4 |
| PROMPT (plain-English instruction) | 30 | 80 |
| PRO_TIP_HEADLINE | 8 | 15 |
| PRO_TIP_BODY | 30 | 80 |
| QUICK_WIN (headline + body) | 25 | 70 |
| READ_THIS_WEEK (total) | 50 | 130 |
| READ_THIS_WEEK: number of items | 3 | 3 |
| God-tier prompt body | 200 | 500 |
| NEXT_TEASE | 8 | 20 |

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## Code block budget

| Dimension | Limit |
|---|---|
| Code blocks per issue | Max 3 in TIP_BODY + 1 in PROMPT + 1 in god-tier prompt |
| Lines per code block | Max 25 |
| Char width per line | ~70 chars (fits 600px email at 12px monospace) |

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## Sentence-level limits

| Dimension | Limit |
|---|---|
| Longest sentence | 40 words |
| Average sentence length | 15-22 words |
| Paragraphs > 4 sentences | Banned in body content |

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## Link budget

| Dimension | Limit |
|---|---|
| Outbound links per issue (total) | Max 6 |
| External links | Max 3 |
| All links must resolve (no 404s) | Hard rule |
| All links must use HTTPS | Hard rule |

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## Visual budget

### Issues WITHOUT god-tier prompt

| Dimension | Limit |
|---|---|
| Visually distinct blocks (cards, callouts) | 8-11 |
| Inline code (`<code>`) tokens | Max 30 |
| Bold emphasis per section | Max 2 |
| Inline images | 0 by default |

### Issues WITH god-tier prompt

| Dimension | Limit |
|---|---|
| Visually distinct blocks | 11-14 |
| Inline code tokens | Max 30 |
| Bold emphasis per section | Max 2 |
| Inline images | 0 by default |

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## What "exceeded budget" means

If a draft exceeds any budget: CUT, not justify. The default response is removal.
Exceptions allowed only when: documented in issue frontmatter + human signs off + single-issue only.

If 3+ consecutive issues exceed the same budget: the budget itself may be wrong. Review and adjust.

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## Changelog

[Date + what changed + data that motivated the change]