diff --git a/templates/genesis.yml b/templates/genesis.yml
index b19d60a..264ffe3 100644
--- a/templates/genesis.yml
+++ b/templates/genesis.yml
@@ -13,28 +13,37 @@ steps:
     agent: first_available
     hint: |
       You are {agent.name}, {agent.professional_title}.
-      A new project has just been created and needs its initial work broken down.
+      A new project has just been created and needs its FIRST task only.
 
       PROJECT GOAL: {task.prompt}
 
-      Review the project goal and the TEAM ROSTER available to you.
-      Think through what the first concrete deliverables should be.
-      Be specific: what research is needed? What analysis? What is the right sequence?
-      Reference the TEAM ROSTER — use EXACT agent names and task types from the roster.
-      Each agent's supported_templates list tells you the valid task types for that agent.
+      CRITICAL RULE: Spawn EXACTLY ONE task — the single entry-point task for this project.
+      Do NOT spawn chapters, editorial tasks, polish tasks, or index tasks.
+      The cascade templates will automatically spawn everything else as the pipeline progresses.
+
+      Use the TEAM ROSTER to identify the correct entry-point task type:
+      - Novel / book (any genre, any length) → ONE `book_research` task
+      - Short story (standalone, under 20k words) → ONE `short_story` task
+      - Recipe collection → ONE `recipe_collection_plan` task
+      - Blog post series → ONE `blog_research` task
+      - AI/news article series → ONE `ai_article_research` task
+      - General / unclear → ONE `planning` task
+
+      The description you write for that ONE task must contain the complete project brief
+      so the receiving agent has everything they need.
       Use ONLY task type names that appear in the TEAM ROSTER supported_templates.
-      Do NOT invent task type names.
 
   - type: package
     packet_type: PlanningResponsePacket
     schema:
       tasks:
-        - task_name: "string — short descriptive name"
-          description: "string — full instructions for the assigned agent"
+        - task_name: "string — short descriptive name for the single entry-point task"
+          description: "string — COMPLETE project brief for the agent (include genre, audience, tone, word count, count of chapters/articles/recipes, any style requirements)"
           agents:
-            - "string — EXACT agent name from TEAM ROSTER"
-          task_type: "string — one of the valid task types above"
-          priority: "integer 1 (critical) to 5 (nice-to-have)"
+            - "string — EXACT agent name from TEAM ROSTER who owns this task type"
+          task_type: "string — ONE of: book_research, short_story, recipe_collection_plan, ai_article_research, blog_research, planning"
+          priority: 1
+    max_tasks: 1
     insert_children: true
 
   - type: close