A holomorphy potential is a complex valued function whose complex gradient, with respect to some K��hler metric, is a holomorphic vector field. Given $k$ holomorphic vector fields on a compact complex manifold, form, for a given K��hler metric, a product of the following type: a function of the scalar curvature multiplied by functions of the holomorphy potentials of each of the vector fields. It is shown that the stipulation that such a product be itself a holomorphy potential for yet another vector field singles out critical metrics for a particular functional. This may be regarded as a generalization of the extremal metric variation of Calabi, where $k=0$ and the functional is the square of the $L^2$-norm of the scalar curvature. The existence question for such metrics is examined in a number of special cases. Examples are constructed in the case of certain multifactored product manifolds. For the \sk metrics investigated by Derdzinski and Maschler and residing in the complex projective space, it is shown that only one type of nontrivial criticality holds in dimension three and above.

19 pages, title and abstract changed, major revisions/additions, particularly Section 3