Publish
The moment you decide a book is done is the moment you realize how much still needs to happen before it can actually launch. The manuscript has to be finalized. The blurb has to be locked. The KDP metadata has to be prepared. The cover has to be final. The ARC program has to be set up. The pre-launch marketing has to be scheduled. The launch-day posts have to be drafted. The post-launch campaign has to be planned. Each of these lives in a different place, has a different deadline, and it’s easy to drop one of them if you don’t have a checklist. The Publish subtab is the checklist — plus a release workflow that ties the checklist items to the other Marketing subtabs and a post-launch campaign tracker for what happens in the weeks after.
It’s the workflow layer of the Marketing module. Where the other subtabs are about producing the content that goes into a launch (copy, metadata, ad keywords, strategy), the Publish subtab is about coordinating when each of those pieces needs to be ready and checking that they actually are.
The pre-launch checklist
Section titled “The pre-launch checklist”When you set up a new launch, the subtab generates a checklist of every task you need to complete before launch day. The checklist draws from your project — it knows you have a book in progress, it knows which Marketing subtabs have assets for that book, and it generates tasks based on what’s missing.
A typical checklist includes:
Manuscript readiness
Section titled “Manuscript readiness”- Final developmental edit pass complete.
- Final copy edit pass complete.
- Final proofread complete (ideally by a human other than you).
- Formatting passes run (for ebook, for print).
- Lorekeeper final consistency check complete, no critical open issues.
- ProseGuard final lint complete, no critical violations.
Metadata readiness
Section titled “Metadata readiness”- Title and subtitle finalized.
- Blurb finalized.
- Short blurb written for ads and cards.
- Tagline finalized.
- KDP categories selected (plus stretch categories for Amazon Support requests).
- KDP keyword slots filled.
- Author bio up to date.
- Series info consistent across series books.
Visual assets
Section titled “Visual assets”- Final cover art received and formatted to KDP specs.
- Cover reveals drafted (if doing a cover reveal campaign).
- Interior formatting complete (print, if applicable).
- Social media graphics drafted.
- Character art or aesthetic images ready (if doing visual social posts).
Marketing readiness
Section titled “Marketing readiness”- Market Intel comp titles reviewed and current.
- Launch-week social posts drafted (minimum 5).
- Pre-launch social posts drafted.
- Ad Keywords researched for Amazon Ads.
- ARC program set up (if using one).
- Newsletter draft ready (if you have a newsletter).
- Creative Studio positioning session complete (if this is a major launch).
Publishing readiness
Section titled “Publishing readiness”- Launch date confirmed and committed.
- Price locked in.
- KDP Select / KU decision made.
- Territory selection decided (all territories, or specific exclusions).
- Release day announcement drafted.
- Post-launch marketing plan sketched.
The checklist adapts per project — it won’t ask you about KDP metadata if the book is being traditionally published, and it won’t ask about query letters if the book is going direct-to-indie. You can also add custom checklist items for tasks specific to your workflow (e.g., “confirm audiobook narrator contract”).
How items get checked off
Section titled “How items get checked off”Most checklist items are tied to specific data elsewhere in Ishvana, and they check themselves automatically:
- “Blurb finalized” checks itself when your Copywriting subtab has an accepted blurb asset.
- “KDP keyword slots filled” checks when all seven slots have content.
- “[Lorekeeper] final consistency check complete” checks when a Lorekeeper check has been run on your manuscript and there are no unresolved critical issues.
- “ARC program set up” is a manual check — you’d mark it yourself once you’ve set up your ARC list.
Automatic checks update live as you work in other subtabs. Add a keyword to the KDP subtab and the corresponding checklist item updates in the Publish subtab without you touching it. This is the thing that makes the checklist feel less like a burden and more like a view of your actual state.
Manual checklist items have to be checked by you. They’re the ones that represent work outside Ishvana — coordinating with a cover artist, setting up an external ARC platform, confirming a newsletter service is configured.
Launch day and release workflow
Section titled “Launch day and release workflow”When launch day arrives, the Publish subtab has a release workflow that walks you through the final steps in order:
- Final pre-launch check. One-page summary of the checklist status. Any unchecked items show up here, and you can either go address them or force-proceed if you’re doing a rolling launch.
- Upload manuscript. Not automated — this step is a reminder that you need to actually upload your book file to KDP or your publishing platform.
- Fill in metadata. Cross-reference against your KDP subtab to fill in the KDP dashboard form. The workflow gives you the data to paste; KDP takes the rest.
- Schedule pre-orders (if applicable). If you’re pre-ordering, this is where the workflow reminds you to set the pre-order date and any related marketing.
- Confirm launch date. Mark the book as launched in Ishvana.
- Publish launch-day marketing. A list of your scheduled launch-day social posts, newsletter sends, and any other launch-day content that was drafted in other subtabs. You publish them through their native channels; the workflow just lists them so you don’t forget.
The release workflow isn’t automation. It’s a ordered reminder list for a launch day that’s already stressful. The point is that you don’t miss a step because you’re scrambling — you look at the workflow, see what’s next, do it, mark it done, move to the next.
Post-launch campaign tracking
Section titled “Post-launch campaign tracking”The weeks after launch are usually more marketing work than the weeks before. Reviews come in. Sales data starts flowing. Ad campaigns start running and need optimization. Post-launch social media needs to continue. The Publish subtab has a post-launch campaign view that tracks the ongoing work after release day.
The post-launch view shows:
- Days since launch. Week 1, Week 2, Week 4, Month 1, Month 3 — standardized post-launch milestones.
- Sales trajectory. Pulled from Sales Tracking, showing the launch week, the drop-off pattern, and the current baseline.
- Review counts. If you’re tracking reviews, the current count per retailer.
- Active campaigns. Ad campaigns, newsletter sends, and social media pushes you’ve scheduled.
- Upcoming tasks. Pre-scheduled post-launch work — “Week 2: send newsletter follow-up,” “Month 1: run Creative Studio review on performance.”
The post-launch view is less checklist-driven than the pre-launch view. It’s more of a dashboard that shows you where things stand so you can decide what to do next.
Multiple books, multiple launches
Section titled “Multiple books, multiple launches”If you launch books on a regular cadence (say, every 4-6 months), the Publish subtab keeps track of multiple launches simultaneously. You might be post-launch on Book Two while pre-launch on Book Three while still drafting Book Four. Each book has its own workflow, its own checklist, its own post-launch tracking.
When you open the Publish subtab, the default view shows all active launches in one list — pre-launch on top (sorted by launch date), post-launch below (sorted by days since launch). You can drill into any book for its full workflow view.
What the subtab isn’t doing
Section titled “What the subtab isn’t doing”- No KDP API. The subtab doesn’t publish for you. You copy metadata from Ishvana and submit through KDP’s dashboard yourself.
- No ARC program management. Tools like BookFunnel, StoryOrigin, or NetGalley handle ARC programs. The subtab tracks whether you’ve set one up, but it doesn’t manage the readers or the advance copies.
- No newsletter platform. Your newsletter lives on Mailchimp or Buttondown or Substack. The subtab tracks whether newsletter content is drafted, but the actual sending happens elsewhere.
- No review tracking across platforms. Review tracking is a feature most authors would love, but it requires API access to Amazon, Goodreads, and other platforms that Ishvana doesn’t have. Review counts in the post-launch view are entered manually if you care to track them.
- No release-day support team. The subtab is a solo workflow. If you have a publisher or a marketing team handling your launch, the subtab can still track the work but the coordination happens in whatever tool your team uses.