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Managing Publications

Track every publication in your catalog — novels, novellas, anthologies, collections, bundles, and non-fiction — with covers, metadata, genres, editors, and per-publication feature settings.

What Publications Are​

A publication is any standalone work in your catalog: a novel, anthology, magazine issue, story collection, bundle, or non-fiction title. Each publication has its own cover, metadata, story content, and feature configuration. The Publications list is the entry point; clicking a publication opens its Publication Command Center for full management.

Viewing Your Publications​

Click Publications in the sidebar to see your catalog. Two display modes — toggle between them with the buttons in the header:

  • Table view (default): cover thumbnail, title, publisher, publication date, series and volume, type, and status
  • Gallery view: cover-grid layout

The Series and Volume columns appear only when the Series feature is enabled.

Filtering Publications​

Filters above the table — Search is always visible, the rest collapse:

  • Search: matches title, subtitle, or description
  • Publication Type: multi-select across all 8 types
  • Status: Planned, In Progress, Published, Unpublished, or Cancelled
  • Publisher: autocomplete dropdown
  • Series: autocomplete dropdown (when Series is enabled)
  • Year: covers two years forward and 20 back, so upcoming releases are reachable
  • Favorites Only: narrow to publications you've starred

Sortable columns: Title, Publication Date, Series, Volume, Type, Status. Pagination at the bottom offers 10/25/50/100 per page.

Creating a Publication​

  1. Click Add Publication at the top of the page
  2. Fill in the details:
    • Cover Image (optional): JPG, PNG, or WebP up to 5 MB. Recommended size 600×900 px. Inkwren auto-resizes on upload.
    • Title (required): The only required field
    • Subtitle: Free text
    • Type: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Collection, Anthology, Bundle, or Non-Fiction (defaults to Anthology)
    • Status: Planned (default), In Progress, Published, Unpublished, or Cancelled
    • Publication Date: Future dates allowed
    • Publisher: Pick an existing publisher or click + New to create one inline
    • Series: Pick a series or click + New to create one inline (Series feature must be enabled)
    • Volume Number: Numeric, only available once a series is selected
    • Description: Rich text — formatting available
    • Universal Book Link: A single link for readers to find their preferred retailer (e.g., a books2read.com URL)
    • Content Notes: Optional content advisory used by GEO export pages
    • Genres: Chip-style multi-select with primary genre support
    • Tags: Hierarchical multi-select
    • Themes, Settings, Tones: Chip-style metadata selectors with autocomplete
    • Editors: Search workspace contributors and add them as editors. Click + New to create a contributor inline.
    • Editing Workflow: Choose a workflow template (when Editing Pipeline is enabled)
    • Contract Workflow: Set a per-publication default (when Contracts is enabled)
    • Default Contract Template: Set a per-publication default (when Contracts is enabled and a publisher is selected)
  3. Set per-publication feature toggles in Customize Features (see below)
  4. Click Create Publication

You'll land on the new publication's command center.

Customize Features​

A small Customize Features card lets you override workspace defaults per publication. When creating a publication, these are simple on/off toggles. The full Inherit / On / Off tri-state appears when you edit an existing publication (on the Settings tab):

  • Inherit: Use the workspace setting (default)
  • On: Force on for this publication
  • Off: Force off for this publication

Up to three toggles appear, depending on which features your workspace has enabled:

  • Editing Pipeline: When the Editing Workflow feature is enabled
  • Manuscripts: When the Publication Submissions feature is enabled
  • Contracts: When the Contract Management feature is enabled

Each publication type has smart defaults:

TypeEditing PipelineManuscriptsContracts
Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Story, Bundle, Non-FictionOffOffInherit
Anthology, CollectionInheritInheritInherit

Single-author types start with Editing Pipeline and Manuscripts off because solo works don't typically need an editorial pipeline. Anthologies and Collections inherit from the workspace.

Changing Type rewrites toggles

If you change the Type during creation, the Customize Features toggles reset to the new type's defaults. Any overrides you set are lost.

Editing a Publication​

Click any publication on the list (or the Edit row action) to open its detail page. From the command center, click Edit in the header to open the edit form.

The edit form spreads the same fields across Details, Organization, and Settings tabs. Submit changes with Save Changes.

Deleting a Publication​

  1. Click the delete (trash) icon on the publication row, or open the publication and click Delete in the header
  2. The dialog shows what will happen:
    • No blockers: Click Delete to remove the publication
    • Story appearances only: A warning notes that linked stories will be unlinked (the stories themselves stay). Click Delete to proceed.
    • Other blockers (submission record(s), contributor split(s), or pull quote(s)): The dialog shows a list of blockers and no delete button. Remove those records first via the publication's tabs.

For bulk delete, select multiple rows and use Delete Selected. The bulk path skips publications with non-story blockers and reports them in toast errors after the operation; the rest are deleted.

What Lives on the Publication Command Center, Not Here​

Some publication data is managed on the Publication Command Center tabs, not the create form:

  • Story content — added via the Overview tab (Add New Story or Link Existing Story) or the Manuscripts tab
  • Formats (ISBN, price, page count, release date, retailer links) — Formats tab
  • Editing pipeline status per story — Editing Pipeline tab
  • Per-story contracts — Contracts tab
  • Pull quotes — Pull Quotes tab
  • Royalty splits — Royalty Splits tab
  • Calls for submissions — Calls tab
  • Tasks — Tasks tab

Tips​

  • Pick the right Type up front: Switching Type during creation resets the Customize Features toggles, so confirm Type before tweaking feature settings
  • Use Inherit by default: The Customize Features tri-state lets you opt in or out per publication, but Inherit means your workspace settings apply automatically — only override when this specific publication differs
  • Mark in-progress works as Planned or In Progress: They show up on the dashboard and don't get filtered out by "Published" views
  • Link to your retailer hub, not individual stores: The Universal Book Link field is a single URL — a books2read.com link or similar lets readers pick their store. Per-format retailer URLs go on the Formats tab.
  • Filter by Year going forward: The Year filter covers two years forward, so you can plan upcoming releases and find them on the list before they're published
  • Anthologies inherit by default: For multi-author works, Inherit on Editing Pipeline / Manuscripts / Contracts is usually right — only override when this anthology has a different process from your workspace standard