Preorders & For Sale Date

When you create a book, you set a publication date. This date determines when your book becomes available for purchase and whether it can be listed as a preorder.

Publication Date

The publication date is the date you set when creating your book. It can be any date. If you have an ISBN, the publication date should match the publication date tied to your ISBN on Bowker.

How Preorders Work

If your publication date is in the future and you have enabled distribution:

• Once your digital preview is approved and distribution is active, your book listing goes live as a preorder
• The "Preorder Live" step on the publishing timeline lights up when your book is listed
• Readers can find and preorder your book before the publication date
• On the publication date, the book becomes fully available for purchase and the "For Sale" step lights up

If the Publication Date Has Already Passed

If you set a publication date that is in the past (or it has since passed), there is no preorder stage. Once your digital preview is approved and distribution is enabled, your book goes directly to "For Sale."

Metadata Lockdown

After you approve the digital preview, most metadata fields become locked. This includes print specifications such as trim size, paper type, binding type, interior color, and laminate finish. This is because your files have been prepared for printing with those specific settings. Page count is the exception, and you can still change it.