Publishing is content operations at scale. The tools should match the scale.
Book publishers, trade publishers, academic publishers, and independent publishing houses have editorial workflows, rights management, and distribution operations that generic content tools don't address. We build publishing operations software.
Publishing company managing editorial workflows, rights tracking, and distribution through spreadsheets and disconnected tools — with no unified system for the publishing operations
Publishing companies operate complex, multi-step workflows — from manuscript acquisition through editorial, production, rights, and distribution — and most of this is tracked in spreadsheets, email, and legacy systems. The operational overhead of publishing creates specific software needs:
Editorial workflow. Manuscript submission, acceptance or rejection tracking, editorial rounds, copyediting, and production stages — managed in a shared spreadsheet or via email threads. The editorial calendar is ad hoc. Deadlines slip without systematic tracking.
Rights and contracts. Publishing rights are complex: territory rights, format rights (print, digital, audio), subrights (translation, film), and subsidiary rights each have different terms, contract status, and royalty implications. Rights tracking in a spreadsheet is a legal risk and an operational cost.
Title metadata management. Every title needs consistent metadata (ISBN, pricing, trim size, publication date, contributor bios, marketing copy) across multiple distribution channels. Getting this wrong costs sales and creates fulfillment errors.
Royalty tracking. Author royalty calculations based on net sales by format by territory by period. The royalty statement generation that authors (and their agents) expect.
Distribution coordination. Distributor relationships, inventory management, and the reporting from distributors that informs reprints and marketing decisions.
Publishing operations platform: editorial workflow management, rights tracking, distribution coordination, and the metadata management that modern publishing requires
Title management
Title database with full metadata, status tracking through editorial stages, and publication date management. The authoritative record for each title.
Editorial workflow
Submission intake, editorial stage progression, task assignment, and deadline tracking. Email notification at each stage transition.
Rights and contracts
Rights record per title: which rights have been granted, to whom, for how long, in which territories. Contract document storage and status.
Royalty reporting
Sales data import from distributors, royalty calculation by format and territory, and royalty statement generation.
Contributor management
Author and contributor records linked to their titles. Bio, contact, and the contributor portal where authors can see their title status and statements.
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
Publishing operations platform: editorial workflow management, rights tracking, distribution coordination, and the metadata management that modern publishing requires
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
Publishing operations software scope is defined by the editorial and distribution workflows being supported. Fixed price.
Questions, answered.
Ingram has an EDI and API integration for title data submission. The publishing platform can export ONIX metadata formatted for distributor submission, reducing the manual metadata entry that currently accompanies each new title.
A public submission portal where authors and agents submit manuscripts — with the internal acquisition tracking linked to submissions — is a common module for trade publishers. It can be built as part of the platform.
Title management + editorial workflow + rights: from $28k. Full publishing operations platform with royalties: from $45k. Fixed-price.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.