Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about using Pubblish.

Your question not here? Click Help in the page header, then Ask AI. The assistant answers from these guides. It can also look up your own titles, imports and conversions. If the workspace owner has turned AI features off, it answers from these guides only. It can tell you what is wrong with your book, not books in general.

General Questions

What is Pubblish?

Pubblish is a publishing workflow automation platform for self-publishers and micro-publishers. It helps you manage your book catalog, automate your publishing process, and generate professional metadata for distribution.

Who is Pubblish for?

Self-publishers managing their own book catalog
Small publishers with a catalog of titles
Author collectives publishing together
Literary presses needing professional tools
Anyone who needs to manage book metadata and workflows

How much does it cost?

See the pricing page for the plans and their prices.

Is my data secure?

Yes.

Each workspace’s records live in a separate part of the database. One workspace can never read another’s.
Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Regular backups are performed.

Account Questions

How do I create an account?

Signup is by invitation while Pubblish is in early access. Join the waitlist and we will email you an invitation. When you accept it, you’ll create: - A workspace name: how your workspace appears in Pubblish - Your Pubblish web address: the subdomain your workspace uses - Email address - A password

Can I change my subdomain later?

Yes. You do it yourself.

Click your workspace name.
Choose Settings.
Open the Workspace tab.
Click Change web address.

Only the owner sees the button. Changing the address signs everyone out. Your old address forwards to the new one. Pubblish keeps the old address for you. Nobody else can take it, and you can move back later.

Can I have more than one team member?

Team features depend on your plan. See Plan & payments for details on team member limits.

How do I cancel my account?

There are two separate things you can do.

Cancel your subscription but keep the account.

Click your workspace name at the top of the page.
Choose Plan & payments.
Click Cancel subscription.

Only the owner sees that button. It opens Paddle’s own cancel page. The subscription stops at the end of the period you have paid for. Then the workspace closes. Everything in it stays for 90 days. Paying again before then brings it all back as it was.

Delete your account entirely.

Click your avatar.
Choose User Preferences.
Click Delete my account….

This erases your email address, your password and your personal details. Take a backup of anything you want to keep first.

A workspace with a subscription blocks the account deletion. The page names the workspace. It asks you to cancel its subscription first. A workspace that is already closing does not block anything. See Workspace Settings & Your Account.

I stopped paying — what happens to my workspace?

Nothing at once. Paddle keeps retrying your card for as long as it keeps trying. You keep full access the whole time. A banner tells you how many days are left. We email you.

If the retries run out, the workspace closes. When it closes:

Mailing-list emails stop sending.
Your website stops being updated.
Any book widgets on your own website stop.

Your published website itself is not affected. It lives on your own hosting.

When you sign in to a closed workspace, you see one page headed “your workspace is closing.” The page says why it closed and the date it will be deleted. It shows these buttons:

Restart subscription: the owner sees it.
Download your data: the owner and administrators see it.
Sign out: everyone sees it.

The workspace is kept for 90 days. We warn you 30 days, 7 days and 1 day before the date. Paying at any point in that window brings everything back exactly as it was. On the date, it is deleted for good. See Plan & payments.

I closed my workspace by mistake. Can I get it back?

Yes, for 90 days. If you are the owner, sign in. The one page a closing workspace shows has a Restart subscription button. Paying restores the whole workspace exactly as it was. It also cancels the deletion.

If you canceled but your paid period has not ended yet, the workspace is still open. On the Plan & payments page, click To keep it, press Don’t cancel on Paddle’s page. Then press Don’t cancel on Paddle’s page.

The page and every warning email name the exact deletion date. After that date, the workspace and everything in it are gone. They cannot be recovered.

What happens to my smart links if my workspace closes?

They keep working while the workspace exists, closed included. A reader following one of your links still reaches the right store page.

They stop when the workspace is deleted at the end of the 90 days, because the links live inside the workspace. If you have printed a smart link anywhere you cannot reprint, bring the workspace back before the deletion date.

Title Management

What’s the difference between a title and an edition?

Title = The intellectual work (the book)
Edition = A specific format (paperback, ebook, hardcover, etc.)

One title can have multiple editions. They all share the same core content.

Do I need an ISBN for each edition?

Yes. Each format (paperback, ebook, hardcover, audiobook) needs its own ISBN. You can purchase ISBNs from your national ISBN agency.

Can I import my existing catalog?

Yes, from a spreadsheet. On the Titles page, click Import. A new workspace also shows an Import your catalog card on the dashboard. See Importing for the walkthrough.

How many titles can I add?

There’s no limit on the number of titles you can manage in Pubblish.

People & Contributors

Why are People and Contributors separate?

People = Legal entities (for contracts, payments) Contributors = Public personas (pen names, author brands)

Can one person have multiple pen names?

Yes. Create one Person record. Then create multiple Contributor records linked to that person. Each contributor can have their own bio, pen name, and public identity.

What contributor roles are supported?

Eight roles are available: Author, Editor, Illustrator, Translator, Narrator, Photographer, Foreword by, and Introduction by.

See the People & Contributors Guide for details.

Metadata

What is BISAC?

BISAC (Book Industry Subject and Category) codes are standardized subject codes used by the book industry to categorize titles. They help retailers place your book in the right section.

Example: FIC009000 = Fiction / Fantasy / Epic

How many BISAC codes should I use?

Choose 3-5 specific codes. More isn’t better. Focus on accuracy, not quantity.

Flows

What are flows?

A flow is the list of steps a title goes through in your publishing process. To start one, pick a blueprint in a title’s Publishing flow panel. The Actions page in the sidebar collects the outstanding steps across all your flows.

Are flows required?

No. Flows are optional. You can use Pubblish just for catalog management without ever starting one.

Converting Manuscripts

My converted book has no chapters — it came out as one long section

Pubblish finds your chapters by looking at the paragraph styles in your Word document, not at the words on the page. A line that merely looks like a heading is still body text unless it has a heading style applied. Bigger, bold or centered text does not make it a heading.

First, check that your chapter headings use a paragraph style. In Word, click on a chapter heading and look at the Styles panel. If it says “Normal”, that is the problem. Apply a heading style to each chapter opening, upload the changed manuscript and start a new conversion.

If your headings already use a style, the style’s name may be the problem. Pubblish recognizes names it can read, such as “Chapter Title”, “Heading 1” and “Chapter Number”. Manuscripts prepared by a designer often use short in-house names instead, like “CT”, “TX” or “EP”. Those mean nothing on their own.

Pubblish works out what unfamiliar styles mean from keywords in their names. This happens automatically, at no extra cost. When a name doesn’t show what it means, tell Pubblish yourself:

On the Conversions page, open Style mappings.
Map each style to what it is.
Start a new conversion.

My scene breaks all look the same, or there are two of them

Scene breaks come from a paragraph style too. The style is named something like “Scene Break” or “Section Break”. Pubblish replaces whatever character you typed (an asterisk row, an ornament) with the marker chosen in your conversion template. You get one consistent break through the whole book, not a mixture.

For no visible marker at all, choose the blank-line option in the template.

Technical Questions

What browsers are supported?

Pubblish works with: - Chrome/Edge (recommended) - Firefox - Safari - Modern mobile browsers

Is there a mobile app?

Not yet. The web interface is mobile-responsive and works well on tablets and phones.

Can I access Pubblish offline?

No. Pubblish is a cloud-based platform requiring internet access.

What file formats can I upload?

Pubblish supports common image formats (JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF and more) for cover images and author photos. You can upload manuscript files and other documents to Files.

Data & Privacy

Who owns my data?

You do. All content you enter into Pubblish belongs to you.

Can I get my data out?

Yes, two ways, both self-service:

Your catalog as a spreadsheet: on the Tools page, use Export.
Your whole workspace as a file: the owner and administrators click the workspace name, choose Settings, then Download your data. Click Request a backup. Pubblish builds the file in the background. It emails you when the file is ready. Allow up to 24 hours, and longer if you tick the box to include your uploaded files.

If you are not an owner or administrator, choose Plan, payments & backup in the workspace menu. It names the people who can do this for you.

Does my manuscript get sent to an AI?

No. Pubblish works out which of your paragraph styles are chapter headings inside Pubblish, using the style names alone. Your manuscript text is not sent anywhere.

The AI features you press a button for (descriptions, taglines, keyword suggestions) work from the details you have typed into Pubblish. They do not use your manuscript file.

The assistant in the Ask AI panel is the same. It reads the published guides to answer your question. It also looks up details in your workspace:

titles
editions
open setup jobs
the errors from failed imports and conversions
mailing-list bounces

It sees the file name of a manuscript that failed to convert. It never reads what is inside the file.

Yes. Pubblish follows GDPR guidelines for European users, including data protection, right to access, and right to deletion.

Where is my data stored?

Data is stored in secure cloud infrastructure with regular backups and encryption.

Support

How do I get help?

Start with the assistant and work down the list:

Ask the assistant: click Help in the page header, then Ask AI. It answers from these guides. It can also look at your own titles, imports, conversions, mailing lists and setup jobs. If the workspace owner has turned AI features off, it answers from these guides only.
Read the guide: search from the box at the top of the help panel, or browse the sidebar.
Write to us: under an Ask AI conversation, click Send this to Pubblish to send us the whole exchange. Anywhere else, click Help. With Guide selected, choose Send feedback at the foot of the panel.
Email [email protected]: use this if you can’t get into Pubblish at all.

See Support for the full details.

What can the assistant do, and what can’t it?

It can explain how Pubblish works. It can also look up what is in your workspace. It can tell you what stopped an import, or why a conversion failed.

It cannot change anything. It has no way to edit, create or delete a record. It tells you which screen to open instead.

It can be wrong. If an answer does not match what you see, use the thumbs down. Then click Send this to Pubblish. We will look at it.

Is there phone support?

No. We’re a small team, so help is written rather than by phone.

Can you help me format my book?

Pubblish is a catalog and workflow management tool, not a book formatting service. The flows feature can help you track your book through professional formatting services.

Do you provide editing or design services?

No. Pubblish is software for managing your publishing process, not a service provider. You’ll still need to work with freelance editors, designers, and other professionals for those services.

Feature Requests

How do I request a feature?

Click Help in Pubblish.
With Guide selected, choose Send feedback at the foot of the panel.
Tell us what you would like it to do.

Troubleshooting

I forgot my password

Click “Forgot password?” on the sign-in page. Follow the email instructions to reset.

I’m not receiving emails from Pubblish

Check your spam folder. Add [email protected] to your contacts. Our emails come from that address.

A page isn’t loading correctly

Try: 1. Refresh the page (Ctrl+R or Cmd+R) 2. Clear your browser cache 3. Try a different browser 4. If the problem persists, click Help. With Guide selected, choose Send feedback at the foot of the panel. Say which page and what you see.

My changes aren’t saving

Most pages save as you type. This includes the title edit page and the rows on it, such as contributors and series. These pages have no Save button.

Pages with a Save button save when you click it. If you leave one without clicking Save, you lose your changes.

If a change is not there when you come back, click Help. With Guide selected, choose Send feedback at the foot of the panel. Say which page and what you changed.

Getting Started

I’m new to publishing. Where do I start?

Read the Getting Started Guide
Create your first title
Add your author information
Explore the features at your own pace

Is there a demo or trial?

Yes, there is a free trial. The pricing page shows how long it lasts.

Do you offer training?

The Pubblish Guide covers all features with step-by-step guides. Additional resources may be added over time.

Still have questions?

Click Help in the page header, then Ask AI. Put the question to the assistant. If it can’t answer, click Send this to Pubblish underneath and we will.