How it works
Twelve weeks from
signature to store.
Publish360 is a maintained platform, not a bespoke build. A typical launch runs eight to twelve weeks from contract to app-store approval — our team does the building, integrating, ingesting, testing and submitting. Yours does three things: decides, provides, and approves.
Everything the twelve weeks ask of your team, in three verbs.
Decide
One week, one list. We arrive with every decision that shapes the project — plus guidance and recommended defaults — so nothing surfaces late.
Provide
Things you already have: brand assets, EPUB files, metadata, storefront access. If your files need work, we'll tell you exactly what and why before anything starts.
Approve
Three gates, clearly marked: design before we build, staging before we submit, go-live before we announce. You review finished work, never work in progress.
Two things are genuinely outside anyone's control: how quickly your side can make decisions, and how long Apple takes to review (allow two to three weeks; we don't recommend announcing a launch date until approval is confirmed). Everything else is on us — and we put it in writing.
And one thing we say plainly to every publisher: a direct channel succeeds on audience-building, not just infrastructure. If your publishing house is early in its direct-sales journey, we'll design onboarding around growing that audience — and we'll tell you if we think the timing isn't right yet. That candour is cheaper for both of us than a churned contract.
- 01
Weeks 1–2
We connect your catalogue
We build or connect to your existing web storefront - Shopify, WooCommerce, or custom. Every past customer's digital purchases become readable in the app the moment it launches, so your app opens to a full library on day one. No cold start, no re-buying, no CSV gymnastics. We handle the integration; you just grant access.
You
Name your decision-maker and grant storefront access - that's it for week one.
Us
Assign your named project manager, designer and integration engineer; connect your storefront; set up your sandbox; import your full catalogue.
- 02
Weeks 2–6
We design your app
We take your covers, colours and typography and build a reading and listening experience under your masthead that gives readers nothing to miss. Beyond the reader itself, we build publisher pages: a blog, podcast episodes, video, seasonal promotions - all editable by your team without a developer.
You
Send your logo and brand colours; pick a design from the options we produce; one round of feedback; sign off.
Us
Design the app from your brand assets, build it, integrate reader sign-in, and deliver it for your approval.
- 03
Weeks 4–8
We configure your commerce
We set up web checkout with zero store fees, opt-in in-app purchase where convenience converts, subscriptions, or any mix - decided per product, not per platform. Multi-tier memberships support custom bundles, free trials and 30- or 365-day durations.
You
Send your EPUB files and metadata; review the ingested catalogue; sign off staging.
Us
Ingest your catalogue, apply DRM, configure pricing and discovery; test every purchase path on every device - and give you the written test report.
- 04
Weeks 8–12
We launch your app
We submit your app under your own Apple and Google developer accounts - the listing, ratings and install base are your assets, permanently. Android and web are typically live before iOS: Google review takes days, Apple takes weeks, and your readers can be in the web app while Apple deliberates.
You
Confirm the go-live date. That's it.
Us
Build and submit to both stores, manage review (any rejection is ours to handle), deploy - then two weeks of hypercare: elevated monitoring, weekly check-ins, immediate response.
- 05
Week 12 onwards
We help you grow
From day one we surface active, new and returning readers, completion rates and the purchase-to-first-open funnel. Push notifications, deep links, timed promotional overlays and AI-supported marketing email turn that data into the next sale - and the one after that.
You
Run your app the way a bookseller runs a shop - with our playbooks and campaign patterns behind you.
Us
Keep the platform maintained, updated and improving underneath you - that's what a platform is.
After launch
Week twelve is where the launch ends and the retail operation begins — reach, engage, sell, own, repeat, with playbooks and analytics drawn from two decades of selling books at Eden.co.uk. That operation has its own page.
Know your readers.
Grow your community.
Own your future.
Own your reader relationships, keep 85-100% of your margins, and stop paying to re-acquire your own fans.