Hi! I've been tracking a pre-pub for almost a year. At least half a dozen times, the book has been scheduled to release the next day, i.e., on a specific date, within 24 hours of when I check my pre-pub list. In every case, the release date passes and the book reverts to "in production".
I understand doing the work to release a book isn't simple, and to be crystal clear, I'm not criticizing the time or effort required to do that work. On the other hand, though, if I see a promised release date within 24 hours, shouldn't that signal the work is done and the book really, truly is ready to ship on that date? I could see that a scheduled release on a specific date a month away might be based on historical estimates of how long to finish everything up, and thus, that the release date might shift a bit, but what can go wrong in 24 hours that would pull a book back from release, and how can that happen at least half a dozen times?
My suggested process improvement: Promise near-term release dates only when the work is really done.