Why I Built Frontlist

I publish widely: fiction, culinary journals, and non-fiction, across Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, KDP, Draft2Digital, and library networks worldwide. One title might need an ebook on KDP, a paperback through IngramSpark, and a wide ebook release through Draft2Digital, all at different stages, all with different rules.

Add a second title. A series. A backlist. It stops being something you can track in your head. Which format of which book is actually live? Which one is stuck in formatting? Which platform can't take a title yet because it's still locked into Kindle Unlimited exclusivity? I ended up with the answer scattered across a spreadsheet, a notes app, and a memory that was supposed to hold all of it at once.

Solving My Own Problem First

I didn't set out to build software. I set out to stop losing track of my own catalog. That's the pattern behind most of what I build: a real operational pain point in my own business becomes the reason a tool exists. Managing a wide catalog led directly to Frontlist, now live at frontlistpro.com, the production and platform tracker that shows every format of every title, and every platform it belongs on, in one place.

I didn't build Frontlist because I saw a market opportunity. I built it because I was tired of not knowing what was actually live.

This is the same pattern behind everything I've built. If you want the fuller picture of how it all connects, from publishing to specialty food to software, take a look at The Ecosystem, or read about the other software I built the same way in Why I Built SKUClear.