Publish immediately vs schedule a time to publish

When creating or editing a call, you have two options for when it becomes visible to artists: publish it immediately or schedule it for a specific date and time. This feature gives you control over when your call goes live, whether you want it visible right away or prefer to prepare everything first and have it appear automatically at the perfect moment.

The Two Options

Option 1: Publish Immediately

What it does: Makes your call visible to artists right away (as soon as you save the call).

When to use: - You're ready for artists to start submitting immediately - You've finished setting up the call and want it live now - You're editing an existing call and want to make it visible - You don't need to coordinate with a specific launch date

How it works: - Check the "Publish Call Immediately?" checkbox - Save your call - The call becomes visible to artists immediately - Artists can start submitting right away

Option 2: Schedule a Time to Publish

What it does: Sets your call to automatically become visible at a specific date and time in the future.

When to use: - You want to prepare the call in advance but launch it on a specific date - You're coordinating with marketing campaigns or announcements - You want to launch multiple calls at the same time - You're setting up calls during off-hours but want them to go live during business hours - You want to ensure everything is perfect before going live

How it works: - Leave "Publish Call Immediately?" unchecked - Enter a date in the "Publish Date" field - The call will automatically become visible at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on that date - Until then, the call remains hidden from public view

Where to Find These Settings

When creating or editing a call:

Go to the "Important Dates" section of the call form
Scroll down past the deadline dates (you'll see a divider line)
Find the "Publishing Settings" section which includes:
"Publish Call Immediately?" checkbox
"Publish Date" date field

Note: These two options are mutually exclusive—you can't use both at the same time. When you check "Publish Call Immediately?", the "Publish Date" field becomes disabled.

Understanding the Behavior

What Happens When You Publish Immediately

Call status changes to "Active"
The call becomes visible on your gallery's public profile page
Artists can discover it on EntryThingy's public calls list (if enabled)
Artists can view the call detail page and start submitting
No scheduled publish time is set
The publish_datetime field is cleared
The call stays active until you change it manually
Immediate visibility
Changes take effect as soon as you save the call
No waiting period—artists can see it right away

What Happens When You Schedule Publishing

Call status is set to "Hidden"
The call is not visible to artists yet
It won't appear on public lists or your gallery profile
Only administrators can see it (in the admin view)
Scheduled publish time is saved
The publish_datetime field stores your chosen date/time
The time is automatically set to 11:59 PM Pacific Time on the date you select
Automatic publishing
A background process checks every minute for calls scheduled to publish
When the scheduled time arrives, the call automatically becomes "Active"
No manual intervention needed—it happens automatically!

Example: If you schedule a call to publish on March 15th, it will automatically become visible at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on March 15th.

Visual Indicators

On the Call Detail Page

When viewing a call as an administrator, you'll see a status badge that indicates the publishing state:

"Scheduled" — The call has a scheduled publish date/time that hasn't arrived yet
Hover over the badge to see the exact scheduled time
Example: "Scheduled for Mar 15, 2026 11:59 PM"
"Accepting Submissions" — The call is published and active
This appears when "Publish Immediately" is checked, or after a scheduled publish time has passed
"Hidden" — The call is not published and has no scheduled publish time
This appears when neither option is selected

In the Call Form

When "Publish Call Immediately?" is checked:
The "Publish Date" field becomes grayed out and disabled
You cannot enter a publish date
The form makes it clear that immediate publishing is selected
When "Publish Call Immediately?" is unchecked:
The "Publish Date" field becomes active
You can enter a date for scheduled publishing
The help text explains that the call will automatically become visible

Changing Your Mind

Switching from Scheduled to Immediate

If you've scheduled a call but want to publish it immediately instead:

Go to the call's edit page
Check "Publish Call Immediately?"
The "Publish Date" field will clear automatically
Save the call
The call becomes visible immediately

Note: The scheduled publish time is cleared, and the call publishes right away.

Switching from Immediate to Scheduled

If you've published a call immediately but want to schedule it instead:

Go to the call's edit page
Uncheck "Publish Call Immediately?"
Enter a date in the "Publish Date" field
Save the call
The call becomes hidden and will publish at the scheduled time

Important: When you switch to scheduled publishing, the call immediately becomes hidden from public view until the scheduled time arrives.

Changing a Scheduled Time

If you want to change when a scheduled call will publish:

Go to the call's edit page
Make sure "Publish Call Immediately?" is unchecked
Change the date in the "Publish Date" field
Save the call
The new scheduled time takes effect

Note: You can change the scheduled time as many times as needed before it publishes.

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: Creating a Call in Advance

Situation: You're creating a call for a show that starts in two months, but you want to start accepting submissions next week.

Solution: - Set your submission deadline for when you want submissions to close - Schedule the publish date for next week (when you want to start accepting) - The call will automatically become visible next week - Artists can start submitting, but the show itself is still two months away

Scenario 2: Coordinated Launch

Situation: You're launching a major call and want it to go live at the same time you send a newsletter announcement.

Solution: - Prepare the call completely (all settings, descriptions, etc.) - Schedule the publish date for the same day you're sending the newsletter - Send your newsletter - The call automatically goes live at 11:59 PM Pacific Time that day - Artists who receive your newsletter can find the call when they visit

Scenario 3: Testing Before Launch

Situation: You want to set up a call and review everything before making it public.

Solution: - Create the call with all your settings - Don't check "Publish Call Immediately?" - Don't set a publish date yet - Review the call in the admin view - When ready, either check "Publish Call Immediately?" or set a scheduled date - Save to publish

Scenario 4: Weekend Launch

Situation: You finish setting up a call on Friday afternoon, but you want it to launch on Monday morning.

Solution: - Complete the call setup on Friday - Schedule the publish date for Monday - The call will automatically go live Monday at 11:59 PM Pacific Time - You don't need to remember to publish it manually

Note: Remember that scheduled times are set to 11:59 PM Pacific Time. If you want it to go live Monday morning, you'd schedule it for Sunday (it will publish Sunday night, visible Monday morning).

Scenario 5: Multiple Calls Launching Together

Situation: You have three calls launching on the same day as part of a coordinated campaign.

Solution: - Set up all three calls completely - Schedule all three for the same publish date - They'll all automatically go live at the same time - No need to manually publish each one

Technical Details

Time Zone Handling

All scheduled publish times use Pacific Time: - Dates you enter are converted to 11:59 PM Pacific Time (PST/PDT) - This ensures consistency regardless of your location - The system automatically handles daylight saving time transitions

Example: - You enter March 15th as the publish date - The call will publish at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on March 15th - This might be 2:59 AM Eastern Time on March 16th (depending on time of year)

Automatic Publishing Process

How scheduled publishing works: - A background process runs every minute - It checks for calls with publish_datetime that has passed - When found, it automatically changes the call status to "Active" - The call becomes visible to artists immediately

Reliability: - The process runs continuously - Calls are published within 1 minute of their scheduled time - No manual intervention required

Status Changes

When you publish immediately: - Status changes to ACTIVE - publish_datetime is cleared (set to None)

When you schedule publishing: - Status changes to HIDDEN - publish_datetime is set to your chosen date/time

When scheduled time arrives: - Status automatically changes to ACTIVE - publish_datetime remains set (for historical record)

Best Practices

For New Calls

Default behavior: - New calls default to "not published" (hidden) - This prevents accidentally publishing incomplete calls - You must explicitly choose to publish

Recommended workflow: 1. Create the call with all settings 2. Review everything carefully 3. Choose your publishing option: - Check "Publish Call Immediately?" if ready now - Or set a "Publish Date" if you want to schedule it 4. Save the call

For Editing Existing Calls

If the call is already published: - The form will show "Publish Call Immediately?" as checked - You can uncheck it to hide the call - Or leave it checked to keep it published

If the call is scheduled: - The form will show the scheduled publish date - "Publish Call Immediately?" will be unchecked - You can change the date or switch to immediate publishing

Planning Your Launch

Consider these factors: - Marketing timeline: When are you announcing the call? - Preparation time: Do you need time to review before launch? - Business hours: Do you want it to launch during business hours? - Multiple calls: Are you launching several calls together?

Pro tip: Since scheduled times are set to 11:59 PM Pacific Time, if you want a call to be visible Monday morning, schedule it for Sunday (it will publish Sunday night).

Troubleshooting

"I scheduled a call but it's not visible yet" - Check the scheduled time—it publishes at 11:59 PM Pacific Time on the date you selected - Verify the date hasn't passed yet (check the call detail page status badge) - The call should become visible automatically when the time arrives

"I want to publish immediately but the checkbox isn't working" - Make sure you've saved the call after checking the box - Check that you don't have a publish date set (clear it first) - Try refreshing the page and checking again

"I scheduled a call but want to publish it now instead" - Go to the call edit page - Check "Publish Call Immediately?" - The publish date will clear automatically - Save the call - It will publish immediately

"The call says 'Scheduled' but I want it hidden" - Go to the call edit page - Uncheck "Publish Call Immediately?" - Clear the "Publish Date" field (or leave it empty) - Save the call - The call will become hidden

"I want to change when a scheduled call will publish" - Go to the call edit page - Make sure "Publish Call Immediately?" is unchecked - Change the date in the "Publish Date" field - Save the call - The new scheduled time takes effect

"What time zone is used for scheduled publishing?" - All scheduled publish times use Pacific Time (PST/PDT) - Times are automatically set to 11:59 PM Pacific Time on the date you select - The system handles daylight saving time automatically

Understanding the Status Badge

On the call detail page, you'll see a status badge that shows the current state:

"Scheduled" — Has a publish_datetime in the future
Hover to see exact scheduled time
Call is hidden until that time
"Accepting Submissions" — Call is active and visible
Either published immediately or scheduled time has passed
Artists can view and submit
"Hidden" — Not published and not scheduled
Only visible to administrators
Artists cannot see it

Related Settings

"Add this call to our public Calls List?" - This is separate from publishing - Controls whether the call appears on EntryThingy's public directory - A call can be published but not listed publicly (or vice versa)

Call Status (Hidden/Active/Jury Only) - Publishing settings control the status automatically - You can also manually change status if needed - Scheduled publishing sets status to "Hidden" until publish time

Need More Help?

The publish immediately vs schedule feature gives you flexibility in how and when your calls go live. Whether you want instant visibility or prefer to plan ahead, you have full control. If you have questions about: - How to schedule a call - Changing publish settings - Understanding the timing - Troubleshooting issues

Don't hesitate to reach out—we're here to help!