diff --git a/server/harp_blog.rb b/server/harp_blog.rb
index 4af4515..43c3f94 100644
--- a/server/harp_blog.rb
+++ b/server/harp_blog.rb
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ class HarpBlog
 
   class Post
     PERSISTENT_FIELDS = %w[author title date timestamp link url tags].map(&:to_sym)
-    TRANSIENT_FIELDS = %w[time slug body].map(&:to_sym)
+    TRANSIENT_FIELDS = %w[time slug body draft].map(&:to_sym)
     FIELDS = PERSISTENT_FIELDS + TRANSIENT_FIELDS
     attr_accessor *FIELDS
 
@@ -51,9 +51,8 @@ class HarpBlog
       !!link
     end
 
-    def title=(title)
-      @slug = nil
-      @title = title
+    def draft?
+      @draft
     end
 
     def author
@@ -69,7 +68,12 @@ class HarpBlog
     end
 
     def url
-      @url ||= "/posts/#{time.year}/#{padded_month}/#{slug}"
+      @url ||=
+        if draft?
+          "/posts/drafts/#{slug}"
+        else
+          "/posts/#{time.year}/#{padded_month}/#{slug}"
+        end
     end
 
     def slug
@@ -95,6 +99,14 @@ class HarpBlog
       pad(time.month)
     end
 
+    def dir
+      if draft?
+        'drafts'
+      else
+        File.join(time.year.to_s, padded_month)
+      end
+    end
+
     def pad(n)
       n.to_i < 10 ? "0#{n}" : "#{n}"
     end
@@ -149,71 +161,64 @@ class HarpBlog
   end
 
   def posts_for_month(year, month)
-    post_dir = post_path(year, month)
-    post_data = read_post_data(post_dir)
-    post_data.values.sort_by { |p| p['timestamp'] }.map { |p| Post.new(p) }
+    read_posts(File.join(year, month))
+  end
+
+  def drafts
+    read_posts('drafts', draft: true)
   end
 
   def get_post(year, month, slug)
-    post_dir = post_path(year, month)
-    post_filename = File.join(post_dir, "#{slug}.md")
-    post_data = read_post_data(post_dir)
-    if File.exist?(post_filename) && fields = post_data[slug]
-      fields[:body] = File.read(post_filename)
-      Post.new(fields)
-    elsif fields
-      message = "missing post body for #{year}/#{month}/#{slug}: #{post_filename}"
-      $stderr.puts "[HarpBlog#get_post] #{message}"
-      raise InvalidDataError.new(message)
-    elsif File.exist?(post_filename)
-      message = "missing metadata for #{year}/#{month}/#{slug}: #{post_dir}/_data.json"
-      $stderr.puts "[HarpBlog#get_post] #{message}"
-      raise InvalidDataError.new(message)
-    end
+    read_post(File.join(year, month), slug)
   end
 
-  def create_post(title, body, link)
+  def get_draft(slug)
+    read_post('drafts', slug, draft: true)
+  end
+
+  def create_post(title, body, link, extra_fields = nil)
     if !title || title.strip.length == 0
       title = find_title(link)
     end
     unless title
       raise "cannot find title for #{link}"
     end
-    fields = {
+    extra_fields ||= {}
+    fields = extra_fields.merge({
       title: title,
       link: link,
       body: body,
-    }
+    })
     post = Post.new(fields)
-    year, month, slug = post.time.year, post.padded_month, post.slug
 
     begin
-      existing_post = get_post(year.to_s, month, slug)
+      existing_post = read_post(post.dir, post.slug, extra_fields)
     rescue InvalidDataError => e
       $stderr.puts "[HarpBlog#create_post] deleting post with invalid data: #{e.message}"
-      delete_post(year.to_s, month, slug)
+      delete_post_from_dir(post.dir, post.slug)
       existing_post = nil
     end
 
     if existing_post
-      raise PostExistsError.new("post exists: #{year}/#{month}/#{slug}")
+      raise PostExistsError.new("post exists: #{post.dir}/#{post.slug}")
     else
-      save_post(post)
+      save_post('create post', post)
     end
   end
 
   def update_post(post, title, body, link)
-    old_slug = post.slug
     post.title = title
     post.body = body
     post.link = link
-    save_post(post, old_slug)
+    save_post('update post', post)
   end
 
   def delete_post(year, month, slug)
-    post_dir = post_path(year, month)
-    delete_post_body(post_dir, slug)
-    delete_post_index(post_dir, slug)
+    delete_post_from_dir(File.join(year, month), slug)
+  end
+
+  def delete_draft(slug)
+    delete_post_from_dir('drafts', slug)
   end
 
   def publish(production = false)
@@ -236,37 +241,74 @@ class HarpBlog
     path_for('public/posts', *components)
   end
 
-  def save_post(post, old_slug = nil)
+  def drafts_path(*components)
+    post_path('drafts', *components)
+  end
+
+  def read_posts(post_dir, extra_fields = nil)
+    post_data = read_post_data(post_path(post_dir))
+    post_data.sort_by do |k, v|
+      (v['timestamp'] || Time.now).to_i
+    end.map do |slug, fields|
+      Post.new(fields.merge(extra_fields || {}).merge(slug: slug))
+    end
+  end
+
+  def read_post(post_dir, slug, extra_fields = nil)
+    post_filename = post_path(post_dir, "#{slug}.md")
+    post_data = read_post_data(post_path(post_dir))
+    if File.exist?(post_filename) && fields = post_data[slug]
+      fields[:body] = File.read(post_filename)
+      Post.new(fields.merge(extra_fields || {}).merge(slug: slug))
+    elsif fields
+      message = "missing post body for #{post_dir}/#{slug}: #{post_filename}"
+      $stderr.puts "[HarpBlog#read_post] #{message}"
+      raise InvalidDataError.new(message)
+    elsif File.exist?(post_filename)
+      message = "missing metadata for #{post_dir}/#{slug}: #{post_dir}/_data.json"
+      $stderr.puts "[HarpBlog#read_post] #{message}"
+      raise InvalidDataError.new(message)
+    end
+  end
+
+  def save_post(action, post)
     git_fetch
     git_reset_hard('origin/master')
 
     begin
-      post_dir = write_post(post, old_slug)
-      git_commit(post.title, post_dir)
+      write_post(post)
+      git_commit(action, post.title, post_path(post.dir))
       git_push
       post
 
     rescue => e
+      $stderr.puts "#{e.class}: #{e.message}"
+      $stderr.puts e.backtrace
       git_reset_hard
       raise PostSaveError.new('failed to save post', e)
     end
   end
 
-  def write_post(post, old_slug = nil)
-    post_dir = post_path(post.time.year.to_s, post.padded_month)
-    ensure_post_dir_exists(post_dir)
-    if old_slug
-      delete_post_body(post_dir, old_slug)
-      delete_post_index(post_dir, old_slug)
+  def write_post(post)
+    post_dir = post_path(post.dir)
+    unless post.draft?
+      ensure_post_dir_exists(post_dir)
     end
     write_post_body(post_dir, post.slug, post.body)
     begin
       write_post_index(post_dir, post.slug, post.persistent_fields)
     rescue => e
+      $stderr.puts "#{e.class}: #{e.message}"
+      $stderr.puts e.backtrace
       delete_post_body(post_dir, post.slug)
       raise e
     end
-    post_dir
+  end
+
+  def delete_post_from_dir(post_dir, slug)
+    post_dir = post_path(post_dir)
+    delete_post_body(post_dir, slug)
+    delete_post_index(post_dir, slug)
   end
 
   def write_post_body(dir, slug, body)
@@ -287,8 +329,10 @@ class HarpBlog
 
   def delete_post_index(dir, slug)
     post_data = read_post_data(dir)
-    post_data.delete(slug)
-    write_post_data(dir, post_data)
+    if post_data[slug]
+      post_data.delete(slug)
+      write_post_data(dir, post_data)
+    end
   end
 
   def ensure_post_dir_exists(dir)
@@ -383,9 +427,9 @@ class HarpBlog
     end
   end
 
-  def git_commit(title, *files)
+  def git_commit(action, title, *files)
     quoted_files = files.map { |f| "\"#{quote(f)}\"" }
-    message = "linked '#{quote(title)}'"
+    message = "#{action} '#{quote(title)}'"
     run("git add -A #{quoted_files.join(' ')} && git commit -m \"#{message}\"")
   end
 
diff --git a/server/server.rb b/server/server.rb
index ccb4918..7bf9ec8 100755
--- a/server/server.rb
+++ b/server/server.rb
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ get '/months' do
   JSON.generate(months: blog.months)
 end
 
-# list posts
+# list published posts
 get '/posts/:year/?:month?' do |year, month|
   posts =
     if month
@@ -102,6 +102,15 @@ get '/posts/:year/?:month?' do |year, month|
   JSON.generate(posts: posts.map(&:fields))
 end
 
+# list drafts
+get '/drafts' do
+  posts = blog.drafts
+
+  status 200
+  headers 'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
+  JSON.generate(posts: posts.map(&:fields))
+end
+
 # get a post
 get '/posts/:year/:month/:slug' do |year, month, slug|
   begin
@@ -130,15 +139,43 @@ get '/posts/:year/:month/:slug' do |year, month, slug|
   end
 end
 
-# make a post
-post '/posts' do
+# get a draft
+get '/drafts/:slug' do |slug|
+  begin
+    post = blog.get_draft(slug)
+  rescue HarpBlog::InvalidDataError => e
+    status 500
+    return "Failed to get draft, invalid data on disk: #{e.message}"
+  end
+
+  if post
+    if request.accept?('application/json')
+      status 200
+      headers 'Content-Type' => 'application/json'
+      JSON.generate(post: post.fields)
+    elsif request.accept?('text/html')
+      status 200
+      headers 'Content-Type' => 'text/html'
+      blog.render_post(post.fields)
+    else
+      status 400
+      "content not available in an acceptable format: #{request.accept.join(', ')}"
+    end
+  else
+    status 404
+    'not found'
+  end
+end
+
+# make a draft
+post '/drafts' do
   unless authenticated?(request['Auth'])
     status 403
     return 'forbidden'
   end
 
   begin
-    post = blog.create_post(params[:title], params[:body], params[:link])
+    post = blog.create_post(params[:title], params[:body], params[:link], draft: true)
   rescue HarpBlog::PostExistsError => e
     post = HarpBlog::Post.new({
       title: params[:title],
@@ -146,13 +183,13 @@ post '/posts' do
       link: params[:link],
     })
     status 409
-    return  "refusing to clobber existing post, update it instead: #{post.url}"
+    return  "refusing to clobber existing draft, update it instead: #{post.url}"
   rescue HarpBlog::PostSaveError => e
     status 500
     if orig_err = e.original_error
       "#{e.message} -- #{orig_err.class}: #{orig_err.message}"
     else
-      "Failed to create post: #{e.message}"
+      "Failed to create draft: #{e.message}"
     end
   end
 
@@ -190,7 +227,35 @@ put '/posts/:year/:month/:slug' do |year, month, slug|
     if orig_err = e.original_error
       "#{e.message} -- #{orig_err.class}: #{orig_err.message}"
     else
-      "Failed to create post: #{e.message}"
+      "Failed to update post: #{e.message}"
+    end
+  end
+end
+
+# update a draft
+put '/drafts/:slug' do |slug|
+  unless authenticated?(request['Auth'])
+    status 403
+    return 'forbidden'
+  end
+
+  begin
+    if post = blog.get_draft(slug)
+      blog.update_post(post, params[:title], params[:body], params[:link])
+      status 204
+    else
+      status 404
+      'not found'
+    end
+  rescue HarpBlog::InvalidDataError => e
+    status 500
+    "Failed to update draft, invalid data on disk: #{e.message}"
+  rescue HarpBlog::PostSaveError => e
+    status 500
+    if orig_err = e.original_error
+      "#{e.message} -- #{orig_err.class}: #{orig_err.message}"
+    else
+      "Failed to update draft: #{e.message}"
     end
   end
 end
@@ -206,6 +271,17 @@ delete '/posts/:year/:month/:slug' do |year, month, slug|
   status 204
 end
 
+# delete a draft
+delete '/drafts/:slug' do |slug|
+  unless authenticated?(request['Auth'])
+    status 403
+    return 'forbidden'
+  end
+
+  blog.delete_draft(slug)
+  status 204
+end
+
 # publish
 post '/publish' do
   unless authenticated?(request['Auth'])
diff --git a/server/spec/harp_blog_spec.rb b/server/spec/harp_blog_spec.rb
index b4d309c..02deb22 100644
--- a/server/spec/harp_blog_spec.rb
+++ b/server/spec/harp_blog_spec.rb
@@ -62,12 +62,24 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog::Post do
   describe '#link?' do
     it "returns true for link posts" do
       post = HarpBlog::Post.new(link: @default_fields[:link])
-      expect(post.link?).to eq(true)
+      expect(post.link?).to be_truthy
     end
 
     it "returns false for article posts" do
       post = HarpBlog::Post.new
-      expect(post.link?).to eq(false)
+      expect(post.link?).to be_falsy
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '#draft?' do
+    it "returns true for draft posts" do
+      post = HarpBlog::Post.new(draft: true)
+      expect(post.draft?).to be_truthy
+    end
+
+    it "returns false for published posts" do
+      post = HarpBlog::Post.new
+      expect(post.draft?).to be_falsy
     end
   end
 
@@ -124,6 +136,18 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog::Post do
     end
   end
 
+  describe '#dir' do
+    it "returns the drafts dir for draft posts" do
+      post = HarpBlog::Post.new(draft: true)
+      expect(post.dir).to eq('drafts')
+    end
+
+    it "returns the dated dir for published posts" do
+      post = HarpBlog::Post.new
+      expect(post.dir).to eq("#{post.time.year}/#{post.padded_month}")
+    end
+  end
+
   describe '#pad' do
     it "should have a leading zero for integers 0 < n < 10" do
       post = HarpBlog::Post.new
@@ -183,7 +207,6 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog do
       @blog.create_post('title', 'body', nil)
       expect(@blog.dirty?).to be_truthy
 
-      @blog.publish
       @mock_version_finder.version = @blog.local_version
       expect(@blog.dirty?).to be_falsy
     end
@@ -244,6 +267,59 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog do
     end
   end
 
+  describe '#drafts' do
+    it "returns the correct number of posts" do
+      expect(@blog.drafts.length).to eq(2)
+    end
+
+    it "should sort the posts by publish time" do
+      timestamps = @blog.drafts.map(&:timestamp)
+      expect(increasing?(timestamps)).to be_truthy
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '#get_post' do
+    it "should return complete posts" do
+      first_post_path = File.join(TEST_BLOG_PATH, 'public/posts/2006/02/first-post.md')
+      post = @blog.get_post('2006', '02', 'first-post')
+      expect(post).to be_truthy
+      expect(post.author).to eq('Sami Samhuri')
+      expect(post.title).to eq('First Post!')
+      expect(post.slug).to eq('first-post')
+      expect(post.timestamp).to eq(1139368860)
+      expect(post.date).to eq('8th February, 2006')
+      expect(post.url).to eq('/posts/2006/02/first-post')
+      expect(post.link).to eq(nil)
+      expect(post.link?).to be_falsy
+      expect(post.tags).to eq(['life'])
+      expect(post.body).to eq(File.read(first_post_path))
+    end
+
+    it "should return nil if the post does not exist" do
+      post = @blog.get_post('2005', '01', 'anything')
+      expect(post).to be(nil)
+    end
+  end
+
+  describe '#get_draft' do
+    it "should return complete posts" do
+      title = 'new draft'
+      body = "blah blah blah\n"
+      @blog.create_post(title, body, nil, draft: true)
+      post = @blog.get_draft('new-draft')
+      expect(post).to be_truthy
+      expect(post.title).to eq(title)
+      expect(post.url).to eq('/posts/drafts/new-draft')
+      expect(post.draft?).to be_truthy
+      expect(post.body).to eq(body)
+    end
+
+    it "should return nil if the post does not exist" do
+      post = @blog.get_draft('does-not-exist')
+      expect(post).to be(nil)
+    end
+  end
+
   describe '#create_post' do
     it "should create a link post when a link is given" do
       title = 'test post'
@@ -270,6 +346,15 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog do
       expect(post.time.to_date).to eq(Date.today)
     end
 
+    it "should create a draft post" do
+      title = 'test draft'
+      body = 'check this out'
+      post = @blog.create_post(title, body, nil, draft: true)
+      expect(post).to be_truthy
+      expect(post.draft?).to be_truthy
+      expect(post.dir).to eq('drafts')
+    end
+
     it "should create a post that can be fetched immediately" do
       title = 'fetch now'
       body = 'blah blah blah'
@@ -280,6 +365,16 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog do
       year = today.year.to_s
       month = post.pad(today.month)
       fetched_post = @blog.get_post(year, month, post.slug)
+      expect(fetched_post.url).to eq(post.url)
+    end
+
+    it "should create a draft that can be fetched immediately" do
+      title = 'fetch now'
+      body = 'blah blah blah'
+      post = @blog.create_post(title, body, nil, draft: true)
+      expect(post).to be_truthy
+
+      fetched_post = @blog.get_draft(post.slug)
       expect(post.url).to eq(fetched_post.url)
     end
 
@@ -301,29 +396,6 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog do
     end
   end
 
-  describe '#get_post' do
-    it "should return complete posts" do
-      first_post_path = File.join(TEST_BLOG_PATH, 'public/posts/2006/02/first-post.md')
-      post = @blog.get_post('2006', '02', 'first-post')
-      expect(post).to be_truthy
-      expect(post.author).to eq('Sami Samhuri')
-      expect(post.title).to eq('First Post!')
-      expect(post.slug).to eq('first-post')
-      expect(post.timestamp).to eq(1139368860)
-      expect(post.date).to eq('8th February, 2006')
-      expect(post.url).to eq('/posts/2006/02/first-post')
-      expect(post.link).to eq(nil)
-      expect(post.link?).to eq(false)
-      expect(post.tags).to eq(['life'])
-      expect(post.body).to eq(File.read(first_post_path))
-    end
-
-    it "should return nil if the post does not exist" do
-      post = @blog.get_post('2005', '01', 'anything')
-      expect(post).to be(nil)
-    end
-  end
-
   describe '#update_post' do
     it "should immediately reflect changes when fetched" do
       post = @blog.get_post('2006', '02', 'first-post')
@@ -333,14 +405,10 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog do
       @blog.update_post(post, title, body, link)
 
       # new slug, new data
-      post = @blog.get_post('2006', '02', 'new-title')
+      post = @blog.get_post('2006', '02', 'first-post')
       expect(post.title).to eq(title)
       expect(post.body).to eq(body)
       expect(post.link).to eq(link)
-
-      # old post is long gone
-      post = @blog.get_post('2006', '02', 'first-post')
-      expect(post).to eq(nil)
     end
   end
 
@@ -364,4 +432,31 @@ RSpec.describe HarpBlog do
     end
   end
 
+  describe '#delete_draft' do
+    it "should delete existing drafts" do
+      title = 'new draft'
+      body = 'blah blah blah'
+      existing_post = @blog.create_post(title, body, nil, draft: true)
+      post = @blog.get_draft(existing_post.slug)
+      expect(post).to be_truthy
+
+      @blog.delete_draft(post.slug)
+
+      post = @blog.get_draft(post.slug)
+      expect(post).to eq(nil)
+    end
+
+    it "should do nothing for non-existent posts" do
+      title = 'new draft'
+      body = 'blah blah blah'
+      existing_post = @blog.create_post(title, body, nil, draft: true)
+
+      post = @blog.get_draft(existing_post.slug)
+      expect(post).to be_truthy
+
+      @blog.delete_draft(post.slug)
+      @blog.delete_draft(post.slug)
+    end
+  end
+
 end