diff --git a/apps/admin/src/components/EditorShell.tsx b/apps/admin/src/components/EditorShell.tsx
index f05ca09..da5d2e9 100644
--- a/apps/admin/src/components/EditorShell.tsx
+++ b/apps/admin/src/components/EditorShell.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { Box, Button, Stack, Typography, TextField, MenuItem, Snackbar, Alert } from '@mui/material';
+import { Box, Button, Stack, Typography, TextField, MenuItem, Snackbar, Alert, Stepper, Step, StepLabel, StepButton } from '@mui/material';
 import AdminLayout from '../layout/AdminLayout';
 import Recorder from '../features/recorder/Recorder';
 import RichEditor from './RichEditor';
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ export default function EditorShell({ onLogout, initialPostId, onBack }: { onLog
   const [postStatus, setPostStatus] = useState<'inbox' | 'editing' | 'ready_for_publish' | 'published' | 'archived'>('editing');
   const [toast, setToast] = useState<{ open: boolean; message: string; severity: 'success' | 'error' } | null>(null);
   const [promptText, setPromptText] = useState<string>('');
+  const [activeStep, setActiveStep] = useState<number>(0);
 
   useEffect(() => {
     const savedId = initialPostId || localStorage.getItem('voxblog_draft_id');
@@ -81,6 +82,28 @@ export default function EditorShell({ onLogout, initialPostId, onBack }: { onLog
     }
   };
 
+  const ghostPublish = async (status: 'draft' | 'published') => {
+    try {
+      const tags = meta.tagsText.split(',').map(t => t.trim()).filter(Boolean);
+      const res = await fetch('/api/ghost/post', {
+        method: 'POST',
+        headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+        body: JSON.stringify({
+          title: meta.title || 'Untitled',
+          html: draft,
+          feature_image: meta.featureImage || null,
+          canonical_url: meta.canonicalUrl || null,
+          tags,
+          status,
+        })
+      });
+      if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
+      setToast({ open: true, message: status === 'published' ? 'Published to Ghost' : 'Draft saved to Ghost', severity: 'success' });
+    } catch (e: any) {
+      setToast({ open: true, message: `Ghost ${status} failed: ${e?.message || 'unknown error'}`, severity: 'error' });
+    }
+  };
+
   // No inline post switching here; selection happens on Posts page
 
   return (
@@ -95,106 +118,147 @@ export default function EditorShell({ onLogout, initialPostId, onBack }: { onLog
           {toast?.message || ''}
         </Alert>
       </Snackbar>
-      <Stack direction="row" alignItems="center" justifyContent="space-between" sx={{ mb: 2, gap: 2, flexWrap: 'wrap' }}>
-        <Stack direction="row" spacing={2} sx={{ alignItems: 'center', flex: 1, minWidth: 300 }}>
-          <Typography variant="h6">Post</Typography>
-          <TextField
-            size="small"
-            label="Title"
-            value={meta.title}
-            onChange={(e) => setMeta((m) => ({ ...m, title: e.target.value }))}
-            sx={{ flex: 1, minWidth: 200 }}
-          />
-          <TextField size="small" select label="Status" value={postStatus} onChange={(e) => setPostStatus(e.target.value as any)} sx={{ minWidth: 200 }}>
-            <MenuItem value="inbox">inbox</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="editing">editing</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="ready_for_publish">ready_for_publish</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="published">published</MenuItem>
-            <MenuItem value="archived">archived</MenuItem>
-          </TextField>
-        </Stack>
-        <Stack direction="row" spacing={1}>
-          {draftId && (
-            <Button color="error" variant="outlined" onClick={async () => {
-              if (!draftId) return;
-              if (!confirm('Delete this post? This will remove its audio clips too.')) return;
-              try {
-                const res = await fetch(`/api/posts/${draftId}`, { method: 'DELETE' });
-                if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
-                localStorage.removeItem('voxblog_draft_id');
-                if (onBack) onBack();
-              } catch (e: any) {
-                alert('Delete failed: ' + (e?.message || 'unknown error'));
-              }
-            }}>Delete</Button>
-          )}
-          <Button variant="contained" onClick={saveDraft}>Save Post</Button>
-          {onBack && <Button variant="outlined" onClick={onBack}>Back to Posts</Button>}
-        </Stack>
-      </Stack>
-      <Box sx={{ display: 'grid', gap: 3 }}>
-        <Recorder
-          postId={draftId ?? undefined}
-          onInsertAtCursor={(html: string) => editorRef.current?.insertHtmlAtCursor(html)}
-          initialClips={postClips}
-        />
-        <Box>
-          <Typography variant="subtitle1" sx={{ mb: 1 }}>Content</Typography>
-          <RichEditor ref={editorRef as any} value={draft} onChange={(html) => setDraft(html)} placeholder="Write your post..." />
-          {draftId && (
-            <Typography variant="caption" sx={{ mt: 1, display: 'block' }}>ID: {draftId}</Typography>
-          )}
+      <Box sx={{ display: { md: 'grid' }, gridTemplateColumns: { md: '300px 1fr' }, gap: 2 }}>
+        {/* Left sticky sidebar: Post controls */}
+        <Box sx={{ position: 'sticky', top: 12, alignSelf: 'start', border: '1px solid', borderColor: 'divider', borderRadius: 1, p: 2 }}>
+          <Typography variant="subtitle1" sx={{ mb: 1 }}>Post</Typography>
+          <Stack spacing={1}>
+            <TextField
+              size="small"
+              label="Title"
+              value={meta.title}
+              onChange={(e) => setMeta((m) => ({ ...m, title: e.target.value }))}
+              fullWidth
+            />
+            <TextField size="small" select label="Status" value={postStatus} onChange={(e) => setPostStatus(e.target.value as any)} fullWidth>
+              <MenuItem value="inbox">inbox</MenuItem>
+              <MenuItem value="editing">editing</MenuItem>
+              <MenuItem value="ready_for_publish">ready_for_publish</MenuItem>
+              <MenuItem value="published">published</MenuItem>
+              <MenuItem value="archived">archived</MenuItem>
+            </TextField>
+            <Stack direction="row" spacing={1}>
+              <Button variant="contained" onClick={saveDraft} fullWidth>Save</Button>
+              {draftId && (
+                <Button color="error" variant="outlined" onClick={async () => {
+                  if (!draftId) return;
+                  if (!confirm('Delete this post? This will remove its audio clips too.')) return;
+                  try {
+                    const res = await fetch(`/api/posts/${draftId}`, { method: 'DELETE' });
+                    if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
+                    localStorage.removeItem('voxblog_draft_id');
+                    if (onBack) onBack();
+                  } catch (e: any) {
+                    alert('Delete failed: ' + (e?.message || 'unknown error'));
+                  }
+                }}>Delete</Button>
+              )}
+            </Stack>
+            {onBack && <Button variant="text" onClick={onBack}>Back to Posts</Button>}
+          </Stack>
         </Box>
+
+        {/* Right content: Stepper and step panels */}
         <Box>
-          <Typography variant="subtitle1" sx={{ mb: 1 }}>AI Prompt</Typography>
-          <TextField
-            label="Instructions + context for AI generation"
-            value={promptText}
-            onChange={(e) => setPromptText(e.target.value)}
-            fullWidth
-            multiline
-            minRows={6}
-            placeholder="Describe the goal, audience, tone, outline, and reference transcript/image context to guide AI content generation."
-          />
+          <Stepper nonLinear activeStep={activeStep} sx={{ mb: 2 }}>
+            {[ 'Assets', 'AI Prompt', 'Generate', 'Edit', 'Metadata', 'Publish' ].map((label, idx) => (
+              <Step key={label} completed={false}>
+                <StepButton color="inherit" onClick={() => setActiveStep(idx)}>
+                  <StepLabel>{label}</StepLabel>
+                </StepButton>
+              </Step>
+            ))}
+          </Stepper>
+
+          {activeStep === 0 && (
+            <Box sx={{ display: 'grid', gap: 2 }}>
+              <Typography variant="subtitle1">Assets (Audio & Images)</Typography>
+              <Stack direction={{ xs: 'column', md: 'row' }} spacing={2} alignItems="stretch">
+                <Box sx={{ flex: 1 }}>
+                  <Recorder
+                    postId={draftId ?? undefined}
+                    onInsertAtCursor={(html: string) => editorRef.current?.insertHtmlAtCursor(html)}
+                    initialClips={postClips}
+                  />
+                </Box>
+                <Box sx={{ flex: 1 }}>
+                  <MediaLibrary
+                    onInsert={(url) => editorRef.current?.insertHtmlAtCursor(`<img src="${url}" alt="" />`)}
+                    onSetFeature={(url) => setMeta(m => ({ ...m, featureImage: url }))}
+                    showSetFeature
+                  />
+                </Box>
+              </Stack>
+            </Box>
+          )}
+
+          {activeStep === 1 && (
+            <Box>
+              <Typography variant="subtitle1" sx={{ mb: 1 }}>AI Prompt</Typography>
+              <TextField
+                label="Instructions + context for AI generation"
+                value={promptText}
+                onChange={(e) => setPromptText(e.target.value)}
+                fullWidth
+                multiline
+                minRows={6}
+                placeholder="Describe the goal, audience, tone, outline, and reference transcript/image context to guide AI content generation."
+              />
+            </Box>
+          )}
+
+          {activeStep === 2 && (
+            <Box>
+              <Typography variant="subtitle1" sx={{ mb: 1 }}>Generate</Typography>
+              <Typography variant="body2" sx={{ mb: 1, color: 'text.secondary' }}>
+                AI content generation will use your prompt and assets. This step is coming soon.
+              </Typography>
+              <Stack direction="row" spacing={1}>
+                <Button variant="contained" disabled>Generate Draft (Coming Soon)</Button>
+                <Button variant="outlined" onClick={() => setActiveStep(3)}>Skip to Edit</Button>
+              </Stack>
+            </Box>
+          )}
+
+          {activeStep === 3 && (
+            <Box>
+              <Typography variant="subtitle1" sx={{ mb: 1 }}>Edit Content</Typography>
+              <RichEditor ref={editorRef as any} value={draft} onChange={(html) => setDraft(html)} placeholder="Write your post..." />
+              {draftId && (
+                <Typography variant="caption" sx={{ mt: 1, display: 'block' }}>ID: {draftId}</Typography>
+              )}
+            </Box>
+          )}
+
+          {activeStep === 4 && (
+            <MetadataPanel
+              value={meta}
+              onChange={setMeta}
+            />
+          )}
+
+          {activeStep === 5 && (
+            <Box sx={{ display: 'grid', gap: 1 }}>
+              <Typography variant="subtitle1">Publish</Typography>
+              <Typography variant="body2" sx={{ color: 'text.secondary' }}>Preview below is based on current editor HTML.</Typography>
+              <Box sx={{ p: 1.5, border: '1px solid #eee', borderRadius: 1, bgcolor: '#fff' }} dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: draft }} />
+              <Stack direction="row" spacing={1} sx={{ mt: 1 }}>
+                <Button variant="outlined" onClick={() => ghostPublish('draft')}>Save Draft to Ghost</Button>
+                <Button variant="contained" onClick={() => ghostPublish('published')}>Publish to Ghost</Button>
+              </Stack>
+            </Box>
+          )}
+
+          {/* Sticky bottom nav so Back/Next don't move */}
+          <Box sx={{ position: 'sticky', bottom: 0, bgcolor: 'background.paper', py: 1, borderTop: '1px solid', borderColor: 'divider', zIndex: 1, mt: 2 }}>
+            <Stack direction="row" spacing={1} justifyContent="space-between">
+              <Button disabled={activeStep === 0} onClick={() => setActiveStep((s) => Math.max(0, s - 1))}>Back</Button>
+              <Stack direction="row" spacing={1}>
+                <Button variant="outlined" onClick={() => setActiveStep((s) => Math.min(5, s + 1))}>Next</Button>
+              </Stack>
+            </Stack>
+          </Box>
         </Box>
-        <MetadataPanel
-          value={meta}
-          onChange={setMeta}
-          onPublish={async (status) => {
-            try {
-              const tags = meta.tagsText.split(',').map(t => t.trim()).filter(Boolean);
-              const res = await fetch('/api/ghost/post', {
-                method: 'POST',
-                headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-                body: JSON.stringify({
-                  title: meta.title || 'Untitled',
-                  html: draft || '',
-                  tags,
-                  feature_image: meta.featureImage || undefined,
-                  canonical_url: meta.canonicalUrl || undefined,
-                  status,
-                }),
-              });
-              const data = await res.json();
-              if (!res.ok) {
-                console.error('Ghost error', data);
-                alert('Ghost error: ' + (data?.detail || data?.error || res.status));
-              } else {
-                alert(`${status === 'published' ? 'Published' : 'Saved post'} (id: ${data.id})`);
-              }
-            } catch (e: any) {
-              alert('Ghost error: ' + (e?.message || String(e)));
-            }
-          }}
-        />
-        <MediaLibrary onInsert={(url) => {
-          if (editorRef.current) {
-            editorRef.current.insertImage(url);
-          } else {
-            // fallback
-            setDraft((prev) => `${prev || ''}<p><img src="${url}" alt="" /></p>`);
-          }
-        }} showSetFeature onSetFeature={(url) => setMeta((m) => ({ ...m, featureImage: url }))} />
       </Box>
     </AdminLayout>
   );
diff --git a/apps/admin/src/components/MetadataPanel.tsx b/apps/admin/src/components/MetadataPanel.tsx
index a7ed7b3..c5dc45c 100644
--- a/apps/admin/src/components/MetadataPanel.tsx
+++ b/apps/admin/src/components/MetadataPanel.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
-import { Box, Button, Stack, TextField, Typography, IconButton } from '@mui/material';
-import { useState } from 'react';
+import { Box, Stack, TextField, Typography, IconButton } from '@mui/material';
 
 export type Metadata = {
   title: string;
@@ -8,12 +7,10 @@ export type Metadata = {
   featureImage?: string;
 };
 
-export default function MetadataPanel({ value, onChange, onPublish }: {
+export default function MetadataPanel({ value, onChange }: {
   value: Metadata;
   onChange: (v: Metadata) => void;
-  onPublish: (status: 'draft' | 'published') => void;
 }) {
-  const [busy, setBusy] = useState(false);
 
   const set = (patch: Partial<Metadata>) => onChange({ ...value, ...patch });
 
@@ -42,10 +39,6 @@ export default function MetadataPanel({ value, onChange, onPublish }: {
             </IconButton>
           </Box>
         )}
-        <Stack direction="row" spacing={1}>
-          <Button variant="outlined" disabled={busy} onClick={() => onPublish('draft')}>Save Draft to Ghost</Button>
-          <Button variant="contained" disabled={busy} onClick={() => onPublish('published')}>Publish to Ghost</Button>
-        </Stack>
       </Stack>
     </Box>
   );