===================================================================
--- scheduler.module	(revision 9038)
+++ scheduler.module	(working copy)
@@ -561,7 +561,12 @@
         // Right before we save the node, we need to check if a "publish on" value has been set.
         // If it has been set, we want to make sure the node is unpublished since it will be published at a later date
         if (isset($node->publish_on) && $node->publish_on != '' && is_numeric($node->publish_on) && $node->publish_on > time()) {
-          form_set_error('status', t('This post is scheduled to be published at @publish_time. You can not publish now.', array('@publish_time' => format_date($node->publish_on, 'custom', $date_format))));
+          if($node->status == 1) {
+            form_set_error('status', t('This post is scheduled to be published at @publish_time. You can not publish now.', array('@publish_time' => format_date($node->publish_on, 'custom', $date_format))));
+          }
+          else {
+            drupal_set_message(t('This post is unpublished and will be published @publish_time.', array('@publish_time' => format_date($node->publish_on, 'custom', $date_format))), 'status', FALSE);
+          }
         }
         break;
       case 'insert':