diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 09774b4aa..f9a606454 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ jobs:
 
 - **default_bump** _(optional)_ - Which type of bump to use when [none is explicitly provided](#bumping) when commiting to a release branch (default: `patch`). You can also set `false` to avoid generating a new tag when none is explicitly provided. Can be `patch, minor or major`.
 - **default_prerelease_bump** _(optional)_ - Which type of bump to use when [none is explicitly provided](#bumping) when commiting to a prerelease branch (default: `prerelease`). You can also set `false` to avoid generating a new tag when none is explicitly provided. Can be `prerelease, prepatch, preminor or premajor`.
+- **default_draft_bump** _(optional)_ - Which type of bump to use when [none is explicitly provided](#bumping) when commiting to a prerelease branch with no previous prerelease version (default: `prerelease`). You can also set `false` to avoid generating a new tag when none is explicitly provided. Can be `prerelease, patch, minor or major`.
 - **custom_tag** _(optional)_ - Custom tag name. If specified, it overrides bump settings.
 - **create_annotated_tag** _(optional)_ - Boolean to create an annotated rather than a lightweight one (default: `false`).
 - **tag_prefix** _(optional)_ - A prefix to the tag name (default: `v`).
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index eae936ed1..b859708d8 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,11 @@ inputs:
     description: "Which type of bump to use when none explicitly provided when commiting to a release branch (default: `patch`)."
     required: false
     default: "patch"
+  default_draft_bump:
+    description: |
+      Which type of bump to use when none explicitly provided when commiting to a prerelease branch with no previous prerelease version (default: same as `default_prerelease_bump`).
+      Defaults to prerelease for backward-compatibility with previous behaviour. Might make more sense to set it to the same as `default_bump`.
+    required: false
   default_prerelease_bump:
     description: "Which type of bump to use when none explicitly provided when commiting to a prerelease branch (default: `prerelease`)."
     required: false
diff --git a/src/action.ts b/src/action.ts
index 2a073169e..0ef74e297 100644
--- a/src/action.ts
+++ b/src/action.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ export default async function main() {
   const defaultPreReleaseBump = core.getInput('default_prerelease_bump') as
     | ReleaseType
     | 'false';
+  const defaultDraftBump =
+    (core.getInput('default_draft_bump') as ReleaseType | 'false') ||
+    defaultPreReleaseBump;
   const tagPrefix = core.getInput('tag_prefix');
   const customTag = core.getInput('custom_tag');
   const releaseBranches = core.getInput('release_branches');
@@ -120,6 +123,7 @@ export default async function main() {
     );
     core.setOutput('previous_version', previousVersion.version);
     core.setOutput('previous_tag', previousTag.name);
+    const previousWasPrerelease = previousVersion.prerelease.length != 0;
 
     commits = await getCommits(previousTag.commit.sha, commitRef);
 
@@ -136,6 +140,8 @@ export default async function main() {
     // Determine if we should continue with tag creation based on main vs prerelease branch
     let shouldContinue = true;
     if (isPrerelease) {
+      if (!bump && !previousWasPrerelease && defaultDraftBump === 'false')
+        shouldContinue = false;
       if (!bump && defaultPreReleaseBump === 'false') {
         shouldContinue = false;
       }
@@ -155,9 +161,13 @@ export default async function main() {
 
     // If we don't have an automatic bump for the prerelease, just set our bump as the default
     if (isPrerelease && !bump) {
-      bump = defaultPreReleaseBump;
+      if (!previousWasPrerelease)
+        // previous version is a prerelease -> draft a new version with the default bump and make it a prerelease
+        bump = defaultDraftBump;
+      else bump = defaultPreReleaseBump;
     }
 
+    // TODO: these next 10 lines are horrible!! why we have preminor as bump type at all if it is always striped away?
     // If somebody uses custom release rules on a prerelease branch they might create a 'preprepatch' bump.
     const preReg = /^pre/;
     if (isPrerelease && preReg.test(bump)) {
diff --git a/tests/action.test.ts b/tests/action.test.ts
index 413e7bfae..6d66f0dd6 100644
--- a/tests/action.test.ts
+++ b/tests/action.test.ts
@@ -450,6 +450,7 @@ describe('github-tag-action', () => {
     beforeEach(() => {
       jest.clearAllMocks();
       setBranch('prerelease');
+      loadDefaultInputs();
       setInput('pre_release_branches', 'prerelease');
     });
 
@@ -527,6 +528,234 @@ describe('github-tag-action', () => {
       expect(mockSetFailed).not.toBeCalled();
     });
 
+    /** 1.3.0 commit =[minor, minor, prerelease]=> 1.4.0-pre.0 */
+    it('does create prerelease tag respecting default_draft_bump', async () => {
+      /*
+       * Given
+       */
+      const commits = [{ message: 'this is a commit', hash: null }];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getCommits')
+        .mockImplementation(async (sha) => commits);
+
+      const validTags = [
+        {
+          name: 'v1.2.3',
+          commit: { sha: '012345', url: '' },
+          zipball_url: '',
+          tarball_url: 'string',
+          node_id: 'string',
+        },
+      ];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getValidTags')
+        .mockImplementation(async () => validTags);
+
+      /*
+       * When
+       */
+      setInput('default_bump', 'minor');
+      setInput('default_draft_bump', 'minor');
+      setInput('default_prerelease_bump', 'prerelease');
+      await action();
+
+      /*
+       * Then
+       */
+      expect(mockCreateTag).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'v1.3.0-prerelease.0',
+        expect.any(Boolean),
+        expect.any(String)
+      );
+      expect(mockSetFailed).not.toBeCalled();
+    });
+
+    /** 1.3.0-pre.0 + commit =[minor, minor, prerelease]=> 1.3.0-pre.1 */
+    it('does update prerelease tag respecting default_draft_bump', async () => {
+      /*
+       * Given
+       */
+      const commits = [{ message: 'this is a commit', hash: null }];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getCommits')
+        .mockImplementation(async (sha) => commits);
+
+      const validTags = [
+        {
+          name: 'v1.2.3',
+          commit: { sha: '012345', url: '' },
+          zipball_url: '',
+          tarball_url: 'string',
+          node_id: 'string',
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'v1.3.0-prerelease.0',
+          commit: { sha: '123456', url: '' },
+          zipball_url: '',
+          tarball_url: 'string',
+          node_id: 'string',
+        },
+      ];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getValidTags')
+        .mockImplementation(async () => validTags);
+
+      /*
+       * When
+       */
+      setInput('default_bump', 'minor');
+      setInput('default_draft_bump', 'minor');
+      setInput('default_prerelease_bump', 'prerelease');
+      await action();
+
+      /*
+       * Then
+       */
+      expect(mockCreateTag).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'v1.3.0-prerelease.1',
+        expect.any(Boolean),
+        expect.any(String)
+      );
+      expect(mockSetFailed).not.toBeCalled();
+    });
+
+    /** 1.3.0-pre.0 + commit =[minor, minor, preminor]=> 1.4.0-pre.0 */
+    it('does update prerelease tag with preminor', async () => {
+      /*
+       * Given
+       */
+      const commits = [{ message: 'this is a commit', hash: null }];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getCommits')
+        .mockImplementation(async (sha) => commits);
+
+      const validTags = [
+        {
+          name: 'v1.2.3',
+          commit: { sha: '012345', url: '' },
+          zipball_url: '',
+          tarball_url: 'string',
+          node_id: 'string',
+        },
+        {
+          name: 'v1.3.0-prerelease.0',
+          commit: { sha: '123456', url: '' },
+          zipball_url: '',
+          tarball_url: 'string',
+          node_id: 'string',
+        },
+      ];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getValidTags')
+        .mockImplementation(async () => validTags);
+
+      /*
+       * When
+       */
+      setInput('default_bump', 'minor');
+      setInput('default_draft_bump', 'minor');
+      setInput('default_prerelease_bump', 'preminor');
+      await action();
+
+      /*
+       * Then
+       */
+      expect(mockCreateTag).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'v1.4.0-prerelease.0',
+        expect.any(Boolean),
+        expect.any(String)
+      );
+      expect(mockSetFailed).not.toBeCalled();
+    });
+
+    /**
+     *  1.2.3 commit =[minor, -, prerelease]=> 1.2.4-pre.0
+     * according to semver, a prerelease increment on a non-prerelease version drafts a new minor version
+     */
+    it('default_draft_bump defaults to default_prerelease_bump (prerelease)', async () => {
+      /*
+       * Given
+       */
+      const commits = [{ message: 'this is a commit', hash: null }];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getCommits')
+        .mockImplementation(async (sha) => commits);
+
+      const validTags = [
+        {
+          name: 'v1.2.3',
+          commit: { sha: '012345', url: '' },
+          zipball_url: '',
+          tarball_url: 'string',
+          node_id: 'string',
+        },
+      ];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getValidTags')
+        .mockImplementation(async () => validTags);
+
+      /*
+       * When
+       */
+      setInput('default_bump', 'minor');
+      setInput('default_prerelease_bump', 'prerelease');
+      await action();
+
+      /*
+       * Then
+       */
+      expect(mockCreateTag).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'v1.2.4-prerelease.0', // prerelease drafts patch upgrades
+        expect.any(Boolean),
+        expect.any(String)
+      );
+      expect(mockSetFailed).not.toBeCalled();
+    });
+
+    /**
+     *  1.2.3 commit =[minor, -, prerelease]=> 1.2.4-pre.0
+     * according to semver, a prerelease increment on a non-prerelease version drafts a new minor version
+     */
+    it('default_draft_bump defaults to default_prerelease_bump (preminor)', async () => {
+      /*
+       * Given
+       */
+      const commits = [{ message: 'this is a commit', hash: null }];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getCommits')
+        .mockImplementation(async (sha) => commits);
+
+      const validTags = [
+        {
+          name: 'v1.2.3',
+          commit: { sha: '012345', url: '' },
+          zipball_url: '',
+          tarball_url: 'string',
+          node_id: 'string',
+        },
+      ];
+      jest
+        .spyOn(utils, 'getValidTags')
+        .mockImplementation(async () => validTags);
+
+      /*
+       * When
+       */
+      setInput('default_bump', 'minor');
+      setInput('default_prerelease_bump', 'preminor');
+      await action();
+
+      /*
+       * Then
+       */
+      expect(mockCreateTag).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+        'v1.3.0-prerelease.0', // prerelease drafts patch upgrades
+        expect.any(Boolean),
+        expect.any(String)
+      );
+      expect(mockSetFailed).not.toBeCalled();
+    });
+
     it('does create prepatch tag', async () => {
       /*
        * Given
diff --git a/tests/helper.test.ts b/tests/helper.test.ts
index d56b50be5..8cd3c1c8b 100644
--- a/tests/helper.test.ts
+++ b/tests/helper.test.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ export function setInputs(map: { [key: string]: string }) {
   Object.keys(map).forEach((key) => setInput(key, map[key]));
 }
 
+export function resetInputs(map: { [key: string]: string }) {
+  Object.keys(process.env)
+    .filter((k) => k.startsWith('INPUT_'))
+    .forEach((k) => delete process.env[k]);
+  Object.keys(map).forEach((key) => setInput(key, map[key]));
+}
+
 export function loadDefaultInputs() {
   const actionYaml = fs.readFileSync(
     path.join(process.cwd(), 'action.yml'),
@@ -40,7 +47,7 @@ export function loadDefaultInputs() {
       (obj, key) => ({ ...obj, [key]: actionJson['inputs'][key].default }),
       {}
     );
-  setInputs(defaultInputs);
+  resetInputs(defaultInputs);
 }
 
 // Don't know how to have this file only for test but not have 'tsc' complain. So I made it a test file...