How readers get their books

When a reader buys an ebook or audiobook, Lanternbee emails them a link to their books. You don’t send anything yourself.

Free books

When everything in a reader’s basket is free (a book priced Free, or a discount code that takes the whole price off), the basket button reads Get it free instead of Checkout and there is no card payment, so it works even before Stripe is connected. The reader gives their name and email (and a postal address for a free printed copy with free delivery), and we email them a link. The order is only placed once they open it, so nobody can sign someone else up for books or your news. The link lasts 24 hours. Like any buyer, they can tick Send me news from your store to join your newsletter; getting the book never depends on it. The order then shows in Orders as Free, with nothing to refund.

To give a book to a few people only, such as reviewers, make a discount code for 100% off that book under Discount codes and set How many times it can be used.

Card payments have a minimum (about 0.50 in euros or dollars, 0.30 in pounds). If a basket costs less than that but more than nothing, the basket tells the reader to add another book.

Check a delivery

Open the order in Orders. Under Delivery you see each book in the order, its format and whether the email went out:

• Sending: the email is on its way.
• Sent: the email left us.
• Failed or Bounced: it didn’t reach the reader. The reason shows under the book.

If a delivery failed or bounced, choose Send again. If it keeps bouncing, the email address may be wrong. Ask the reader to check it.

Printed books don’t appear under Delivery, because they arrive by post.

Readers can help themselves

Most “where is my book?” questions never reach you. In their reader library, readers can:

• download their books again,
• ask for the email again, and
• send an ebook to their Kindle.

Each EPUB is marked

Each EPUB a reader downloads carries a line with their email, your store and the date. See upload your book files.