Terms of service for authors

These terms apply when you create a Lanternbee account and run a store. “We” is [Lanternbee legal entity, registered address and company number — to be completed]. “You” is the author or business that owns the account.

1. What Lanternbee does

Lanternbee gives you an online store for your books on your own domain: a catalogue, checkout, delivery of digital files, print fulfilment through partners, a reader library and email tools. You sell to your readers; Lanternbee provides the software and the services around it.

2. Your account

• You must be at least 18 and able to enter a contract.
• Keep your login safe and turn on two-step sign-in. You are responsible for what happens in your account.
• One account can own several stores only on plans that include them.
• Give us accurate details, and keep your email address current: we send service and security notices there.
• Who you are. You may only sell as yourself, or under a pen name or imprint that is yours. Before your store opens we check your identity, for example through your social profiles, website and published books, and we may ask for more proof at any time. Your store opens only once we approve your account.

3. Selling through your store

• You are the seller. Your readers buy from you. You set prices, decide what to sell and are responsible for your books, your descriptions and your own obligations to readers (refunds, consumer rights, tax registrations where they apply to you).
• Payments go through Stripe Connect. You agree to Stripe’s Connected Account Agreement. Money from sales is paid into your Stripe account; Lanternbee never holds your sales income.
• Taxes. Checkout calculates sales tax and VAT with Stripe Tax using the settings you choose. You remain responsible for registering and filing where you are required to.
• Delivery. We deliver digital files to buyers and keep them in each reader’s library while your store is active and for the period described in section 9.

4. Fees and plans

• The Free plan has no subscription and no fee on sales, and allows up to 3 books. Paid plans have a monthly or yearly price, no fee on sales and no limit on books. Current prices are on the pricing page.
• Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled. You can cancel at any time; the plan stays active to the end of the period you paid for.
• We may change prices with at least 30 days’ notice by email. A change applies from your next renewal.
• Payment processing fees are charged by Stripe and are separate from Lanternbee’s prices.

Launch offer: if you join the waitlist or create your account before 1 January 2027, you get the Author plan free for 6 months, counted from the day we approve your account and your store goes live, even if we approve it after that date. Joining the waitlist counts for the email address you joined with, so create your account with the same address. We email you about 60 and 30 days before it ends. When it ends, your account moves to the Free plan (no fee on sales, up to 3 books) unless you have chosen a paid plan; your store keeps running and your books stay on sale. When you start paying for a plan, you get 50% off any paid plan (Author or Studio, monthly or yearly billing) for your first year: the first 12 months you pay for, counted from your first paid day. On monthly billing that is 12 payments at half price; on yearly billing it is your first year at half price. If you change plan or billing during that year, the 50% carries over until the year ends. After that year you pay the normal price. The 50% is given once per account: if you cancel and subscribe again later, the new subscription is at the normal price.

5. Your content

• You keep all rights in your books, covers, texts and images.
• You give us a license to host, copy, display, transmit and deliver your content only as needed to run your store and deliver to your buyers.
• You confirm you have the rights to everything you upload and sell, and that it follows the acceptable use policy.

6. Your readers’ data

You decide what to do with your readers’ data; we process it on your behalf under the data processing agreement, which forms part of these terms. You can export your readers and orders at any time.

7. Moving away

Your store and data are yours. You can export your readers, orders and files at any time and close your account. On closing, we keep what the law requires (for example invoices) and delete the rest within 90 days.

8. Availability and changes

We work to keep Lanternbee running and publish incidents on our status page, but we cannot promise uninterrupted service. We may change or improve features; we will give notice before removing a feature you rely on.

9. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or close a store that breaks these terms or the acceptable use policy, puts readers or the platform at risk, or is subject to a valid legal request. Where possible we tell you first and give you a chance to fix the problem. If we close a store, readers keep access to the books they bought for at least 90 days.

Impersonation and stolen content. If we find that an account sells, or tries to sell, in the name of another person, author or publisher, or sells books it has no rights to, we may at once and without notice: close the account and its stores, take down its books, cancel unfulfilled orders, pre-orders and campaign pledges and refund the buyers, keep the records we need as evidence, and report the account to Stripe, to the rights holder and to the authorities. Section 7 does not apply to content taken down this way, and the 90 days of reader access above may be cut short where keeping it would continue the infringement.

10. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law. Otherwise, our total liability in any 12 months is limited to the fees you paid us in that period, and we are not liable for indirect losses such as lost profits.

11. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by the law of [jurisdiction — to be completed]. Disputes go to the courts of [place — to be completed], without affecting any mandatory consumer or business protections that apply to you.

12. Changes to these terms

We will email you at least 30 days before material changes take effect. Continuing to use Lanternbee after that date means you accept the new terms.

Contact: [legal contact email — to be completed]