Files and details
- Print files
- For print on demand, the same interior and cover PDFs as other printed formats.
Selling special editions direct
Special editions, sold the way your readers already back them.
Sprayed edges, foiled covers and numbered runs are a big part of selling direct, especially for fantasy and romance. You can already add a special edition to a book and sell it from your own stock or through print on demand. Or run a campaign first, with tiers that have limited places, a goal and a choice of charging readers now or when the campaign closes.
How it works
Add it as its own format
Today, add Special edition as a format of the book and sell it from your stock or print on demand.
Or run a campaign
Open a campaign with a goal, tiers such as the book alone or the book with extras, and a quantity for each tier.
Choose when readers pay
Charge readers when they back a tier, or save their card and charge it when the campaign closes. Failed payments are retried for three days and the reader gets a link to update their card.
Export the backers
Download the pledges to plan the print run and the packing.
What readers get
- Today
- Readers buy a special edition like any print copy, choosing a shipping rate at checkout.
- Campaigns
- Readers pick a tier on the campaign page, see how many places are left and how close the goal is, and pay through Stripe.
What it costs to sell a special edition
Your plan, Stripe’s card fee on each sale and, for print, the printer’s price.
| What | Cost | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Lanternbee, Free plan | Nothing | No monthly bill and no fee on your sales, for up to 3 books. |
| Lanternbee, Author plan | US$29 a month, paid yearly | Or US$39 month to month. As many books as you write, and no fee on your sales. |
| Card payment, US account | 2.9% + 30¢ | Stripe’s standard rate for a US card. Cards issued outside the US add 1.5%, and paying in another currency adds 1%. |
| Card payment, UK account | 1.5% + 20p | Standard UK cards. EEA cards are 2.5% + 20p, other international cards 3.15% + 20p, plus 2% when the currency is converted. |
| Card payment, EU account (Ireland) | 1.5% + €0.25 | Standard EEA cards. UK cards are 2.5% + €0.25, other international cards 3.15% + €0.25, plus 2% when the currency is converted. |
| Stripe Tax | 0.5% per sale | Only on sales where you are registered to collect tax. This is the pay-as-you-go rate for Stripe’s own checkout. |
| Lanternbee on print costs | No mark-up | |
| BookVault foiling | From £2.50 per copy | One of BookVault’s special-edition options. |
Limits to know about
- Lanternbee does not calculate tax on tiers charged when the campaign closes, so set those prices with tax included.
- If a campaign ends below its goal, you decide whether to charge the saved cards or cancel. Cancelling refunds anyone who already paid.
- Special editions from your own stock are posted by you. Campaign tiers with a physical item give you the backers’ addresses in the pledge download.
VAT and sales tax
Special editions are printed books, so they follow the print rules for the reader’s country. Stripe Tax applies them at checkout.
Questions about selling special editions
Can I sell a special edition today?
Yes, as its own format from your stock or through print on demand, or through a campaign with tiers.
Works with
BookVaultComingPrint on demand for paperbacks and hardbacks, printed in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.LuluComingPrint on demand through Lulu’s print network, with no setup fee.StripeLiveReaders pay you through your own Stripe account. You are the seller, and Stripe pays out to your bank.
Read more
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Sell your special editions direct
We’re opening Lanternbee to authors a few at a time. Leave your email and we’ll write when your store is ready to set up.
Free to join. No card.