Publish Early, Publish Often
Become a Leanpub author
Leanpub makes it easy to create, publish, and sell ebooks or online courses while earning industry-leading royalties. With 80% royalties on purchases of $7.99 or more (or 80% minus a small $0.50 fee for purchases under $7.99), your work earns what it deserves. For example, a $10 sale brings you $8, and selling 5,000 copies at $20 could mean $80,000 in your pocket!
Leanpub has already paid out $15,356,784.59 to authors. Whether you write in Markdown or upload PDF/EPUB files, Leanpub’s intuitive publishing tools simplify the process. Use our in-browser editor or sync with GitHub or Dropbox and publish your ebook with a single click. Plus, you decide when to release—during the writing process or upon completion.
As an academic, I like Leanpub because it lets me write and get my ideas out there quickly. Leanpub is simply the best place for publishing my books.
Roger D. Peng
Associate Professor of Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Everything you need to write, publish and sell your books.
When previewing and publishing takes just one click, you can publish as you write, and build a community of readers around your work. This way, you can get feedback and make your book even better, as well as building buzz for your book before it's done...
Write your book in your web browser, or on your computer and sync with GitHub or Dropbox. Or if you have an ebook already, just upload it!
Leanpub authors love Leanpub.
We're authors too, and we built Leanpub to be the platform we would love to use. It turns out, we weren't alone...
As an academic, I like Leanpub because it lets me write and get my ideas out there quickly. Leanpub is simply the best place for publishing my books.
Roger D. PengAssociate Professor of Biostatistics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public HealthLeanpub's book-creation tools allowed me to focus on creating the types of books I wanted to write instead of worrying how to create my own book publishing toolchain. I have never regretted using Leanpub to publish my ebooks.
Chris HartjesThe Grumpy ProgrammerLeanpub takes the pain out of publishing. They provide the tools, you provide the books and then magic happens.
Ryan BiggAuthor, Multitenancy with RailsI love using Leanpub because I can write my book using simple Markdown notation. Leanpub let's me focus on my content and they handle the rest.
Taylor OtwellCreator Of LaravelLeanpub is a game changer for independent authors, removing the hassles associated with formatting, book production, and electronic sales, freeing up the time to do what we do best: write.
W. Jason GilmoreAuthor, Easy Laravel 5Leanpub helped me achieve my goal of publishing a book. Its simple, easy to use interface got my book up and making money within weeks, I love Leanpub!
Samantha LaingGrowing AgileLeanpub helped me gauge interest in my book, get payments early on when it was only a few chapters, and has got me a bunch of sales just from people browsing around the site.
Phil SturgeonAuthor, Build APIs You Won't HateLeanpub helps me see my books as I write them. Even better, I can find readers early, to read my books and offer suggestions. I can pivot, if I see the need.
Johanna RothmanAuthor of 8 Leanpub books and counting…Leanpub made it simple for me to run with my book idea and build my reputation in the Ruby community. I went from first draft to first sale in days, not months or years.
Aaron SumnerAuthor, Everyday Rails Testing with RSpecFour years ago, I joined Leanpub to just give it a try. Today, over 28,000 book sales later, I cannot help but say that I'm the biggest Leanpub fan on this planet!
Manuel KiesslingAuthor, The Node Beginner BookLeanpub makes publishing your own book super easy. The fact that you can release updates continually helps with the mindset of getting a minimum version out ASAP and then iterating to improve.
Karen GreavesGrowing AgileI earn more royalties from my books on Leanpub than I do with well established publishers or through Amazon (which I publish on thanks to Leanpub's mobi conversion).
Paul BradshawPaul runs the MA in Online Journalism at Birmingham City UniversityLeanpub allows me focus on content, takes care everything else and offers an amazing author royalty. It’s a fantastic platform for writing and publishing books.
Simon BrownAuthor, Software Architecture for DevelopersI love that Leanpub makes writing and publishing a beautiful book so simple. I no longer spin my wheels with layouts and formats - Leanpub gets out of the way when it's time to write, and then automates everything when it's time to publish.
Daniel RootAuthor, Trello DojoWith Leanpub, the first person who purchased my book for $9.99 almost two years ago (and only received a preface, and two short intro chapters) has had access to almost every bit of knowledge I've gained in those two years, and *that's* the value.
Jeff GeerlingAuthor, Ansible for DevOpsSimple and lean, forces me to focus on writing and marketing, and pays excellent royalties.
Reg "Raganwald" BraithwaiteAuthor, JavaScript Allongé, the "Six" EditionLeanpub forces you to focus on writing and gives you immediate feedback. Allowing Leanpub to take care of the curation and delivery helped me focus on shipping my book.
Paul RedmondAuthor of Writing APIs With LumenWhile most eBook exporter apps today can generate PDF files and many support ePub, there's one tool we recommend above all after trying 8 of the most popular: Leanpub.
Matthew GuayContent Marketer at Zapier
Frequently Asked Questions about Author Memberships and Writing on Leanpub
This is the FAQ for Leanpub Author Memberships. If you're looking to learn more about Reader Memberships, please see the Reader Memberships page.
If you can't find what you're looking for below, chances are the answer is in our amazing Help Center which has hundreds of carefully-written articles and a number of lovingly-created videos answering the questions we've been asked over the years. Or, email our support team and one of us will get back to you.
What are Leanpub Memberships?
Every Leanpub user can read and write on Leanpub. You can buy books and courses, build your Leanpub library, take courses, and even create your own books or courses. You can create books by writing in your browser or by uploading your own files, and you can create courses by writing in your browser. Leanpub also offers optional paid Memberships that give you additional capabilities. Author Memberships provide premium publishing and writing features. Reader Memberships provide access to about 2,000 “Free With Membership” books, plus book and course credits you can use toward purchasing any Leanpub books or courses.
Do Leanpub Users Have an Author Membership or Reader Membership by Default?
Leanpub users do not have an Author Membership or a Reader Membership by default. Membership always refers to a paid subscription that adds extra benefits on top of what every Leanpub user can already do. This approach keeps things simple: all users can read, buy, and write on Leanpub, and Memberships are optional paid upgrades that unlock more value. If you don’t have a Membership, you still have full access to the standard reading and writing capabilities of Leanpub. If you choose to subscribe, you get a clear set of extra features tied to your Membership type.
What Can I Do as an Author Without an Author Membership?
Lots! You can write in your web browser in our plain text editor or visual editor, or upload PDF and EPUB files with our upload writing mode. You can preview or publish your books or courses up to 20 times per month. You can sell your books or courses on Leanpub and get paid the same amazing royalty rate as authors with an Author Membership. You can also create coupons, team discounts, bundles and tracks, and use all the other great marketing features we offer.
Why would I subscribe to an Author Membership?
Leanpub Author Memberships give you access to premium authoring features like custom themes, print-ready PDF export, GitHub and Dropbox writing modes, Google Analytics, InDesign export and more. Different Author Membership levels include different premium features. We have four different Author Memberships, so there's one for you! To learn more about Author memberships, visit the Author Memberships page under the Authors menu.
What royalty rate does Leanpub pay?
We pay 80% on books and courses priced at $7.99 and up. Below $7.99, we pay 80% minus 50 cents. So, you earn $3.50 from a $5 sale, $8 from a $10 sale, $16 from a $20 sale, and $24 from a $30 sale. You'd be surprised how many people buy $20 and $30 ebooks, and $89 or $129 courses!
How do I write my book in my web browser?
There are two ways to write your book in your web browser on Leanpub: in plain text, or using our visual editor. If you know what Markdown is, choose plain text. If you don't, but you're reasonably technical, choose plain text. Markdown is really simple to learn. You can learn everything you need in 5 minutes. If you're not reasonably technical, then consider choosing our visual editor. It's in beta at the moment, but it's getting better all the time.
Do you recommend writing on your computer or in your web browser?
If you have a favorite text editor, write on your computer. If you don't, write in your web browser. Our in-browser writing experience used to be terrible, but our in-browser plain text editor is actually really good now. Our in-browser visual editor is in early beta, but it's getting better all the time.
If I'm writing on my computer, do you recommend GitHub or Dropbox for syncing?
If you know what Git is, use GitHub. If you don't, use Dropbox. Git and GitHub are amazing if you're a programmer. If you're not, well, have we mentioned Dropbox or our amazing in-browser plain text editor? :)
What's Markua, and how is it related to Markdown?
If you write your book in plain text, you can format it in Markua. Markua is basically Markdown, minus inline HTML, plus some optional extensions for adding things like index entries and other things which some books need and which Markdown doesn't natively support. Markua has an open specification based on the CommonMark spec for Markdown.
Do I need to use any of the Markua extensions?
No. You can write your book in standard Markdown as originally defined by John Gruber, and things will work great, with one exception: don't use inline HTML, as it's not supported in Markua.
If I already have an ebook, what should I do?
You just upload your ebook, and click the publish button. You can upload PDF and EPUB files. We do not modify your files in any way.
Why does the Lifetime Max Author Membership come with a one-time credit instead of an annual service credit?
We don't include an annual $349 service credit with the Lifetime Max Author Membership we would have to price it really, really high to account for the fact that some authors would use that $349 credit every year for decades. So, instead we offer a one-time $3,499 service credit which you can use for any Leanpub author services, including our amazing GlobalAuthor bundles. If you were planning to buy a GlobalAuthor bundle when your book is done, the Lifetime Max Author Membership is a no-brainer deal for you, since the service credit is equal to the price of the membership and to the price of GlobalAuthor Pro.
If I already have a Lifetime Standard Membership or Lifetime Pro Membership and I upgrade to a monthly or annual Max Author Membership, what will happen if I cancel my Max Author Membership later?
We'll put you back on your Lifetime Standard Membership or Lifetime Pro Membership. It's lifetime, after all.
Does Leanpub use DRM?
No, Leanpub does not and has never used DRM. Not only do we not add DRM to any ebooks we've generated, we also do not support DRM on uploaded ebooks. We believe that authors should worry more about obscurity than piracy.
Does Leanpub use watermarks?
No. They irritate legitimate readers. We believe that authors should worry more about obscurity than piracy.
I have more questions, what should I do?
Seriously, our Help Center is amazing. We put way more thought and effort into it than you would typically expect. Check it out, and if you can't find the answer, email us!