DRM

What it means

DRM ties a file to a store’s account or app. A Kindle book with DRM opens in Kindle apps signed in to the buyer’s Amazon account. An audiobook with DRM plays in the store’s own app. If the reader leaves that store, the books may not come with them.

Retailers usually let the publisher choose whether to add DRM to an ebook. Many independent authors choose no DRM. A thriller writer might say DRM only annoys honest readers. A textbook author might want DRM on a high-priced title. A children’s picture book publisher might want the files to open on any family tablet.

Why it matters when you sell direct

When a reader buys from your own store, they expect to read the book on whatever they own: a Kindle, a Kobo, a phone, a laptop. DRM would get in the way, and there is no single app that every reader uses.

So direct sales are nearly always DRM-free. Authors who want some protection use a watermark instead, which keeps the file open but adds the buyer’s details.

How Lanternbee handles it

Lanternbee does not add DRM. Readers get a download link by email, keep their books in their reader library, and can send ebooks to their Kindle or open them on Kobo or any reading app. EPUBs are watermarked with the buyer’s email, your store name and the date.