Run a reading program

Lesson details

A reading program lets a company, a church, a school or any group buy copies of your book for its people and read it together. You can sell reading programs on every author plan. On your book, choose Actions, and under In bulk choose New reading program. It needs a book that’s out now, with its ebook or audiobook on sale at a price, and not one for mature readers.

Name the program and set a price per copy. It starts at a quarter off your book’s price, and the form shows the discount under it. Digital copies are the ebook and audiobook your book has. If your printed book is on sale through print on demand, you can also turn on Print or Both. With Print, the printed copies ship together to the buyer, who hands them out. With Both, each person gets a printed copy from that shipment plus a digital copy they claim. Printed copies have a lowest price that covers printing, card fees and Storybase’s share, and the buyer pays delivery. Set Minimum copies, the fewest someone can buy at once: 5 unless you change it, anywhere from 2 to 200. Turn on Show on your buy page and storefront to add a Buying for a team or group? card there. Only one program per book shows at a time, and you can always send the link yourself. Choose Save, then Copy link.

Reading plan, in your book’s More actions menu, lays out how a group goes through your book: every week, every 2 weeks or every month. A plan can come in up to three lengths, and the leader picks one. Each week can carry your note, a meeting guide for leaders and, on Plus or Pro, a YouTube or Vimeo video. Write a guide gives you Open with, Talk about and Before next time to fill in, and on Plus or Pro, Draft with AI drafts one from that week’s chapters. Any leader who uses your plan can read every week’s guide, and members can’t.

The buyer opens your link on the website, signs in, picks how many copies (up to 200 in one order), names their group, chooses your plan and its length, and pays. They lead the group, and the copies wait for the people who join. People join with the group’s link and take a copy, which is their own and stays theirs if they leave the group. Each assignment lists its chapters to read or listen to, with your note and any video for the week. On the group page, the Who’s finished board shows everyone’s progress, and people can cheer each other on. Under Takeaways, people share notes and answers with the group. The leader can send reminders, give copies by hand when Give copies automatically is off, and hand the group to someone else.

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