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Who this is for

ARC readers downloading their copy.

Overview

Delivers a personalized, watermarked EPUB through a one-time-use link.

How it works

  • Generated per reader, not a shared URL
  • Author can copy-share from the Book Readers tab
  • Also delivered via email (when included in a cadence template using {{book_arc_download_url}})

Reader experience

  • Opens a download page showing the book cover, description, and a Download button
  • Single click downloads the EPUB with a progress bar showing preparation and byte-level download progress
  • Download status shown: Available, Already Used, Invalid, or Not Available (outside window)

Download mechanics

  • One-time use — second attempt returns “ARC link already used”
  • Watermarked — the EPUB carries the reader’s identity invisibly so leaked copies can be traced back
  • Window-gated — link only works during the configured download window (independent of signup window)
  • For books in EPUB-import mode, the uploaded EPUB is delivered as-is; for editor-built books, a fresh EPUB is generated with the watermark embedded
Cleanup: Used tokens for published books are removed periodically to prevent token table bloat.

Leak detection: Authors can submit a suspicious EPUB through admin tools to identify the original recipient.

Next steps

Public Shop Catalog