Before December 20, 2025, Leanpub offered a single type of Reader Membership, which provided unlimited access to books that were free with membership, along with two types of Author Memberships.

Because authors could not separately purchase a Reader Membership at that time, Author Memberships included Reader Membership benefits by default.

That inclusion was really a limitation of the old system, rather than a deliberate long-term design choice.

When we launched the newest version of Leanpub on December 20, 2025, we significantly expanded the Membership system for both Reader Memberships and Author Memberships.

We introduced four different types of Reader Memberships and four different types of Author Memberships.

Reader Memberships can now include features such as book and course credits, and are designed as standalone products.

With this increase in flexibility and complexity, it no longer made sense to combine Author Memberships with Reader Memberships, and Author Memberships therefore no longer include Reader Membership benefits.

We understand that if you purchased an Author Membership primarily for the Reader Membership benefits, this change may be frustrating, and we're sorry about that.

Unfortunately, we’re not able to reattach Reader Membership benefits to an Author Membership under the new system.

One additional note: we have grandfathered Author Membership pricing for existing members. The price of the Author Membership you purchased is now significantly higher for new Author Membership purchases.

If we cancel and refund your current Author Membership and you decide you want it again in the future, it would need to be purchased at the future price.

If you have any questions or feedback for this article, please email the Leanpub Team at hello@leanpub.com.

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