Getting Started
Basil Press lets you publish, buy, read, and download permanent editions. Connect a wallet and sign a free sign-in message to get started. Email sign-in and account linking are optional.
Purchases and publishing fees are paid in USDC on Base. USDC is a digital dollar; the amount shown in USDC is the amount you pay.
Set up your wallet
- For the simplest flow, choose a wallet connection that supports sponsored transactions. The Coinbase Wallet option on Basil Press opens its smart-wallet connection. Regular wallets are also supported; they need Base ETH for network fees.
- Add native USDC on the Base network. Publishing costs 0.99 USDC; book prices start at 0.50 USDC.
- Allow pop-ups for basilpress.com before buying or publishing, then connect your wallet and sign in.
Buyers and publishers can use a regular wallet. If that connection does not support sponsored transactions, it needs a little ETH on Base to pay its network fees.
Readers
Choose a book on the Shelf, select USDC, and complete the wallet confirmations. After the purchase is verified, open Library to read or download your DRM-free copy.
Authors
Sign in with the wallet that should receive sales for this book. Open Publish, enter the book details, add your manuscript and cover, and choose a price. Publishing has three wallet steps: the 0.99 USDC fee, the permanent publication record, and the sale listing.
Wallets, the Network & Safety
USDC and ETH do different jobs
USDC pays for the book or publishing fee. ETH pays network fees when a transaction is not sponsored. Having ETH in your wallet does not make a transaction sponsored; sponsorship means the network fee is paid for you.
Basil Press checks whether your wallet connection supports sponsorship. For a sponsored purchase or publication, check that the wallet confirmation shows a sponsor. A regular wallet may need an approval followed by a purchase, or several publishing confirmations, with an ETH network fee for each. Fees vary; use the wallet's quote rather than expecting a fixed amount.
Use native USDC on Base
Choose Base when funding your wallet. USDC on another network cannot be spent here directly. The older bridged token USDbC is also different from the native USDC accepted by Basil Press.
Check the wallet address
Two connections in the same wallet app can expose different addresses. Compare the address shown in Basil Press with the one holding your funds. Your library and sales follow the account linked to that address.
Before confirming
- Check that you are on basilpress.com and that the wallet, network, amount, and action match what you just chose.
- A sign-in message identifies your wallet. A spending approval gives a contract permission to use USDC. They are different actions.
- Receiving author proceeds does not require a spending approval or a transaction from the author. If an unexpected request appears, cancel it and contact support.
- Keep your recovery phrase and private keys private. Basil Press support will never ask for them.
How To
Sign in
Choose Connect wallet, approve the connection, and sign the Basil Press sign-in message. The sign-in message is free. Email sign-in is also available for accounts with a linked email.
Allow confirmation pop-ups for buying and publishing
Both buyers and publishers need wallet confirmation windows. Publishing can open a new confirmation for the fee, the etch, and the listing, so a blocked window can interrupt any of those steps.
If the browser shows a blocked-pop-up icon, allow pop-ups for basilpress.com, then use the wallet's Retry control if one appears. Check the permission in the browser or private window you are actually using.
Wallet fee estimates can refresh while a confirmation is open. Review the current amount and sponsor before confirming. If the wallet says "Transaction preview unavailable," it has not shown a complete preview; that message does not establish that the request is safe. Cancel if you cannot identify the action.
Buy a book
- Sign in with the wallet that holds your native Base USDC.
- Open the book on the Shelf and choose USDC.
- For a sponsored purchase, the approval and purchase can be combined. For an unsponsored purchase, approve USDC if requested, then confirm the purchase. An existing allowance may let the approval step be skipped.
- Wait for verification, then open Library to read or download.
Read or download
Open Library and choose Read for the browser reader or Download to save your copy. EPUB editions reflow to fit the screen; PDF editions retain their page layout. Authors can read their own publications without buying them.
Publish a book
- Connect the wallet that should own the publication and receive its sales. Publishing requires a connection with sponsored-transaction support.
- Allow pop-ups for basilpress.com. Enter the book details and a price of at least $0.50.
- Upload or paste your manuscript and add a cover as needed. Review your text and details before making the permanent record.
- Click Publish with wallet. Confirm the 0.99 USDC publishing fee, then the sponsored etch, then the sponsored listing.
- Wait for the completion message and check the Shelf. "Etched" confirms the permanent record; listing and website verification still have to finish.
Text, Markdown, and DOCX are typeset into EPUB. Uploaded EPUB files keep their existing layout and content. PDFs remain fixed-layout editions: choose whether the first page is already the cover, or supply a separate cover image. Basil Press adds its publication page.
If sponsorship is temporarily unavailable or network fees are too high, publishing may pause. Keep your progress and try again later.
If publishing gets interrupted
If you are still on the publish page, wait a few seconds and click Publish with wallet again. Keep the same wallet connected. The button also resumes the saved publication; you do not need to start a new book.
This applies to errors such as "list receipt not found yet" after "ETCHED." The transaction may have succeeded before the website could find its receipt. Resuming checks the saved transaction and skips completed steps.
Use the same browser and profile, and keep its site data. If you closed the page, return with the same wallet and use Publish with wallet to resume. Reselect the original manuscript or cover only if asked; files already uploaded do not need to be uploaded again.
A verified fee is reused for the saved publication. If you are unexpectedly asked to pay another 0.99 USDC for the same attempt, cancel that request and contact support. Include the book title and the last message in the publish log.
Link an email or another wallet
Open Account and use Add email or the wallet-linking action. Follow the confirmation steps to attach it to the same account. Simply signing in another way does not automatically combine separate accounts.
FAQ
Do I need an email account?
No. A connected wallet can be your Basil Press sign-in. Email is optional, but buying still requires a funded wallet and publishing requires a supported wallet connection.
What does permanent mean?
Each text is etched into a permanent public record on Arweave. A publication and its versions also have an on-chain record on Base. Corrections are added as new versions instead of replacing the earlier edition. Publish only material you have the right to share.
Does public storage mean anyone can read a paid book?
No. Paid book files are encrypted in permanent storage. After purchase verification, Basil Press delivers a readable, DRM-free copy. The public publication record and access to the full text are different things.
Can I remove or change a published book?
You can add a new version or stop offering the book for sale. Earlier published files and records remain. Basil Press can also hide a listing from its storefront; hiding it does not erase the permanent record.
How much does the author receive?
The author receives 98% of each USDC sale and Basil Press receives 2%. For a 0.50 USDC book, 0.49 goes to the author's wallet and 0.01 to the platform treasury in the same purchase transaction. Any unsponsored network fee is separate.
Why did I approve 0.50 USDC and then see a 0.49 transfer?
The approval authorized the sale contract to spend up to 0.50 USDC; it was not an extra payment. The purchase then split that amount into 0.49 for the author and 0.01 for Basil Press. Some wallet activity screens show only one of those transfers. Open the purchase transaction in the block explorer to see both.
Where do my author earnings go?
USDC goes directly to the wallet that originally published that book when the purchase confirms. There is no separate claim or release step. You do not need to approve a transaction to receive the money.
Older books published through email accounts may pay their original embedded author wallet. Connecting a new wallet does not change an existing book's destination. Check the original publishing account and the wallet addresses shown in Account.
Why do my wallet balance and sales total differ?
Wallet holdings include any USDC in linked wallets, including money you added or spent elsewhere. Sales activity counts recorded purchases for publications in that Basil Press account. Neither number alone is a statement of your profit. If a sale is missing, compare the purchase receipt, receiving address, and account you are viewing.
What does publishing cost?
The publishing fee is 0.99 USDC, shown before confirmation. It covers permanent storage and the publication record. A regular wallet also needs a small amount of ETH on Base for the network fees in the publishing steps. The book's sale price is separate from the publishing fee.
What is a smart wallet, and why is it easier?
A smart wallet is a programmable wallet that can combine related steps and accept sponsored network fees. On Basil Press, a compatible smart wallet lets Basil Press pay the ETH network fee for you, so you generally need only USDC and may see fewer confirmations.
The Coinbase Wallet option is the supported smart-wallet connection currently offered by Basil Press. Other smart wallets exist, but compatibility and sponsorship depend on the wallet and Basil Press's paymaster policy. A regular wallet can buy or publish with USDC, plus a small amount of ETH on Base for network fees.
Do I need ETH?
Sponsored transactions do not charge your wallet ETH for the network fee. A wallet connection without sponsorship needs ETH on Base for approval and purchase transactions, as well as the publishing steps. Check the confirmation rather than assuming sponsorship from the wallet's name.
Can I pay by credit card?
New purchases and publishing use USDC on Base. Card payments are currently unavailable. Earlier card purchases remain associated with the account or receipt email used at the time.
Which manuscript format should I use?
Use text, Markdown, DOCX, or EPUB for a reflowable ebook. Use PDF when page layout matters. PDF publishing preserves a PDF edition; it does not convert it to EPUB. The maximum upload size is shown in the publishing form.
A book is missing from my library. What should I do?
Check that you signed in with the wallet or linked email used for the purchase. If the wallet shows a successful purchase but the book is missing, refresh Library. If it still does not appear, contact support with the book title and purchase transaction hash. An approval alone is not a completed purchase.
Are purchases refundable?
Purchases are final. If a payment, download, or publication fails, contact support so we can investigate the transaction and help restore access or resume the publication.
What should I send support?
Include the book title, approximate time, public wallet address, and transaction hash if available. For publishing, include the last message in the publish log. Never send recovery phrases, private keys, passwords, or sign-in links. Support is limited and best-effort.
Audit
Publication records, listings, purchases, and the 98/2 USDC split are recorded by the Basil Press contracts on this site's network. These public contract links let you inspect the records directly:
- Book Registry — publication records and versions.
- LitSale — listings, purchases, and the author/platform split.
Contact
Use this for broken purchases, publishing issues, missing library items, or launch feedback. Include the wallet address, book title, and transaction hash if you have them. Do not send recovery phrases, private keys, or passwords.