What Can My Contributors See in Familiar?
Understand what information contributors can access once they sign up for an account
Overview
When contributors sign up for a Familiar account after receiving their first royalty statement, they get access to a personalized contributor dashboard. This dashboard is designed to give contributors transparency into their royalty information while keeping your other business data private.
Important: Contributors only see information that pertains to them—their own books, royalties, and statements. They cannot see other contributors' data, your organization's financial information, or any books they're not associated with.
What Contributors CAN See
Their Royalty Information
Contributors can view detailed information about their royalties, including:
- • Total earnings across all their books
- • Earnings broken down by book title
- • Monthly sales data and trends
- • Number of units sold per book format (paperback, ebook, audiobook, etc.)
- • Net revenue and royalty amounts
Their Books
Contributors can see which books they're associated with, including:
- • Book titles
- • Book formats available
- • Their association with each book
However, contributors cannot see detailed book metadata, publication information, or books they're not associated with.
Royalty Statements
Contributors can:
- • View all royalty statements sent to them
- • Download PDF copies of their statements
- • See statement dates and time periods covered
- • Review payment amounts and status
Their Payment Information
Contributors can view and update their own payment details, including:
- • Payment method preference (check, ACH, wire, etc.)
- • Mailing address for checks
- • Banking information (masked for security)
- • Tax ID information (partially masked)
- • Payment threshold settings
- • Additional notes
Note: While contributors can view their payment threshold, they cannot change it. Only you (the publisher) can adjust payment thresholds.
Their Profile Information
Contributors can:
- • View their name and email address
- • See their pen names
- • Add new pen names
- • Edit or delete their pen names
- • Update their account email address
Advance Status (if applicable)
If a contributor has an advance, they can see:
- • Total advance amount
- • Amount recouped to date
- • Remaining balance
- • Visual progress bar showing advance recoupment
- • Whether the advance has been earned out
What Contributors CANNOT See
Contributors have limited access to protect your business information and other contributors' privacy:
Other Contributors' Information
Contributors cannot see other contributors' names, emails, royalty amounts, payment details, or any other information about fellow contributors—even if they work on the same books.
Organization-Level Data
Contributors cannot access your organization's overall financial information, total revenue, organization settings, or any aggregate data beyond their own earnings.
Raw Distributor Data
Contributors do not have access to raw royalty reports from distributors (Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, etc.) or the detailed sales data that includes retailer information and wholesale pricing.
Royalty Structure Details
Contributors cannot see the specific royalty contract percentages, tier structures, or how royalties are calculated. They only see their final royalty amounts.
Administrative Functions
Contributors cannot add books, modify royalty structures, upload statements, manage other contributors, or perform any administrative functions. Their access is strictly read-only for their own data, plus the ability to update their payment information.
Books They're Not Associated With
Contributors can only see books they're associated with. They cannot browse your full catalog or see information about other books in your organization.
How Contributors Access Their Information
Initial Sign-Up Process
- 1.You generate and send a royalty statement to the contributor
- 2.The contributor receives an email with their statement and a sign-up link
- 3.They create an account using the same email address you have on file
- 4.After signing up, they're automatically linked to their contributor record
- 5.They gain immediate access to all their historical royalty information
Ongoing Access
Once signed up, contributors can:
- • Log in anytime at familiar.com
- • Access their contributor dashboard immediately
- • See all their royalty information automatically update as you upload new statements
- • Receive email notifications when new statements are available (if enabled)
Privacy & Security Protections
Data Isolation
Familiar's system automatically filters data so contributors only see information related to their own contributor record. This happens at the database level, ensuring complete data isolation.
Secure Authentication
Contributors must verify their email address and create their own password. They cannot access the system until they've completed the sign-up process through the invitation link.
Email Verification
Contributors must sign up using the exact email address you have on file. This ensures that only the intended contributor can access their royalty information.
Read-Only Access (Mostly)
Contributors can only modify their own payment details and pen names. They cannot change royalty amounts, historical data, or any information that affects your records or other contributors.
Common Questions
Can contributors see how much other contributors on the same book earn?
No. Contributors only see their own royalty amounts. Even if multiple contributors work on the same book, each contributor can only view their personal earnings.
Will contributors see if I adjust their royalties?
Contributors see the final royalty amounts shown in their statements. If you make adjustments, those will be reflected in their dashboard, but they won't see the underlying calculations or adjustment details unless you include that information in the statement message.
Can I limit what a specific contributor sees?
No custom access controls are available. All contributors have the same level of access to their own data. If you need to withhold information from a contributor, consider not sending them statements for specific periods or books.
What happens if I remove a contributor from a book?
If you remove a contributor's association with a book, they will no longer see that book in their dashboard going forward. However, they will still see historical royalty statements and earnings from when they were associated with the book.