Terms of service

How to read this document. Every clause below is written twice. Under each heading, the set-apart line is what the clause means, in plain words. The paragraph beneath it is the clause itself, and it is the part that binds you. Where the two could be read differently, the paragraph governs. Capitalized words have the meanings given in Section 17.

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are between you and Notable Authors LLC, a company organized in New York ("Notable Authors", "we", "us", "our"). They apply to everyone who registers an Account, whether you are here to have a book written or to write one.

1.WHAT NOTABLE AUTHORS IS

What we do, what we judge, and what we do not promise.

1.1THE MARKETPLACE

We introduce people who want a book written to ghostwriters we have read.

Notable Authors operates a marketplace at www.notableauthors.com (the "Site") through which a person seeking a book (a "Client") may find and engage a ghostwriter (a "Writer") to write it. Writers are admitted by invitation and approval. The Site, together with the tools, messaging, payment flow and records we make available through it, are the "Services".

1.2WE READ EVERY WRITER BEFORE WE LIST THEM

A founder reads their work and talks to them. That is what we are for.

Before listing a Writer, we review samples of their work and interview them. This review is an exercise of editorial judgment.

1.3EDITORIAL JUDGMENT IS NOT A WARRANTY

We do not promise any writer's work, their timekeeping, or that your book gets finished.

You acknowledge and agree that the review described in Section 1.2 is not a warranty, guarantee, endorsement or representation as to any Writer's skill, diligence, availability, timekeeping or fitness for your project, and is not a representation that any Contract will be completed, that any manuscript will be of any particular quality, or that any manuscript will be published, represented or sold. We do not write, supervise, edit or approve any manuscript, and we form no view on the literary quality of any Deliverable.

1.4WE ARE NOT A PARTY TO YOUR CONTRACT

The contract for the book is between the client and the writer. We are not in it.

The agreement under which a Writer writes for a Client (the "Engagement Agreement", and together with the terms displayed on the Site for that engagement, the "Contract") is between Client and Writer alone. Notable Authors is not a party to any Contract, and no provision of these Terms makes us one. The text of an Engagement Agreement is recorded word for word at the moment the Client accepts it, and neither party's copy changes afterwards.

2.YOUR ACCOUNT

Who may register, how many accounts you get, and how one closes.

2.1ONE ACCOUNT, ONE SIDE OF THE TABLE

Every account is either a client account or a writer account. Never both.

You may register one account (an "Account"). Each Account is designated, once, as either a Client Account or a Writer Account. You select the designation when you first sign in and it is recorded to your profile. A Writer Account may not send inquiries or engage a Writer. A Client Account may not create a writer profile. If you genuinely require both, you must register a second Account under a different email address, and that Account is separate from your first in every respect, including its records and its reviews.

2.2REGISTRATION IS BY INVITATION AND APPROVAL

We can say no, and we do not owe anyone a listing.

Registration is subject to our approval. We reserve the right to decline any application, or to decline to list any Writer, for any lawful reason, and we are under no obligation to give a reason.

2.3ACCOUNT INFORMATION

Give us accurate information, keep your sign-in to yourself, and tell us if someone else gets in.

You represent that the information you provide on registration is accurate and complete, and you agree to keep it current. You are responsible for safeguarding your sign-in credentials and for all activity under your Account. You agree to notify us promptly if you suspect or become aware of any unauthorized use of your Account.

2.4IDENTITY VERIFICATION

We may ask you to confirm your identity through Stripe before money moves. Stripe collects those documents, not us.

You authorize us, directly or through Stripe, to verify your identity and, where applicable, your ability to receive payment. Documents submitted for that purpose are collected and held by Stripe. Section 8 and our Privacy Policy describe this arrangement.

2.5ELIGIBILITY

You must be eighteen.

You represent that you are at least eighteen years of age.

2.6CLOSING AN ACCOUNT

Either side may close an account. Closing one does not end a live contract and does not move money.

You may close your Account at any time. We may suspend or close an Account under Section 14. Closing an Account does not terminate any Contract then in force, and does not release, return or otherwise move any Stage Payment. Held Stage Payments continue to follow Section 4, and any open Problem Report continues to follow Section 12.

3.ACCEPTABLE USE

What you agree not to do, and the one rule about artificial intelligence.

3.1IDENTITY AND OWNERSHIP

Be who you say you are, and only upload what is yours to upload.

You agree not to (a) impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person; (b) present the writing of another person as your own; (c) upload, transmit or otherwise make available any material you do not have the right to make available; or (d) scrape, index, copy, republish or resell the Site, the Services or any content on them.

3.2CONDUCT

Do not use the platform to harass anyone.

You agree not to use the Services to harass, threaten, defame or abuse any person.

3.3WRITERS: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MAY NOT WRITE THE BOOK

You may not use AI to generate a manuscript. You may use it for research, transcription and editing, and you must say which tools you use.

If you hold a Writer Account, you agree that you will not use any artificial intelligence or machine learning tool to generate a manuscript or any part of one. You may use such tools for research, transcription and editing assistance, and you agree to disclose to your Client which tools you use and for what purpose. For the avoidance of doubt, machine transcription of interview recordings is permitted and expected, and is not a breach of this Section.

3.4WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT YOU UPLOAD

We never train a model on anything you upload. There is no setting to switch off, because there is nothing to switch off.

We do not, and we will not permit any vendor or processor acting on our behalf to, use any manuscript, draft, interview recording, transcript, source document or message transmitted through the Services to train, fine-tune or evaluate any machine learning model. We store and process your material for the sole purpose of providing the Services to you. We will not use your manuscript, your name, your story or your review in our own marketing without asking you first, and asking means asking for that use, at that time.

3.5FILE SIZE

A single uploaded file can be up to 50 MB.

Individual files uploaded to the Services may not exceed 50 MB. Larger manuscripts should be sent in parts.

3.6CALLS

You may schedule a call here. It happens on a service you choose, under that service's terms. Whether it is recorded is between the two of you.

The Services let a Client and a Writer propose and accept a time for a call. The call itself takes place on a video or telephone service selected by the participants and not operated by us, under that service's own terms. We hold the appointment and any meeting link a participant supplies, and nothing else: not the call, not any recording of it, and not any transcript. Whether a call is recorded, and on what terms, is a matter between the participants, and each is responsible for complying with the law on recording that applies where they are.

4.MONEY

How a stage is funded, where the money waits, and what releases it.

4.1HOW A STAGE IS FUNDED

A client pays for one stage at a time, by card.

A Contract is divided into stages (each a "Stage"), each with its own deliverable (a "Deliverable") and its own price (a "Stage Payment"). Client funds one Stage at a time by card through the Services. Notable Authors is merchant of record on the charge.

4.2FUNDING A STAGE PAYS THE WRITER FOR IT

Once we have the money, you have paid for that stage. Whatever happens next is not your problem.

Client's obligation to Writer in respect of a Stage is discharged when Notable Authors receives the Stage Payment for that Stage. Client bears no further liability to Writer for that Stage regardless of what subsequently occurs between Notable Authors, the Payment Processor and Writer.

4.3WE COLLECT AS THE WRITER'S AGENT

When you pay us, you have paid the writer.

Each Writer appoints Notable Authors as its agent for the limited purpose of (a) collecting Stage Payments from Clients, and (b) returning them to Clients where these Terms or the Engagement Agreement require it. Payment to Notable Authors constitutes payment to Writer.

4.4WHERE THE MONEY WAITS

It sits in the writer's own account at our payment processor, and it cannot be paid out until it is released. It is not in an account we own.

On funding, the Stage Payment is transferred immediately to Writer's own connected account at Stripe (the "Payment Processor"), on which payouts are set to manual. The Stage Payment remains there, and no payout may be made from it, until it is Released under Section 4.6 or returned under Section 4.9 or 4.10. No Stage Payment is at any time held in an account owned by Notable Authors.

4.5WE ARE NOT A BANK

We do not take deposits and we do not hold your money as a middleman.

Notable Authors does not accept deposits, does not act as a stakeholder or intermediary custodian for either party, and does not hold funds for either party's benefit. A held Stage Payment is a payment subject to a payout hold, and nothing in these Terms characterizes it as anything else.

4.6RELEASE

A stage releases when the client approves it, or seven days after delivery if they say nothing.

A Stage Payment is released to Writer ("Released") on the earlier of:

1. (a)Client approving the Stage; and
2. (b)seven days after Client is notified that the Deliverable for that Stage has been delivered, provided that within that period Client has not approved the Stage, requested a Revision Round, or submitted a Problem Report.

4.7THE SEVEN-DAY CLOCK, AND WHAT STOPS IT

Two things stop the clock: asking for a revision you still have left, and reporting a problem. Pausing the book does not.

We notify Client by email when the period in Section 4.6(b) begins, and again before it expires. That period is suspended only by:

1. (a)a request for a revision, where the Engagement Agreement provides an unspent Revision Round, which that request spends; or
2. (b)submission of a Problem Report under Section 12.

A Client who has spent every Revision Round provided by the Engagement Agreement may not suspend the period by requesting a further revision, a further revision being a variation to be agreed with Writer rather than an entitlement. Such a Client may submit a Problem Report. Suspension of work on a Contract by agreement or otherwise does not suspend the period, the intention being that delivered work is paid for.

4.8APPROVAL IS FINAL

You cannot take back an approval, and we will not reverse a payment after it is released.

By approving a Stage, Client (a) instructs us to Release the Stage Payment for that Stage to Writer, and (b) represents that Client has received and accepted the Deliverable for that Stage. Approval is irrevocable. Following Release, the Stage Payment is the property of Writer, and any subsequent disagreement regarding that Stage is solely between Client and Writer. We will not reverse a Released Stage Payment.

4.9A STAGE FUNDED BUT NEVER DELIVERED IS RETURNED

The writer gives it back, through us. We are not returning money that was still yours.

Where a Stage is funded and the Deliverable for it is not delivered, Writer authorizes Notable Authors, as Writer's agent under Section 4.3, to return the held Stage Payment to Client out of the held funds (a "Return"). A Return is Writer repaying Client through Writer's agent. It is not Notable Authors returning money of which Client remained the owner.

4.10WHEN A CONTRACT GOES QUIET

We nudge at fourteen days. A funded stage still undelivered ninety days after its date, plus fourteen more days of silence, goes back to the client.

Where no Stage event, message, Deliverable or source material has been recorded on a Contract for fourteen days, we notify the party whose action is outstanding. Where a funded Stage remains undelivered ninety days after its target date, we notify both parties, and where neither party has acted within a further fourteen days, the held Stage Payment is Returned to Client under Section 4.9. A Stage that has not been funded is never owed by Client. Any Deliverable already delivered remains the property of whichever party the Engagement Agreement provides, which in the case of an unreleased Stage is Writer.

4.11OUR FEE

15% of the first $30,000 of a contract and 10% of the rest, applied as one rate to every stage, and frozen when the contract starts.

Notable Authors retains a fee on each Stage Payment (the "Platform Fee"). The Platform Fee on a Contract is 15% of the first $30,000 of the Contract's total price and 10% of any amount above $30,000. It is applied as a single rate to every Stage Payment under the Contract, that rate being the Platform Fee on the whole Contract expressed as a percentage of its total price and stated in the Engagement Agreement. The rate applicable to a Contract is fixed at the moment Client accepts the Engagement Agreement, and a subsequent change to our published schedule does not affect a Contract already in force. A change order that raises a Contract's total price is charged at the rate already fixed on that Contract.

4.12TAXES

Each side handles their own. Nobody is our employee.

Each User is responsible for determining and paying their own taxes. No amount paid to a Writer is subject to withholding by us, and no Writer is an employee of Notable Authors.

4.13WHAT WE CALL MONEY GOING BACK, AND WHEN IT HAPPENS

Money goes back one way only: the writer returns it through us, out of what is still held. We never pay a client out of our own pocket.

Money is returned to a Client only by Return under Section 4.9 or 4.10, or on a determination under Section 12. Notable Authors does not return money to a Client out of its own funds, no such money having been ours to return. Once a Stage Payment has been Released we do not return it, whether on request or otherwise. The words "refund" and "chargeback" are used in these Terms only to describe an event initiated through a card network, which is the subject of Section 5.

4.14CURRENCY

Everything is in US dollars, and your card issuer's fees are yours.

All amounts are stated and payable in United States dollars. You are responsible for any fee charged by your card issuer, including any currency conversion fee.

5.CHARGEBACKS

What happens when a card payment is disputed.

5.1A CARD DISPUTE LANDS ON US

We are merchant of record, so the card network comes to us.

Because Notable Authors is merchant of record on each charge, a card dispute in respect of a Stage Payment is made against Notable Authors.

5.2DO NOT DISPUTE A STAGE YOU APPROVED

Approving a stage was your statement that you received it. Report a problem instead. It is faster.

Client agrees not to initiate a card dispute in respect of a Stage that Client has approved, approval being Client's representation under Section 4.8 that the Deliverable was received and accepted. Client's remedy in respect of any Stage is a Problem Report under Section 12, which is the process Client has agreed to use.

5.3PAYOUTS WHILE A DISPUTE IS OPEN

We may hold payouts on that contract until it is resolved.

While a card dispute is open, we may suspend payouts on the Contract to which it relates.

5.4A SUCCESSFUL CHARGEBACK ON A RELEASED STAGE

If the card network takes the money back after release, we may reverse the payout and close the account.

Where a chargeback succeeds in respect of a Stage Payment that has been Released, we may reverse the payout, recover the amount from the Account, suspend payouts, and close the Account. This is the one circumstance in which money leaves a Writer's account after Release, and it is a card network compelling a reversal rather than Notable Authors electing one.

5.5WHO ABSORBS THE LOSS

If a chargeback you did not cause succeeds after release, we take the loss up to the fees we kept on that contract. Released means yours.

Where a chargeback succeeds in respect of a Stage Payment that has been Released and the Writer did not cause it, Notable Authors bears the loss up to the total Platform Fees it has retained on that Contract as at the date the chargeback succeeds, and will not exercise its rights under Section 5.4 against the Writer within that amount. Any loss above that amount may be recovered from the Writer under Section 5.4. Where the Writer caused the chargeback — the Deliverable for that Stage was not delivered, or the Writer's conduct in respect of the Contract was fraudulent — Notable Authors may recover the whole amount from the Writer under Section 5.4. Nothing in this Section limits Client's obligations under Section 5.2.

6.REVIEWS

Who reviews whom, what earns the stamp, and the only grounds on which a review comes down.

6.1BOTH SIDES REVIEW, ONE SIDE PUBLISHES

The client's review is published. The writer's is private and only we see it.

On completion of a Contract, Client may review Writer and Writer may review Client. Client's review is published on Writer's profile. Writer's review is not published and is used only by Notable Authors.

6.2REVIEWS PUBLISH WITHOUT THE CLIENT'S NAME

We confirm who the reviewer is and we withhold the name.

A published review does not carry Client's name, image, employer, the title of the manuscript, or any other identifying detail. Beneath each review we record that the reviewer's identity was confirmed and the name withheld.

6.3THE PAID IN FULL STAMP

A review carries the stamp only when the whole contract was funded and released through us and the client confirms it. The client's word can only subtract, never add.

A review carries the Paid in Full stamp (the "Paid in Full Stamp") only where each of the following is true:

1. (a)every Stage of that Contract was funded and Released through Notable Authors;
2. (b)the total Released equals the total at which the Contract was fixed when Client accepted the Engagement Agreement;
3. (c)no Stage was Returned, refunded or charged back; and
4. (d)Client confirms in the review that Client paid for the manuscript in full through the Services.

Client's confirmation under (d) can only subtract. A confirmation cannot cause a Contract that was not paid in full to carry the Paid in Full Stamp, and a Client who gives no confirmation leaves a fully paid Contract without one. Where Client's confirmation and our records disagree in either direction, a person reviews the discrepancy, and it is not resolved automatically.

Settling any part of a Contract off the Services costs that Contract the Paid in Full Stamp, those Stages not having been Released through us. This is the whole of the rule. It is not within our discretion to grant as a favor or withhold as a penalty.

6.4A PERSON READS EVERY REVIEW BEFORE IT PUBLISHES

That check is for the grounds in 6.5 and nothing else.

Each review is read by a person before publication. That reading is undertaken solely to identify content falling within Section 6.5.

6.5THE ONLY GROUNDS ON WHICH A REVIEW COMES DOWN

This is the complete list. A one-star review that breaks none of these stays up.

A review is withheld or removed only where it contains:

1. (a)confidential information, or personal details that were not the reviewer's to make public;
2. (b)language that is defamatory, harassing, abusive or obscene;
3. (c)content unrelated to the ghostwriting engagement; or
4. (d)a submission our records cannot match to a Contract.

The foregoing list is exhaustive. We do not withhold or remove a review by reason of its rating, because it is unflattering, or because it is inconvenient to any person including us. Where we withhold or remove a review we identify which of the above grounds applied.

6.6REVIEWS ARE THE REVIEWER'S OPINION

We publish them. We do not adopt them and we do not check whether they are fair.

Reviews are the statements and opinions of the Users who write them. They are not statements of Notable Authors, we do not adopt or endorse them, and we do not verify their accuracy or fairness.

6.7REVIEW INTEGRITY

Do not trade anything for a review, threaten one, write your own, or re-book to bury one. Breaking these costs the account, not just the review.

You agree not to:

1. (a)withhold work, a Deliverable, an approval or a payment in order to obtain, alter or suppress a review;
2. (b)offer, solicit or accept anything of value in exchange for a review;
3. (c)threaten to leave an unfavorable review in order to obtain any benefit;
4. (d)review yourself, or any Account you own or control, or arrange for any person to submit a review on your behalf; or
5. (e)cancel and re-book a Contract in order to displace or bury a review.

A breach of this Section is a ground for suspension or closure of the Account under Section 14, and not merely for removal of the review.

6.8REVIEWS SURVIVE ACCOUNT CLOSURE

A review is part of the other party's record, so it stays up.

A published review remains published after either party's Account is closed.

7.PAYING OFF THE PLATFORM

Why we do not ban contact details, and what settling elsewhere costs.

7.1WORK AGREED HERE IS PAID FOR HERE

Fund the stages through the platform.

You agree that a Contract entered into through the Services will be funded and paid through the Services.

7.2WE DO NOT BAN CONTACT DETAILS

This is a hand-matched list. The founders introduce people personally, and you should be on a call before you commit to a book.

Nothing in these Terms restricts Users from exchanging contact details or from communicating outside the Services, and we do not impose such a restriction. We encourage a Client and a Writer to speak directly before either commits to a Contract.

7.3WHAT SETTLING ELSEWHERE COSTS

The review does not carry the stamp, and the account may close. There is no cash penalty.

Where any part of a Contract is settled outside the Services, (a) the review for that Contract does not carry the Paid in Full Stamp, no Stage having been Released through us, and (b) the Account may be closed under Section 14. We do not impose a monetary penalty and we make no claim for fees we would otherwise have earned.

8.STRIPE

What our payment processor holds, and why it is not us.

8.1PAYMENTS RUN ON STRIPE

Using the platform means agreeing to Stripe's terms too.

Payments and payouts are processed by Stripe. Your use of the Services requires you to accept Stripe's applicable terms in addition to these Terms.

8.2STRIPE HOLDS THE SENSITIVE PARTS

Your identity documents and tax forms go to Stripe, not to us. We do not hold your passport.

Identity documents, bank details and tax forms are collected and held by Stripe and not by Notable Authors. Stripe is an independent controller of the personal information it collects for those purposes and is responsible for it under its own privacy policy. Our Privacy Policy describes what we receive back.

9.WHICH DOCUMENT WINS

The order of precedence, and the four things nobody may vary.

9.1THE ORDER

Terms first, then the engagement agreement, then the writer's own terms.

Where they conflict, the following order applies, each yielding to the one above it:

1. 1.these Terms, which govern Accounts, money, reviews and Problem Reports;
2. 2.the Engagement Agreement, which governs copyright, confidentiality, credit and the work itself; and
3. 3.any terms added by Writer within the Engagement Agreement.

9.2THE FOUR THINGS NO AGREEMENT MAY VARY

These four are fixed, and any term that tries to change one has no effect.

No Engagement Agreement, and no term added by any User, may vary:

1. (a)the manner in which Stage Payments are held and Released;
2. (b)the conditions on which a review carries the Paid in Full Stamp;
3. (c)the route a Problem Report takes; or
4. (d)the confidentiality floor set by the Engagement Agreement.

9.3SEVERANCE OF A VARYING TERM

The offending term fails. The rest of the agreement stands.

A term purporting to vary any matter in Section 9.2 is of no effect to that extent, and the remainder of the agreement in which it appears continues in force.

10.CHANGES TO THESE TERMS

Notice, and the version that governs a book already under way.

10.1NOTICE

We tell you before anything substantial changes.

We will give advance notice of any substantial change to these Terms, by email and through the Services.

10.2FEE INCREASES

Thirty days' notice for a fee increase.

We will give not less than thirty days' notice of any increase in the Platform Fee.

10.3THE VERSION THAT GOVERNS YOUR CONTRACT

The version you accepted when a contract started governs it until it ends.

The version of these Terms in force when a Contract is entered into governs that Contract until it concludes, notwithstanding any subsequent version.

10.4RE-ACCEPTANCE

When the version moves, we ask you to accept the new one.

On publication of a new version, you will be asked to accept it before further use of the Services.

11.THE RECORD OF A CONTRACT

Why the thread matters, and what we cannot weigh.

11.1KEEP THE WORK IN THE THREAD

Briefs, deliveries, comments and approvals belong in the platform's thread.

You agree to conduct the working record of a Contract, including briefs, Deliverables, comments and approvals, through the messaging thread provided in the Services.

11.2TALK ON THE PHONE AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE

Calls and video are expected. This is not a rule against talking.

Section 11.1 does not restrict communication by telephone, video or in person, which we encourage.

11.3WE CAN ONLY WEIGH WHAT WE CAN SEE

Something that never came through the platform is something we cannot weigh. That is the reason for 11.1, not a rule for its own sake.

In determining a Problem Report we read the Engagement Agreement, the Deliverables and the thread. Material that was not transmitted through the Services cannot be taken into account, not because we decline to consider it but because we have no record of it.

12.PROBLEM REPORTS

The clocks, what we can do, and what we will not decide.

12.1RAISE IT WITH THE OTHER PARTY FIRST

Try the thread before you come to us.

Before submitting a Problem Report, you agree to raise the matter with the other party through the thread and attempt to resolve it.

12.2THE REPORTING WINDOW

Fourteen days from the delivery it concerns.

A report of a problem (a "Problem Report") must be submitted within fourteen days of the delivery to which it relates.

12.3OUR ANSWER

We answer within twenty-one days, having read the agreement, the files and the thread.

We will determine a Problem Report within twenty-one days of its submission, having reviewed the Engagement Agreement, the Deliverables and the thread.

12.4WHAT WE CAN DO

Hold, release, split or return the held stage payment. That is the whole of our power, and our decision on it is final.

On determining a Problem Report we may hold, Release, apportion or Return the held Stage Payment, and we may do nothing else. Our determination in respect of a held Stage Payment is final and each party agrees to be bound by it. We have no power to determine ownership of any work, to award damages, or to grant any other remedy.

12.5WHAT WE WILL NOT DECIDE

We do not judge whether the writing is good. No platform our size can, and we would be wrong to pretend.

We do not determine the literary quality or sufficiency of any Deliverable. We determine whether the Engagement Agreement was followed, how many Revision Rounds remain, and the disposition of the held Stage Payment.

12.6THE COURTHOUSE STAYS OPEN

Nothing here stops you going to court over something we cannot decide.

Nothing in this Section restricts either party from pursuing any claim before a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of any matter we have no power to determine.

13.DISCLAIMERS, LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY

What we do not promise, what we will pay, and what you cover.

13.1AS IS, BUT NOT CARELESSLY

The platform is provided as it stands, but we do use reasonable care and skill in running it, and this section does not excuse us from that.

The Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis, and we do not warrant that they will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error free. Nothing in this Section limits or excludes our obligation to provide the Services with reasonable care and skill.

13.2NO WARRANTY AS TO USERS

We do not warrant any writer's work or any client's conduct.

We make no warranty in respect of any User's skill, conduct, solvency or performance, or that any Contract will be completed.

13.3THE CAP

Our liability to you is capped at the greater of $2,000 and the fees we kept on your contracts in the last twelve months. Greater-of, on purpose.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, our aggregate liability to you arising out of or in connection with your use of the Services is limited to the greater of (a) $2,000 and (b) the total Platform Fees retained by us on your Contracts in the twelve months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

13.4EXCLUDED LOSS

No indirect loss, lost profits or lost publishing opportunities.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, special, incidental, consequential or punitive loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, goodwill or publishing opportunity.

13.5WHAT THE CAP DOES NOT COVER

Fraud, willful misconduct, personal injury, and anything the law where you live will not let us cap.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, for willful misconduct, for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for any liability that cannot be limited or excluded under the law applicable to you.

13.6WHAT YOU COVER

You cover us for claims arising from what you upload, your own taxes, and third-party claims about the manuscript.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Notable Authors against any claim, liability, loss and reasonable expense arising out of (a) material you upload or transmit through the Services, (b) your own tax obligations, and (c) any third-party claim in respect of a manuscript you wrote or commissioned. This Section does not apply to the extent the claim arises from our breach of Section 13.1.

14.SUSPENSION AND CLOSURE

What counts as serious, and whether you get told first.

14.1GROUNDS

Review integrity, AI-written manuscripts, settling off the platform, misrepresenting who you are, or abusing another user.

We may suspend or close an Account on any of the following grounds:

1. (a)breach of Section 6.7 (review integrity);
2. (b)breach of Section 3.3 (artificial intelligence);
3. (c)settling any part of a Contract outside the Services;
4. (d)misrepresentation of identity or affiliation; or
5. (e)abuse of another User.

14.2NOTICE

We tell you first where we can. Where money or safety is at risk we act first and tell you after.

Where practicable we will notify you before suspending or closing an Account and give you an opportunity to respond. Where the conduct places any person's funds or safety at risk we may act first and notify you afterwards.

14.3CLOSURE DOES NOT MOVE MONEY

Held stages follow Section 4. Open problem reports follow Section 12.

Suspension or closure of an Account does not Release, Return or otherwise move any Stage Payment, which continues to follow Section 4, and does not determine any open Problem Report, which continues to follow Section 12.

15.GOVERNING LAW AND VENUE

Which law, which court, and the two clauses we have deliberately left out.

15.1GOVERNING LAW

New York law.

These Terms are governed by the law of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

15.2VENUE

Courts in New York.

The state and federal courts sitting in Queens County, New York have jurisdiction over any claim arising out of these Terms.

15.3NO ARBITRATION, AND NO BUSINESS-USE-ONLY PROMISE

We have not asked you to give up a court, and we have not asked you to pretend this is a business purchase.

These Terms contain no agreement to arbitrate and no waiver of class action rights. We do not require you to represent that you use the Services for business purposes only. Many Clients are private individuals writing a memoir, and a term framed to remove their consumer protections would contradict the purpose of the Services.

15.4YOUR CONSUMER RIGHTS SURVIVE

If the law where you live gives you rights these terms cannot take away, you keep them.

Nothing in these Terms operates to exclude, restrict or modify any right or remedy available to you under the law applicable to you that may not lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified.

16.GENERAL

The closing clauses.

16.1SEVERABILITY

If part of these terms fails, the rest stands.

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, that provision is severed and the remainder continues in force.

16.2NO WAIVER

Not enforcing something once does not give it up.

No failure or delay in exercising any right operates as a waiver of it.

16.3ASSIGNMENT

You cannot transfer your account. We can transfer these terms to a buyer of the business, and we will tell you.

You may not assign or transfer your Account or your rights under these Terms. We may assign these Terms to a successor to our business, and will notify you if we do.

16.4ENTIRE AGREEMENT

These terms, the engagement agreement, the privacy policy, and what we tell you at the point of payment.

These Terms, the Engagement Agreement, the Privacy Policy and the disclosures made to you at the point of payment constitute the entire agreement between you and us in respect of the Services.

16.5CONTACT

hello@notableauthors.com, or the contact page. A person reads every one.

Notices to us may be sent to hello@notableauthors.com or through the contact page on the Site.

17.DEFINITIONS

The capitalized words, in one place.

The following capitalized terms have the following meanings:

"Account" means a registered account on the Services, designated as either a Client Account or a Writer Account under Section 2.1.

"Client" means a User who engages, or seeks to engage, a Writer to write a manuscript.

"Contract" means an engagement between a Client and a Writer entered into through the Services, comprising the Engagement Agreement and the terms displayed on the Site for that engagement.

"Deliverable" means the work product a Writer is required to deliver for a Stage under a Contract.

"Engagement Agreement" means the agreement between Client and Writer governing copyright, confidentiality, credit and the work itself, recorded word for word when Client accepts it.

"Paid in Full Stamp" means the mark applied to a review that satisfies Section 6.3.

"Payment Processor" means Stripe.

"Platform Fee" means the amount retained by Notable Authors under Section 4.11.

"Problem Report" means a report submitted under Section 12.2.

"Release" and "Released" mean the release of a Stage Payment to Writer under Section 4.6, and "Return" and "Returned" have the meaning given in Section 4.9.

"Revision Round" means one consolidated set of comments on one Deliverable, of the number provided by the Engagement Agreement.

"Services" has the meaning given in Section 1.1.

"Site" means www.notableauthors.com.

"Stage" means one of the stages into which a Contract is divided, each with its own Deliverable and Stage Payment.

"Stage Payment" means the amount payable by Client for a Stage.

"User" means any person holding an Account.

"Writer" means a User admitted to the Services to write manuscripts for Clients.