Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

By using our services, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age (or 16 with parental consent), have the legal capacity to enter into contracts, and agree to these Terms. If you are using our services on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation to these Terms.

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will provide at least 14 days' notice of material changes. Your continued use of our services after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance.

Our Services

Spines Publishing USA provides professional self-publishing services to independent authors, including but not limited to:

• Manuscript editing (developmental, copy, and proofreading)
• Custom book cover design and interior formatting
• ISBN registration and copyright guidance
• Global distribution to 100+ retailers and libraries
• Audiobook production and distribution
• Book marketing and promotional services

The specific services, deliverables, timelines, and pricing for your project are detailed in your Service Order, which forms part of these Terms upon acceptance.

Your Obligations

• You must provide accurate, complete, and current information when creating an account or placing an order.
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
• You must own or have all necessary rights and permissions for any content you submit to us for publishing.
• You are solely responsible for ensuring your book does not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights, defame any person, or violate any applicable law.
• You must not use our platform to publish content that is illegal, fraudulent, harassing, hateful, or obscene.
• You must not attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or disrupt our platform or services.

Intellectual Property

You retain full ownership of all content you submit to us, including your manuscript, any images you provide, and the finished book. By submitting content to us, you grant Spines Publishing USA a limited, non-exclusive licence to use your content solely for the purpose of providing the services you have ordered.

Spines Publishing USA owns all intellectual property rights in our platform, website, designs, software, documentation, and brand assets. Nothing in these Terms transfers any of our intellectual property rights to you.

Custom design work created for your book (cover design, interior layouts) is transferred to you upon full payment of all fees due. We retain the right to display finished work in our portfolio unless you request otherwise in writing.

Payment and Billing

All fees are quoted in US dollars and are due as specified in your Service Order. We accept major credit cards, debit cards, and other payment methods as indicated at checkout.

• Payments are processed securely by our third-party payment processors. We do not store payment card details.
• Certain service packages require full payment upfront; others may be paid in stages as outlined in your Service Order.
• Failure to make payment when due may result in suspension of services and delays to your project timeline.
• All prices are exclusive of applicable sales tax, VAT, or other taxes, which will be added at checkout as required by law.

Disclaimers

Our services are provided 'as is' and 'as available' without warranties of any kind, express or implied, except as required by law. We do not guarantee any particular commercial outcome for your book, including sales levels, bestseller status, reviews, or royalty income.

We are not responsible for the decisions of third-party retailers, distributors, or review platforms regarding your book's listing, pricing, or availability.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Spines Publishing USA's total liability to you for any claims arising from or related to these Terms or our services is limited to the total fees you paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

We are not liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, including lost profits or data, arising from your use of our services, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, USA, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.

For disputes involving amounts under $5,000, you agree to first attempt informal resolution by contacting us at legal@spinespublishingusa.com before initiating any formal proceedings.