Scribe Media Master Terms & Conditions

1. Do the Right Thing

We always try to do the right thing, regardless of what's in this agreement.

Agreements can't cover everything. And even long contracts are only as good as the people who stand behind them. We are not in this business to haggle over terms. If things get to the point where people are quoting contracts, things have gotten very bad.

That said, we still need to know the rules of our relationship. The sections below lay out the most important legal terms and expectations so we can both do the right thing by each other.

2. Call Recordings

Plain English: Part of providing you with a seamless experience is being able to accurately recap and share key decisions. Recording our calls helps us do that.

Our video and audio calls together will be recorded and may be monitored, and your consent for us to do so is a requisite to work with us. By agreeing to these terms, you consent to this recording and monitoring.

You may also have members of your team or other third parties speak with us. By agreeing, you confirm that you will be responsible for obtaining consent for such recording from your staff or other third parties who may participate in calls with us.

3. Intellectual Property

Until full payment is received for the services provided by Bond Financial Technologies Holdings, LLC, your manuscript will not be published.

However, should the author decide to terminate the agreement or if the project is abandoned before full payment is made, the author shall retain ownership of the content paid for up to that point.

For example, if the project is 40% complete and the author has correspondingly paid for that portion of the work, the author is entitled to receive and own the completed 40% of the manuscript or other content. No further intellectual property rights will be transferred until and unless additional payments are made to cover the completion of the remaining work.

4. Royalties and Profits

Plain English: You get all the profit from your work. We get nothing.

Neither Bond Financial Technologies Holdings, LLC, nor any other third party involved in any stage of the book creation process, is entitled to any share or claim on any part of any profit from the book, or associated with the book, since only the Author has the ownership rights and rights to the proceeds from the book.

However, if the Author fails to pay Bond Financial Technologies Holdings, LLC, for work done on the book, then the Author does not have the right to use the book that contains the work of Bond Financial Technologies Holdings, LLC, and if the Author does so anyway, Bond Financial Technologies Holdings, LLC, shall have a lien against the book proceeds, up to the amount owed under this Agreement.

All book and distribution accounts are yours (the Author's), not ours (including Amazon, iBooks, etc.). We place those accounts in your name and you have full control.

5. Liability and Indemnification

Plain English: Because this is entirely your book, you are entirely responsible for all the content. These are your ideas, your words, and your book (not ours), and you have full approval over everything that goes out in your name.

You (the author) are solely responsible for the content of your book, including, but not limited to any third party citations and references. You represent and warrant that the content of your book does not, and shall not, infringe the rights of any third party (including any such intellectual property rights).

In the event there is any liability associated with your book (such as a claim of a breach of another's intellectual property right, or any other liability), you are solely responsible for such liability. In the event that any legal action is ever taken against Bond Financial Technologies Holdings, LLC, and/or any damage or other liability incurred, as a result of your book and/or our engagement with you, you agree to fully indemnify us for any liability or damage, our costs to defend ourselves, and any other reasonable expenditures we incur as a result thereof.

6. Image and IP Licensing

Plain English: If you provide us with images for your book, it is up to you to make sure that you have the right to use them. If we create or source any images for you, we will make sure you have the right to use them.

Bond Financial Technologies Holdings, LLC, agrees to obtain all appropriate licenses and rights to any content we put into your book that you did not otherwise provide to us. In such instances, we agree to provide you with evidence that proper licenses were obtained.

If for some reason there is an issue with any media used in your book that we put in there and that did not come directly from you, then we accept full liability and will indemnify you from any damage arising because we didn't get the proper license(s) from a third party.

Similarly, you agree to obtain all appropriate licenses and rights to any content that you provide to us for inclusion in your book. If there is an issue with any media sourced by you (and not by us), then you accept full liability and will indemnify us from any damage arising because you didn't get the proper license(s) from a third party.

7. Third-Party Distribution Services

We use third-party distribution services to share your book with the world. We'll handle the initial upload to these platforms and the ongoing management as we launch your book, but we aren't responsible if a platform causes a disruption that is beyond our control.

8. Quality Assurance Commitment

We are dedicated to delivering a professionally crafted book that adheres to the highest traditional publishing standards and meets the requirements of all distribution networks.

9. Post-Publishing Support

Within three months from your book's launch date, we will fix one round of typos in your manuscript for free. Gather a list of any typos you find, including the page or eBook location number, and send them to alumni@scribemedia.com in one list within 90 days of your launch date. This only covers true typos or grammatical errors, no additional changes to layout, design, or formatting.

Beyond this, please reach out to alumni@scribemedia.com for post-publishing support and we will provide a custom quote.

10. AI Content

Due to the quickly evolving nature of AI tools, we reserve the right to use the assistance of artificial intelligence as a productivity tool without proactive disclosure. If you desire, you may request details of their use at any time. If you prefer we not use them at all in your case, you can explicitly ask us not to.

You must notify us of any AI-generated content (text, images, or translations), including AI-generated images for covers and interior artwork. You are not obligated to disclose AI-assisted content.

AI-generated: Content (text, images, or translations) created by an AI-based tool. If you used an AI-based tool to create the actual content, it is considered "AI-generated," even if you applied substantial edits afterward.

AI-assisted: If you created the content yourself, and used AI-based tools to edit, refine, error-check, or otherwise improve that content, then it is considered "AI-assisted" and not "AI-generated." It is not necessary to inform us of the use of such tools or processes.

11. Communication and Calls

A fair amount of our work will require us to speak with you on video and audio calls. We promise we'll keep it mainly to business. All we ask is that you make yourself available and focused for your scheduled calls.

Delays in communication can subsequently delay the schedule of your book and may result in additional costs.

Call Cancellation Policy: We ask that you cancel or reschedule calls 24 hours or more in advance. We're happy to let one missed call slide. Beyond that, any no-shows or cancellations/reschedules within 24 hours will be subject to a rescheduling fee of $150.

12. Cancellation

If, at any point in your project, one or both of us decide that it would be best to part ways, we will discuss the appropriate next steps. If the total of paid invoices beyond your first non-refundable invoice exceeds the total creative costs that we have incurred (the calculation of which you agree is to be made by us in our sole discretion), we will refund the difference.

By agreeing to these terms you understand that Bond Financial Technologies Holdings, LLC (nor any parent, affiliate, or subsidiary thereof) will ever be liable to you for any amount of this agreement (unless expressly stated otherwise in this agreement), for any reason, now or in the future.

13. Delay

Maintaining momentum on your project is really important, and our job is to keep you on track. However, we understand and support any family, personal, or business obligations that may require you to step away for a period of time. There are a few important expectations regarding pausing your project:

1. We cannot guarantee the same publishing timeline or team when you restart.
2. We'll be able to pick up from where you left off, but if you choose to go back and redo any completed work, there may be costs associated with redoing that work.
3. We will automatically pause your project if we don't hear from you after 4 attempts.
4. Prices change over time. If you pause your project for 3 months or longer, we may need to update your contract price.

Before you restart, our team will assess your agreement, the work completed, and the work remaining to determine if you will owe any difference.

14. The Sunset Clause

Plain English: If you are non-responsive and do not engage in the process at all for a period of 12 months or more, then we have the right to cancel the project. And we will keep your money.

We don't want to do this. We want to finish your book. This clause is here simply because some people refuse to finish for whatever reason, and we need the ability to move on once they've quit. So just don't quit, and we won't either.

15. No Hidden Costs

We hate it when someone quotes one price, then tries to charge more later on. We won't do this to you. There are all kinds of additional work you might want to add, but we will NEVER do any additional work that would cost you money without first getting your explicit approval, both to do the work and for the amount.

16. Pricing Expiration

Plain English: The price that you're committing to by signing your agreement is good for 3 months.

If you come onboard and do not start your project for 3 months and this program increases in price, we will have to send you an agreement for the difference. This clause exists because it wouldn't be fair to our other authors to extend old pricing indefinitely. Just make sure to get started within the quarter, and you'll be good to go.

17. Outside Work

We hope you love working with everyone you meet at Scribe, and you get excited every time you work with them. But we have to insist that you don't work with them outside of working with us, unless we give both you and them explicit approval. This means you don't ask them to do any sort of writing, editing, or other creative work that is identical to what we do, or very close. You also agree that if you do this, that we have the right to seek damages and lost revenue.

18. Payment Terms

Your investment is paid over the number of months specified in your Deal-Specific Agreement. The first payment is due within 24 hours of signing and is non-refundable. Our finance team will reach out to schedule the first payment. Remaining payments will be set up for ACH auto payment.

There is a 3% processing fee for all credit card payments.

If any payment goes unpaid for 14 days after its due date, we have to pause work on your project until the payment is received, and we cannot guarantee the same publishing timeline or team when your project restarts.

Your entire investment must be paid in full before we can publish your book.

If your project extends beyond the payment term specified in your Deal-Specific Agreement, monthly payments will continue at the overage rate specified in your Deal-Specific Agreement to cover the ongoing creative and operational work.