Terms of service

Early Read Club lets authors share free early copies of their books from a single link, lets readers apply for and download those copies, and helps authors track the reviews readers choose to share and build their own mailing list.

• Authors need an account. You sign in with an email link or code, or with Google. Keep access to your email account secure: anyone who can read it can sign in as you.
• Give accurate details, and keep your email address up to date in Settings.
• One person or publisher per account. Don't share accounts or create several to get around plan limits.
• Readers don't need an account. Your private reader link is personal: don't share it.
• You can delete your account at any time in Settings. This cancels any subscription and permanently deletes your data, as explained in the privacy policy.
• [Set a minimum age for authors and readers.]

• You own the rights. You may only upload books, covers and text that you own or are licensed to share for free with readers. You keep all your rights; you give us permission to store, display and deliver them only to run the service for you.
• Honest reviews only. A free copy is not a payment for a review. Never buy reviews, never require or ask for positive reviews or a particular star rating, and never reward readers for reviewing. Readers are free to review honestly, or not at all.
• Follow the retailers' rules. You must follow Amazon's Community Guidelines and review rules, and the rules of any other site where readers post, including asking readers to mention they received a free copy.
• Your mailing list. You control the readers on your list. Use it lawfully, only for what they agreed to, and honour unsubscribes, including in any tool you export it to. If you import readers, you must have their permission.
• Your page. You are responsible for what you publish on your author and campaign pages.

Don't use Early Read Club to:

• share content you don't have the rights to, or that is illegal, hateful, harassing or sexually explicit involving minors
• send spam, or add people to a mailing list without their permission
• manipulate reviews, ratings or rankings anywhere
• collect readers' data for anything other than your own books and launches
• upload malware, or try to break, overload, scrape or get around the security or limits of the service
• pretend to be someone else, or mislead readers about who you are

Free

£0, with no card needed: 1 live campaign at a time, 25 readers per book, 1 automatic review reminder, the early read club badge on your page.

Pro

£9 a month or £90 a year: unlimited campaigns and readers, 3 automatic reminders per reader, and the extra features listed on the pricing page. Prices are in pounds sterling and include any VAT [confirm VAT treatment].

• Payments are taken by Stripe. A subscription renews automatically at the end of each month or year until you cancel.
• Free trials and offer codes run on the terms shown when you use them. A trial without a card ends by moving you back to Free. Founding-member prices last for as long as the subscription stays active.
• If a payment fails, you keep Pro for 7 days while Stripe retries; after that you move to Free until it is paid.
• We'll give at least 30 days' notice by email before changing the price of your plan, and the change applies from your next renewal.

Cancellation and refunds

• Cancel any time from Settings (Manage billing). Pro stays on until the end of the period you've paid for, then you move to Free.
• Moving to Free never deletes anything: your readers, reviews and list stay. Free limits apply only to new campaigns and new approvals.
• Payments aren't refunded for part-used periods, except where the law requires it or we have made a mistake. [Review: statutory cancellation rights if any authors are consumers.]

[Draft for Adam to review before launch.] Anyone with a Early Read Club account can share their affiliate link from Settings.

• What you earn. 30% of every payment an author you referred makes for Pro, after discounts and tax, in the currency they paid, for as long as they stay subscribed. An author is yours if they sign up after following your link; only the first link they followed counts. Referred authors pay the normal price.
• When you're paid. Commission becomes payable 30 days after each payment. A payment that is refunded or disputed earns nothing, and commission on it is reversed. We pay monthly by PayPal or Wise once you're owed at least £20 or $25; smaller amounts carry over to the next month.
• Promoting fairly. No paid search ads that bid on “Early Read Club” or close variations, no spam or unsolicited messages, and nothing misleading about what Early Read Club does or costs. We may withhold commission earned in breach of these terms.
• Ending it. You can stop at any time. We may change or end the programme, or pause an affiliate's link, with notice; commission already earned under these terms is still paid.
• [Review: tax and reporting responsibilities for affiliates, and the payout timing promise.]

We may remove content, close a campaign, or suspend or close an account if we reasonably believe it breaks these terms or the law, puts readers at risk, or exposes us to legal claims (for example a copyright complaint). Where we can, we'll tell you why and give you a chance to put it right first. If we close a paid account for a reason that isn't your fault, we'll refund the unused part of your subscription.

We're always improving Early Read Club and may change or remove features. If a change significantly reduces what a paid plan includes, we'll tell you in advance and you can cancel.

• We provide Early Read Club with reasonable care and skill, but we can't promise it will always be available or error-free, or that any launch will bring a particular number of readers, reviews or sales.
• We aren't responsible for what readers do with a book once they have it, or for what they write in a review.
• We aren't liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for lost profits, sales or data, as far as the law allows. Our total liability to you in any 12 months is limited to what you paid us in that period, or £100 if more [review amount].
• Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law, such as for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or fraud.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you live elsewhere in the UK, you can also bring a claim in your local courts.

We'll update the date at the top when these terms change, and email authors about significant changes at least 30 days before they take effect. Carrying on using Early Read Club after that means you accept them.

[Legal name], [Address]. Email hello@earlyreadclub.com.