Terms and Conditions

What InkSplode is

InkSplode connects authors and backers. Authors write and produce books on the platform. Backers pledge toward a book's fixed production cost. That cost is quoted transparently before a campaign launches and is what the campaign goal represents. InkSplode sets the final production cost for every campaign and may adjust it before launch, always with the reasoning shown to the author.

Our promise on money

InkSplode never takes a percentage of pledges or royalties, and we never claim ownership of your work. Our compensation for campaigns is included in the production cost quoted before launch. If a campaign raises more than its goal, the surplus belongs to the author.

We may offer optional paid features or tiers in the future. If we ever do, they will be clearly priced and entirely optional, and the promise above stays exactly as written for every campaign.

Pledges

Pledges start at $25, and the amounts available are shown on the pledge panel. Pledges are charged immediately when they are made. Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see or store your full card number. A pledge includes the finished book in the format you choose: the ebook at no extra cost, or the paperback, which adds printing and shipping as a separate estimated line at checkout. Paperbacks ship to addresses in the United States and Canada only. We keep backers updated on production progress and delivery timing.

A pledge is a purchase of the finished book. It is not an investment: it gives you no equity, no interest, no royalty, and no share of any profits from the book, the author, or InkSplode.

You must be 18 or older to pledge, whether or not you create an account.

Refunds

If a campaign closes without reaching its goal, every pledge is refunded in full to the original payment method. Refunds are issued by hand by our team; we initiate them within 14 days of the campaign closing, and your bank may take 5 to 10 business days to show the credit. If a funded book cannot be completed and delivered, we refund every pledge in full the same way. If you ever have a problem with a charge, write to support@inksplode.com before disputing it with your bank; we can almost always fix it faster.

Authors

Authors keep full ownership of their manuscripts and everything they create on InkSplode. To do the work you hire us for, you grant Rotimi Media Group, LLC a non-exclusive license to edit, format, print, reproduce, distribute, display, and promote your work as needed to run your campaign and to produce and deliver your book. This license does not transfer ownership.

By submitting work, you confirm that it is yours, that it is original or properly licensed, and that it does not infringe anyone's rights, and you agree to be responsible for claims that it does.

Producing a book is a collaboration. Authors agree to respond to production requests within a reasonable time. If an author becomes unreachable or a book cannot move forward, we may pause or close the campaign and refund backers. Campaign surpluses are paid to the author after the finished book has been delivered to backers.

Your account

You are responsible for your account and for keeping your sign-in details safe. You must be 18 or older to create an account, pledge, or run a campaign. By creating an account, you agree to receive transactional email from us about your account, pledges, and campaigns. We may suspend or terminate accounts used for fraud, infringement, impersonation, harassment, illegal content, chargeback abuse, or attempts to interfere with the platform, and we may decline or remove any campaign or content at our discretion.

Copyright complaints

If you believe content on InkSplode infringes your copyright, email support@inksplode.com with your contact information, a description of the work and where it appears, a statement of your good-faith belief that the use is unauthorized, and a statement under penalty of perjury that you are authorized to act for the owner. We respond to valid notices, including removing content and closing the accounts of repeat infringers.

What we are not responsible for

InkSplode is provided as is and as available. We do not guarantee that any campaign will reach its goal or that the platform will always be error free, and we are not responsible for what authors or backers do outside the platform. To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential damages, and our total liability for anything arising out of the platform or these terms is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim. Some places do not allow some of these limits, so they may not fully apply to you.

Taxes

You are responsible for your own taxes. For authors, campaign surpluses may be taxable income.

Disputes

If something goes wrong, email support@inksplode.com first and give us 30 days to work it out with you. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois. Any dispute that cannot be resolved informally is handled in the state or federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois, and both sides consent to those courts. Nothing here keeps either side out of small claims court.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. For material changes, we will post a notice on the site or email account holders before the change takes effect. The effective date at the top shows when they last changed. If you keep using InkSplode after an update, you accept the updated terms.

The fine print that keeps the rest working

If part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still applies. These terms are the whole agreement between you and us about the platform. If we choose not to enforce a part of them at some moment, we are not giving that part up. We may assign these terms to a successor of the business; you may not assign yours.

Contact

Questions about these terms go to support@inksplode.com.