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Terms of service

Introduction

Liquid Type Publishing Services is a professional book-production business offering editing, proofreading, ebook conversion, and related publishing services to authors and publishers who want to create excellent books and ebooks. These Terms of Service set out the basis of our working relationship with you.

Our agreement

By commissioning our services, you enter into an agreement between us (‘us’, ‘we’) and you (‘you’), governing the provision of the work you have requested (‘the finished work’). We aim to work in a way that supports mutual respect, clarity, and fairness.

Copyright and intellectual property

  • All source materials you provide, including text, images, and any other intellectual property (‘your IP’), remain entirely yours. You grant us the rights we reasonably need to use your IP solely for producing the finished work.
  • We will not share your IP with anyone except for the purpose of creating the finished work. Where needed, we may share specific materials with trusted suppliers (such as editors or designers) we regularly work with. We will always be transparent with you about who receives your materials and will honour your wishes if you do not want us to share certain items.
  • We do not monetise your content in any way other than charging for our services. We will never sell, license, or otherwise use your IP for our own benefit.
  • When we use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in our services, we take care not to upload your manuscript or related materials to external servers. We do AI processing locally or through anonymised systems whenever possible.
  • We retain ownership of any materials we create using our own resources in the course of providing services – this includes designs, code, templates, our workflow and related tools, and any other assets we develop.

Warranties and indemnities

  • You warrant that you own or have secured all the rights required for us to use the materials you provide and that your materials do not infringe anyone’s rights or contain defamatory or libellous content.
  • If you ask us to publish or distribute your work (for example, through Amazon KDP or a print run), you give us explicit permission to act on your behalf for those purposes. We are a service provider rather than a publisher, and will not be identified as the publisher of your work in any metadata, international standard book number (ISBN) records, or copyright statements.
  • We indemnify one another against losses arising from breaches, or claims of breaches, of these warranties.

Deliverables and scope of work

  • You must provide the source materials we need in good time, unless prevented by force majeure.
  • We will deliver our work by the dates agreed in writing, also subject to force majeure.
  • Any changes to services or timelines must be agreed to in writing and may result in increased fees.
  • Work falling outside the agreed scope or quote will incur additional charges. This includes (but is not limited to) extra corrections, working with your own suppliers, creating briefs for third-party providers (unless included in your service package), additional editing or proofreading, and finishing work that your suppliers have not completed.

Payment

  • We do not take royalties or commissions on your published works. You keep 100% of all royalties.
  • We operate on a fee-for-service model.
  • A 50% deposit is required before we begin work.
  • If the agreement is terminated early, we may retain as much of the deposit as needed to cover the work already completed.
  • We will only release finished files once all invoices have been paid in full.
  • We will not release any work – whether complete or in progress – while any amounts remain unpaid.
  • All invoices are payable within 14 days. Payment must be made in Rand to our South African bank account.
  • If we commission a third-party supplier (for example, a cover designer) and the project ends early due to unsatisfactory work or disagreement over quality, a kill fee may be charged.
  • When we manage print runs for you, we source quotes and facilitate the process. Unless explicitly included in our quote, printing costs (and the costs of any other third-party services or subscriptions) are payable by you directly.
  • Once you have signed off the work, any further changes will be treated as a new job and billed separately.
  • Corrections to proofs are charged at an hourly rate. Our quotes provide an estimate only; the final invoice will reflect the actual time spent. We do not charge for fixing our own mistakes.

Signing off work

  • You are responsible for checking the finished work carefully before sign-off. We cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions in the finished work.
  • We will always provide honest, professional advice on quality and accuracy, but the final editorial and design decisions are yours. Your approval will not be unreasonably withheld.

Confidentiality

Both parties agree to keep all information shared during the course of our work confidential, including personal data, business information, and proprietary materials. This duty continues after termination of the agreement, unless disclosure is required by law or authorised by prior written consent.

Data protection

We comply with applicable data protection laws, including the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). We collect, store, and process your personal data only as required to deliver our services. We will not share your personal data with third parties without your explicit consent unless required by law. You may request access to or correction of your personal data at any time.

Limitation of liability

  • Our total liability for any loss or damage arising from our services is limited to the amount you have paid us for those services.
  • We are not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential losses, including loss of income, profits, opportunities, or anticipated savings.
  • We are not responsible for delays caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.

Cancellation and termination

  • Either party may cancel the agreement with 30 days’ written notice.
  • If either party breaches its obligations and does not remedy the breach within a reasonable time after written notice, the agreement may be terminated.
  • Ending the agreement does not cancel existing responsibilities, such as paying for work already completed or transferring completed, paid-for deliverables.

Disputes and arbitration

If a dispute arises that we cannot resolve through discussion, the matter will be referred to arbitration. The arbitrator will be jointly appointed by both parties. The arbitrator’s decision will be final. Duties and responsibilities under this agreement remain active during any dispute process.

Force majeure

Neither of us will be liable for failing to meet obligations where the cause is beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to natural disasters, electricity outages, pandemics, strikes, or major technical failures. We will notify each other as soon as reasonably possible and take steps to continue work once conditions allow.

Notices

Formal notices under this agreement must be delivered by email or in writing to the last contact details supplied by each party. Notices are deemed received upon successful transmission of the email, unless a delivery error is evident.

Severability

If any part of this agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the rest of the agreement will remain in full effect.

Entire agreement

This agreement is the full and final understanding between us and replaces any previous agreements or discussions. Any changes must be made in writing and agreed to by both parties.

Applicable law

This agreement is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

Last updated: 15 November 2025