Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ('Terms') govern your access to and use of the Spines Publishing UK website and publishing services. By using our website or purchasing our services, you agree to these Terms. Please read them carefully. Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

About Us

Spines Publishing UK is a trading name of VISION CORE SOLUTIONS LTD, a limited company registered in the United Kingdom. Our business address is 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom. You can contact us at info@spinespublishing.co.uk or on +44 20 4515 8379.

Acceptance of Terms

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

We may amend these Terms from time to time. We will give you at least 14 days' notice of material changes. Changes will not affect any Service Order you have already placed.

Our Services

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

Manuscript editing (developmental, copy-editing and proofreading)
Bespoke book cover design and typesetting
ISBN allocation, British Library legal deposit and copyright guidance
Distribution to 100+ retailers and libraries in the UK and worldwide
Audiobook production and distribution
Book marketing and promotional services

The specific services, deliverables, timelines and prices for your project are set out in your Service Order, which forms part of these Terms once accepted. We will perform our services with reasonable care and skill, as required by the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Your Right to Cancel

If you are a consumer, you have the right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to cancel your Service Order within 14 days of the day after it is accepted, without giving a reason.

If you ask us to start work within the 14-day cancellation period and then cancel, we may deduct a proportionate amount for the work already carried out. If the services have been fully performed within the cancellation period at your request, you will lose the right to cancel. To cancel, simply email us with your name and order number. Full details are in our Refund Policy.

Your Obligations

You must provide accurate, complete and current information when placing an order.
You must own or have all necessary rights and permissions for any content you submit to us for publishing.
You are responsible for ensuring your book does not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights, defame any person or break any applicable law.
You must not use our services to publish content that is illegal, fraudulent, harassing, hateful or obscene.
You must not attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape or disrupt our website 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. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, copyright in your writing belongs to you automatically. By submitting content to us, you grant Spines Publishing UK a limited, non-exclusive licence to use your content solely to provide the services you have ordered.

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

Bespoke design work created for your book (cover design, interior layouts) is assigned to you on full payment of all fees due. We may display finished work in our portfolio unless you ask us not to in writing.

Prices and Payment

All fees are quoted in pounds sterling (GBP) and are payable as set out in your Service Order. We accept major credit and debit cards and other payment methods shown at checkout.

Payments are processed securely by our third-party payment processors. We do not store payment card details.
Some service packages require full payment upfront; others may be paid in instalments as set out in your Service Order.
If a payment is not made when due, we may pause work until it is received, which may delay your project.
Your Service Order will state whether prices include VAT. Where VAT applies, it will be charged at the current UK rate.

Text Message Terms

1. Consent

We only send text messages to people who have ticked the text message consent box on one of our forms. Phone numbers obtained through this process are never shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

2. Types of Messages

If you have agreed to receive text messages from Spines Publishing UK, you may receive messages about:

Appointment and consultation reminders
Follow-up messages about your enquiry or project
Account notifications and project or order updates
Billing queries

Example: "Hello, this is a reminder of your consultation with Spines Publishing UK on [Date] at [Time]. Reply STOP to opt out of texts from Spines Publishing UK at any time."

3. Message Frequency

Message frequency varies depending on the type of communication. You may receive up to 2 text messages per week about your enquiries, appointments or account.

4. Costs

We do not charge for our text messages. Your mobile network may charge standard rates for replies, depending on your tariff, and charges may differ if you are abroad.

5. How to Opt In

You can opt in to text messages from Spines Publishing UK by submitting an online form on our website and ticking the text message consent box. Consent is never a condition of purchase.

6. How to Opt Out

You can opt out at any time by replying "STOP" to any text message from us. You can also contact us directly and ask to be removed from our messaging list.

7. Help

If you need help, reply with the keyword HELP, contact us at info@spinespublishing.co.uk or +44 20 4515 8379, or visit https://spinespublishing.co.uk/legal/terms-of-service/.

If you do not wish to receive text messages, simply leave the consent box unticked on our forms.

8. Summary

Standard network rates may apply to replies.
You can opt out at any time by texting "STOP".
For help, text "HELP" or see our Privacy Policy (https://spinespublishing.co.uk/legal/privacy-policy/) and Terms of Service (https://spinespublishing.co.uk/legal/terms-of-service/).
Message frequency varies.

Results and Third Parties

We will provide our services with reasonable care and skill. However, we cannot 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 about your book's listing, pricing or availability.

Limitation of Liability

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot be limited or excluded under English law, including your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Subject to the above, our total liability to you for any claim arising from these Terms or our services is limited to the total fees you paid to us for the services concerned. We are not liable for losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when the contract was made, or for business losses such as lost profits where you use our services for business purposes.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with our services, please contact us at info@spinespublishing.co.uk so we can try to put things right. We aim to acknowledge complaints within 2 working days and resolve them within 14 days.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction over any dispute. If you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your local courts, and you keep the benefit of any mandatory consumer protection laws where you live.