Terms of Service

Agreement

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of shelfspark.com, our campaign landing pages and the services ShelfSpark provides (together, the “Services”). By using the Services you agree to these Terms. If you use them on behalf of a company, you confirm you have authority to bind it.

The Services

ShelfSpark helps customers gauge reader interest in book ideas. We create advertising and landing pages, run campaigns on third-party platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, collect sign-ups from interested readers and provide analysis of the results. ShelfSpark is currently in early access, so features may change, and we may modify or discontinue parts of the Services at any time.

Eligibility and accounts

You must be at least 18 to become a customer and at least 16 to sign up as a reader. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials secure and for activity under your account. Please give us accurate information and keep it current.

Your content

Customers keep all rights to the book ideas, titles, descriptions and other materials they submit (“Customer Content”). You grant ShelfSpark a limited, non-exclusive license to use Customer Content to provide the Services, including creating and running ads and landing pages. We will not publish your idea outside the campaigns you approve.

You confirm that you have the rights to the Customer Content and that it does not infringe anyone's rights or break the law. Campaign pages present a book as forthcoming; you agree not to ask us to promise readers anything you don't intend to honor, such as a specific release date or price.

AI-generated materials

We use AI tools to help create ad creative, cover concepts and positioning analysis. Subject to your payment of any fees, you may use the creative we deliver for your book. Because AI output can resemble existing works, review materials before using them outside a ShelfSpark campaign. Our analysis is an informed estimate, not a guarantee of sales or of any publishing outcome.

Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Services to:

• promote content that is unlawful, deceptive, hateful or sexually explicit, or that violates the advertising policies of Meta or any other platform we use;
• collect personal information in ways that breach applicable privacy law or our Privacy Policy;
• interfere with the Services, probe them for vulnerabilities or access them by automated means without permission.

We may refuse, pause or remove any campaign that we believe breaches these Terms or a platform's policies.

Fees and payment

Paid plans and campaign budgets will be described at the time you purchase. Unless stated otherwise, fees are due in advance and are non-refundable once a campaign has started running, because advertising spend is committed to third-party platforms. You are responsible for applicable taxes.

Readers and sign-ups

When you sign up on a campaign page, you are registering interest in a book that may still be in development. Signing up does not create a purchase or reservation, and the book may change, be delayed or never be published. We will handle your information as described in our Privacy Policy, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Our intellectual property

ShelfSpark owns the Services, including our software, templates, brand and reports format. Except for the license to delivered materials described above, these Terms do not grant you any rights in our intellectual property. Feedback you send us may be used to improve the Services without obligation to you.

Third-party platforms

Campaigns run on platforms we do not control, such as Meta. Their terms and policies also apply, and their decisions, including ad rejections, delivery limits or outages, may affect results. ShelfSpark is not responsible for third-party platforms.

Disclaimers

The Services are provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, ShelfSpark disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not guarantee any number of sign-ups, any level of engagement or that any book will sell or find a publisher.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, ShelfSpark will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits or revenue. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Services is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or US$100.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold ShelfSpark harmless from claims arising out of your Customer Content, your breach of these Terms or your violation of any law or third-party right.

Termination

You may stop using the Services at any time. We may suspend or end your access if you breach these Terms or if we discontinue the Services. Sections that by their nature should survive termination, including those on content licenses, disclaimers, liability and indemnity, will survive.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. If a change is material, we will provide notice on this site or by email before it takes effect. Continuing to use the Services after that means you accept the updated Terms.

Contact

Questions about these Terms can go to hello@shelfspark.com.