Oxford eBooks

Business Terms

Please read these terms carefully. Agreement to proceed with a project, payment or part payment of our invoice for services listed therein are considered full acceptance of the terms listed below.

Updated 22-Dec-2022

General

  • We reserve the right to refuse projects entirely at our discretion.
  • For new customers, 50% payment may be required before work can commence. The balance is payable on submission of the completed work.
  • Credit may only be extended at our discretion.
  • Payment in UK Pounds may be made by direct bank transfer, cheque or PayPal. Bank transfer (BACS) is preferred, and required for new customers.
  • UK VAT is applicable to all relevant charges.
  • We reserve the right to add a surcharge for PayPal or cheque payments of invoices to cover the transaction fees.
  • You (the client) are responsible for the acquisition of distribution rights from the author or owner of any work.
  • You are responsible for ensuring that the submitted manuscripts and other information is correct and up to date.
  • Resubmission of manuscripts may require a revision of the quote.
  • Rework due to resubmission of materials or changes by the client may incur a charge.
  • It is entirely your responsibility to ensure that you have explicit, written permission of any individuals, entities owners of products etc mentioned in your project, also for any quotes from other works, images, likenesses etc.
  • Where artwork or other materials have been sourced from a third party (graphics, fonts and other media) you may not have the right to distribute parts of the project (eg cover artwork) separately from the main project – eg, sell the cover artwork. You may of course distribute the cover art in the usual way as advertising or promotional materials.
  • You will entirely indemnify Oxford eBooks against any and all claims made arising from the contents of your project (either in the original manuscript or completed project) specifically but not limited to slander, libel, misrepresentation, innuendo, copyright infringement and representation of products or services.
  • We will usually correct most obvious errors found in a manuscript when the product is being produced and checked. These will be noted in the conversion log and you may accept or reject the changes. We will contact you for clarification where there is any doubt.
  • You will have 14 days after we send the completed project to you to notify us of any faults that require correction. An absence of notification will be taken as full approval.
  • Notwithstanding the above points, Oxford eBooks will make every effort to ensure the completeness, accuracy and aesthetic appeal of any work that it undertakes and will remain as flexible in these terms as it possibly can in order to maintain our excellent reputation.
  • You are entirely responsible for the advertising, marketing and promotion of your title.

eBook production

The following terms are applicable for eBook production work that we do for you.

  • Files provided to you by Oxford eBooks will include:
    • EPUB version of your eBook. (ePub version 2, reflow)
    • Since 28-June 2021. Amazon have dropped MOBI in favour of ePub, and so this format is not normally supplied. We can still produce MOBI format if you require, though we may add a small charge for this and cannot guarantee full compatibility with all devices.
    • Conversion log where necessary, usually by email comment explaining any edits made to the manuscript or errors discovered during production.
  • You may not disassemble or reverse engineer the eBook files that we send to you. The underlying technology, including CSS and formatting techniques are proprietary and at all times remain the property of Oxford eBooks Ltd and may not be copied or disseminated in any way other than within the complete eBook.
  • We test every eBook that we produce and verify it against the industry standard file checker (epubcheck) to ensure that there are ZERO technical errors. However your eBook may be loaded by your readers on devices that do not conform to the industry standards or interpret them in different ways. You must accept that there may be some instances in which your eBook may not function as intended. This is extremely rare and we are continuously working to ensure maximum compatibility.
  • eBook media is different to printed media in that the text is designed to work on a changing ‘page’ size as determined by the reading device or application’s screen. As such, your eBook will appear differently to the printed edition and we may need to reinterpret some of the formatting to make it work effectively.
  • In order to help keep our costs low, we would like to include a short accreditation for our company in the indicia (legal page) to help advertise our services. This will comprise: “eBook production by Oxford eBooks” and our website address. If for any reason you would not like this to appear in your eBook then please let us know before the project is completed.

Amazon KDP account setup, print on Demand account setup

We offer a service in which we can set up an Amazon KDP publishing , Print on Demand account etc on your behalf. It is subject to these additional terms. We can also set up publishing accounts with other distributors, and these conditions will also apply.

  • All information that you provide to us pertaining to the account setup MUST be correct and accurate.
  • You accept any and all responsibility for the running, maintenance and security of your account.
  • You grant full permission for us to set up the account on your behalf and to accept their terms of the agreement(s) on your behalf and with your full permission.
  • We will send you copies of or links to the terms and conditions of these companies for your records and for you to study. It is your responsibility to let us know within the cancellation period whether you are unable to accept the terms. A failure to respond will be constituted as full acceptance of the terms.

Print on Demand

Here are the specific terms relating to our print on demand service.

  • On completion of typesetting, you will be sent a PDF proof of the book and cover to approve. It is ESSENTIAL that you take this opportunity to check it for mistakes before we progress to the printed proof stage.
  • You will be sent ONE printed proof of the final book to approve prior to making the book available for printing and ordering. Further proofs and file submission fees (unless errors are clearly the fault of Oxford eBooks) will be chargeable at the prevailing rate.
  • Although we take every care to check for mistakes, it is the responsibility of the customer to check the print and / or eProof for errors before books are printed or released for distribution.
  • We can order your books to be printed for you. An administration charge of 15% of the cost of printing and shipping is applied for orders of printed stock which must be paid for in advance.
  • You agree that print and shipping costs for your book are controlled by the print firm and any changes to their charges will affect your earnings and printed stock prices.
  • If we manage the distribution of your POD book, then we will calculate your earnings based on receipts from the print firm. Amazon and other book stores will order directly from them at the agreed trade discount rate.
  • Payment of earnings are subject to a minimum payout of £50. Earnings will be rolled over to the next period if they do not meet the threshold.
  • You understand that your returns from the printing of your book are the remainder after manufacturing cost and the deduction of the trade discount to the distributors based on the recommended retail price which you agree to set.
  • You understand that in exceptional circumstances that the sale of your book may result in a LOSS. Any losses may be deducted from your subsequent earnings statement should we manage your distribution or claimed by issue of an invoice.
  • We use a third party printing firm to manufacture and dispatch books for retail and customer stock orders. We cannot be responsible for any errors, losses or omissions of any kind caused by printing errors once the print proof has been approved by you. In the case of printing errors (eg, misprints, errors or losses in delivery) we can communicate the problem to the printers and attempt to rectify the fault. We cannot offer any refunds or other compensation where such third parties are at fault.

US Tax withholding exemption applications

Some organisations based in or that trade in the US are bound by US tax laws to withhold up to 30% tax on your earnings for non US residents. Where we set up publishing and distribution accounts for you (Amazon, Print on Demand etc) you may claim tax withholding exemption if you qualify (generally, if you are a UK resident). We will assist with this during the account setup but it is important that your details are correct.

  • You grant full permission for us to submit US tax information relating to exemption of US tax withholding should you wish to claim exemption and also that you are FULLY qualified to receive it. Please let us know IN ADVANCE if you do not wish to claim tax exemption or if you do not qualify. You can find out more about this at the IRS website:
    http://www.irs.gov/uac/Form-W-8BEN,-Certificate-of-Foreign-Status-of-Beneficial-Owner-for-United-States-Tax-Withholding
  • You understand the consequences of providing false account or tax information, which could result in the offence of perjury or false tax claims and indemnify Oxford eBooks against all claims and consequences relating to the account setup and your tax withholding exemption claims.