Short-Story.me! Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction...

Short-Story.me! Author Contract

AGREEMENT made this ______day of __________, 20_____ between __________________________________, whose residence address is _______________________________________________________________________, (hereinafter called the Author); and Short-Story.me! (hereinafter called the Publisher), whose principal place of business is at www.Short-Story.Me

WITNESSETH: In consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties agree as follows:

1. GRANT OF ELECTRONIC RIGHTS The Author grants to the Publisher for three (3) months from the date of publication the sole and exclusive right to publish and distribute an electronic edition of the manuscript entitled _______________________________________________ (hereafter called the Work) from its websites and by other electronic media and methods. Upon the expiration of this agreement three (3) months from the date of original publication, the Publisher shall have non-exclusive rights to publish and distribute an electronic edition of the Work from its websites and by other electronic means. An exception to these  rights is made in that Author may publish Author's story on Author's personal website. Publisher has the right to edit and change the Work as he sees fit. Any and all edited versions of the  Work, whether edited by Author or by Publisher will be considered the Work for the purposes of this Agreement.

2. GRANT OF PRINT RIGHTS The Author grants to the Publisher for one (1) year from the date of publication the sole and exclusive right to publish and distribute the Work in print form, whether stand-alone or combined with other materials. Upon the expiration of this agreement one (1) year from the date of original publication, the Publisher shall have non-exclusive rights to publish and distribute the Work in print form, whether stand-alone or combined with other materials. Publisher has the right to edit and change the Work as he sees fit. Any and all edited versions of the Work, whether edited by Author or by Publisher will be considered the Work for the purposes of this Agreement.

3. REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES The Author warrants and represents that this Work is original with him and has not heretofore been published in electronic form, print form or other form, or has been published and rights to the Work have reverted to the Author, that he is sole author and proprietor of said Work with full power and right to enter into this agreement and to grant the rights hereby conveyed to the Publisher; that said Work contains no matter which is libelous and infringes no right of privacy or copyright; that he has not heretofore and will not hereafter during the term of this agreement enter into any agreement or understanding which would conflict with the rights herein granted the Publisher. If the Author shall breach this warranty, the Publisher shall be entitled to injunctive relief in addition to all other remedies which may be available to it. The Author further agrees that he will hold the publisher, its distributors, and any retailer harmless against any recovery or penalty finally sustained arising out of his breach of this warranty, and in this event he will reimburse the Publisher for all court costs and legal fees incurred. Any out of court settlement of any suit filed jointly against the Author and the Publisher shall be made only by mutual agreement in writing between same.

4. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY - IN NO EVENT WILL THE PUBLISHER OR ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, AND THE ASSIGNS OF SAME BE LIABLE TO THE AUTHOR, OR ANY OTHER THIRD PARTY, FOR

- ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL, DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS OR GOODWILL, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF PROGRAMS OR INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE SHORT-STORY.ME!, THE MATERIALS OR ANY INFORMATION, OR TRANSACTIONS PROVIDED OR OFFERED ON SHORT-STORY.ME! OR DOWNLOADED FROM THE SHORT-STORY.ME! SITE, WHETHER SUCH LIABILITY IS ASSERTED ON THE BASIS OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF PUBLISHER OR ITS AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, OR

- ANY CLAIM ATTRIBUTABLE TO ERRORS, OMISSIONS, OR OTHER INACCURACIES IN OR BY PUBLISHER, THE MATERIALS, STORIES OR INFORMATION DOWNLOADED, PROVIDED, OR OFFERED THROUGH SHORT-STORY.ME!, OR

- UNAUTHORIZED USE OF THE WORK BY ANY PARTY IN ANY WAY.

IN THE EVENT A LEGAL AUTHORITY DOES DEEM SHORT-STORY.ME! RESPONSIBLE IN ANY WAY, IN NO EVENT SHALL PUBLISHER’S MAXIMUM TOTAL AGGREGRATE LIABILITY FOR DIRECT DAMAGES EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU FOR THE SERVICES OF PUBLISHER.

PUBLISHER OR ITS MEMBERS, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AFFILIATES, AND THE ASSIGNS OF SAME, ARE IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR THIRD-PARTY SERVICES OFFERED ON OR USED BY PUBLISHER OR ACTIONS TAKEN BY THIRD PARTIES. THE RESPECTIVE THIRD PARTY, FOR EXAMPLE, PAYPAL, IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS OWN SERVICES. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT ANY OF ITS SERVICES IN ANY WAY OR FORM.

5. FORCE MAJEURE Publisher is not and shall not be responsible or liable for any failure to perform due to unforeseen circumstances or to causes beyond Publisher's reasonable control, including but not limited to:
- acts of God, such as fire, flood, earthquakes, hurricanes, tropical storms or other natural disasters;
- war, riot, arson, embargoes, acts of civil or military authority, or terrorism;
- site functionality;
- strikes, or shortages in transportation, facilities, fuel, energy, labor or materials;
- failure of the telecommunications or information services infrastructure; and
- hacking, SPAM, or any failure of a computer, server or software.

6. NO AGENCY RELATIONSHIP Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to constitute, create, imply, give effect to, or otherwise recognize a partnership, employment, joint venture or formal business entity of any kind between the customer and the owners of Publisher. The rights and obligations of the parties shall be limited to those expressly set forth herein.

7. NOTICE Any notice required to be given under this Agreement may be provided by e-mail to a functioning e-mail address of the party to be noticed, by a general posting on the Short-Story.me! site, or personal delivery by commercial carrier such as FedEx or USPS. Notices by you to us shall be given by e-mail or other electronic messages unless otherwise specified in this Agreement. Any correctly addressed notice to you that is refused, unclaimed, or undeliverable, because of an act or omission of you shall be deemed effective as of the first date that said notice was refused or deemed undeliverable by the postal authorities, messenger, fax machine, e-mail server, or overnight delivery service.

8. NO ASSIGNMENT Neither this Agreement nor any rights or membership granted to you hereunder may be sold, leased, assigned or otherwise transferred, in whole or in part by you, except as required by estate law.

9. SEVERABILITY If any provision of this Agreement shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, or any portion thereof, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and enforceable to the maximum extent permissible and the remainder of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect.

10. NO WAIVER Failure by either party to enforce any provision of this Agreement will not be deemed a waiver of future enforcement of that or any other provision. No waiver of one breach shall constitute a waiver of subsequent breaches of the same or of a different nature.

11. GOVERNING LAW Regardless of your place of residence, you agree that for purposes of venue, this agreement was entered into in Linn County, Iowa. Any dispute will be litigated or arbitrated in Linn County, Iowa, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Iowa State Courts.

12. HEADINGS Section and subsection headings of this Agreement are inserted for convenience only and shall not be deemed to constitute a part hereof nor to affect the meaning thereof.

13. ENTIRE AGREEMENT This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Publisher and the Author with respect to your access and use of this Site and the content contained therein, and your membership with this Site, and supersedes and replaces all prior or contemporaneous understandings or agreements, written or oral, regarding such subject matter. No amendment to or modification to this Agreement shall be binding unless in writing and signed by both parties.