Return & Refund Policy

1. Orders Are Final Once Placed

Your book enters production the moment your payment completes. Generation of the manuscript begins immediately, followed by quality control and transmission to our printing partner for manufacture. This process is automated and cannot be interrupted once it has started.

As a result:

• Orders cannot be canceled after payment is completed
• Orders cannot be changed or modified after payment is completed. This includes the recipient's name, the story, the cover, the dedication, the edition, the quantity, and the shipping address
• We cannot pause an order while you reconsider
• The same applies to reorders of a book you previously purchased

Please review your details carefully before paying. Once payment completes, the book is on its way to being made.

2. Your Preview Is Your Checkpoint

Before you pay, we show you your selected cover, your chapter titles and summaries, and your back cover. Creating a book is free, and you only pay when you are ready. This preview is your opportunity to check that the book is what you want.

By completing payment you confirm that the information you provided is accurate and that you accept the book as previewed. We do not issue refunds for dissatisfaction with content that was accurately represented in your preview.

3. Digital Editions and Audio Add-Ons

Generation of your book begins immediately upon payment and consumes computing resources that cannot be recovered. Digital editions are therefore non-refundable from the moment payment is completed, whether or not the file has been generated, delivered, or downloaded.

We will provide a replacement file or a full refund if:

• Technical issues on our side prevent you from accessing or downloading your book
• The delivered file is corrupted, incomplete, or otherwise unusable
• The delivered content does not match what was shown in your preview

Audiobook and podcast add-ons. Audio add-ons are digital products and are treated the same way: production is queued the moment payment completes and starts automatically once your book text is ready, so they are non-refundable from the moment payment is completed, whether or not the audio has been produced, delivered, or downloaded.

There are three exceptions. If we have not delivered an add-on within thirty (30) days of your payment, you may cancel it and we will refund what you paid for it in full. We will also cancel an add-on and refund it if we are unable to produce it to the standard we consider acceptable, judged reasonably and in good faith, or if a provider we depend on becomes unavailable. And if the audio we deliver is corrupted or will not play, we will replace the file or, if we cannot, refund what you paid for that add-on. Those replacements and refunds are your sole and exclusive remedy in respect of the add-on, and the rest of your order stands.

We host your audio so you can stream or download it, and we ask you to download and keep your own copies. Once you have been able to download your files, later loss of access to the hosted versions is not a ground for a refund. Section 12 of our Terms of Service sets out the full terms for audio add-ons.

4. Physical Books

All physical books are custom-made and printed on demand. Because of this:

• We do not accept returns for books that were manufactured correctly and match what was shown in your preview
• We do not offer refunds for change of mind
• Replacement or refund is available for manufacturing defects and shipping damage, as set out below

5. Damaged or Defective Books

We stand behind the manufacturing quality of every book we produce. If your book arrives damaged or defective, or does not match what was shown in your preview, contact us within 14 days of delivery and we will arrange a replacement or a refund.

How to make a claim:

1. Contact us within 14 days of delivery at support@betheauthor.com or through our Contact Us page, with your order number and a description of the issue.
2. Send photographs of the damage or defect. We need these to verify the claim and to raise it with our printing partner, so we cannot process a claim without them.
3. Assessment. We will review your claim within 2 business days and respond with next steps. In some cases we may ask you to return the item to us. Where we do, we will cover the cost of return shipping.
4. Resolution. Once approved, we will send a free replacement copy or issue a refund.

What counts as damaged or defective:

• Missing, blank, or out-of-order pages
• Printing errors such as smudging, misalignment, or poor image reproduction
• Binding issues such as pages detaching or spine damage
• Cover damage or defects
• Damage sustained in transit, such as tearing, bending, or water damage

6. Lost Packages

If your package appears to be lost in transit:

• Contact us if your package has not arrived within the estimated delivery window shown at checkout, plus 5 business days
• We will work with our shipping partner to trace it
• If it cannot be found, we will send a replacement at no additional cost or issue a full refund

This does not apply where a carrier has confirmed delivery to the address you provided.

7. What We Cannot Refund

We are unable to offer refunds or replacements in the following situations:

• Change of mind after payment has completed
• Errors caused by inaccurate, incomplete, or misspelled information you provided, including names and shipping addresses
• Dissatisfaction with AI-generated content that was accurately represented in your preview
• Dissatisfaction with how an audiobook or podcast episode sounds, including narration style, pace, voice, or pronunciation, where the audio was produced as described in our Terms of Service
• Damage caused after delivery
• Packages confirmed as delivered to the address you provided
• A book not arriving in time for a specific occasion, where it was dispatched within our estimated window

8. Refund Process

When a refund is approved:

• Refunds are issued through Stripe to your original payment method
• Refunds typically appear in your account within 5-10 business days
• You will receive an email confirmation once the refund has been processed
• Where an order is refunded in full, any shipping charge paid is refunded with it

9. Chargebacks

If there is a problem with your order, please contact us first. Raising a chargeback with your bank or card issuer without contacting us prevents us from putting the problem right, and may result in suspension of your account.

Where a chargeback is raised in relation to an order that was produced and delivered in accordance with our Terms, we will contest it and will provide our payment processor with your order record, your preview approval, and confirmation of delivery.

10. Orders We Cancel

We may cancel an order where the content breaches our Terms of Service, where a required permission has not been obtained, where an order appears fraudulent, or where a pricing error has occurred. Where we cancel an order before it has been printed, we will refund you in full.

11. Reorders

You can order additional copies of a book you previously created:

• Log in to your account and open your order history
• Select the book you want to reorder
• Additional copies are $20 each (Paperback) or $30 each (Hardcover)
• Audio add-ons cannot be bought on a reorder, and cannot be added to an order after payment

Reorders are subject to this policy in full, including the rule that orders are final once placed.

12. Contact Us

If you have any questions about your order or this policy, please get in touch:

• Email: support@betheauthor.com
• Contact Form: Contact Us Page

We want you to be happy with your book. If something has gone wrong, tell us and we will work with you to put it right.