Terms & Conditions

Draft terms pending legal review. This page sets out general terms in plain language and has not been reviewed by a qualified lawyer. It should not be relied upon as a binding contract until reviewed, and it does not replace the individual service agreement issued for each project, which governs the specific work, fees, timelines, ownership and liability terms for that engagement.

1. About these terms

These terms apply to your use of the Harbour Bridge Press website at https://www.harbourbridgepress.com and to enquiries submitted through it. Where you engage us to provide publishing services, that engagement is additionally governed by a written service agreement or quote acceptance, which takes precedence over anything in these general terms to the extent of any inconsistency.

2. Our services

Harbour Bridge Press provides publishing-related services to authors, which may include editing, proofreading, ghostwriting, cover design, formatting, printing coordination, audiobook production, marketing support and author website design, as agreed on a project-by-project basis. We are a services provider, not a traditional publisher: we do not acquire rights in your work by providing services on it.

3. Quotes and payment

Quotes are provided following review of your manuscript or project details and are specific to the scope described. Quotes are valid for the period stated in the quote document. Payment terms, including any staged or deposit payments, are set out in your individual service agreement.

4. Ownership and rights

You retain copyright in your manuscript and any resulting work at all times. We do not acquire, and do not claim, any ownership interest in your manuscript, your published book, or your royalties by providing services to you. On completion of a paid engagement, we provide the relevant production files (such as print-ready PDFs, cover artwork and ebook files) belonging to that stage of work.

Where we create original creative or design work for you (such as a commissioned cover design) as part of a paid engagement, ownership of that finished work transfers to you on full payment, except for any third-party licensed elements (such as licensed stock imagery), which remain subject to their original licence terms as documented to you.

5. Ghostwriting and confidential engagements

Where we provide ghostwriting or similar confidential writing services, copyright in the resulting manuscript is assigned to you as the commissioning author on the terms set out in your individual agreement, and the writer engaged is bound by confidentiality regarding your identity and project.

6. Cancellation

You may cancel an engagement at any stage. Work already completed and invoiced up to the point of cancellation remains payable, and you retain anything already delivered to you. Specific cancellation terms are set out in your service agreement.

7. No guaranteed outcomes

We do not guarantee sales figures, bestseller status, specific rankings, reviews, media coverage, retail placement, or any other commercial outcome for your book. We will not make such guarantees in any quote, proposal or communication, and any statement suggesting otherwise should be brought to our attention.

8. Liability

To the extent permitted by law, our liability for services provided is limited to the resupply of the relevant service or the amount paid for that service. Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any consumer guarantee, right or remedy conferred on you by the Australian Consumer Law that cannot lawfully be excluded.

9. Website use

Content on this website is provided for general information about our services. Independent book examples shown on our website are shown for illustrative purposes only, are not Harbour Bridge Press publications, and no publishing relationship with those authors should be inferred; see the disclosure on our books page for detail.

10. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these general terms from time to time; the date at the top of this page shows when it was last revised. Changes do not affect the terms of an engagement already agreed in writing.

12. Contact us

Questions about these terms can be sent to info@harbourbridgepress.com or +61 2 8531 1369.