The refund policy, written eligibility-first.

Three windows of eligibility

Window 1: before the voice sample (typically week 1–2)

From contract signing until you sign off on the voice sample, you may cancel for any reason. The refund is the deposit minus actual time-and-materials cost — typically under $500 for kick-off call, brief development, and the outline draft. We will email you an itemized breakdown of the deduction within 5 business days.

In about 1 in 9 ghostwriting projects, the voice sample is the right moment to part ways. We mean it when we say re-cast or refund is on the table. We have refunded 11 deposits this way in the last two years.

Window 2: after voice sample, before chapter 4 (weeks 3–8)

Pro-rata refund of the deposit and any subsequent payment. Pro-rata is calculated against the work delivered as a fraction of the contracted scope, with a 15% structural-overhead deduction (work that does not transfer to a different writer cleanly: outline, voice work, research scaffolding).

Example: on a $9,800 project where you have paid $6,400 by chapter three and the deliverables-to-date represent 30% of the contracted manuscript, refund is calculated as $6,400 − ($6,400 × 0.30) − ($9,800 × 0.15) = $3,010. The contract spells this out.

Window 3: after chapter 4 (weeks 9+)

Refund is limited to undelivered chapters. Delivered work is yours regardless of cancellation — you keep the chapters, the outline, the style guide, and the rights assignment.

Practically: if you cancel at chapter seven of a planned twelve, you owe payment for chapters one through seven and we waive any further milestones. You keep what you have, you don't pay for what you don't.

Timeline guarantee

If we miss the written timeline by more than two weeks for any reason that is our fault, you get 1% off the remaining balance for every additional week, capped at 15%. This clause sits on the front page of the contract, not in the back.

"Our fault" means writer or editor unavailability, scheduling overruns, design back-and-forth that exceeded the included revision rounds without your input, or anything else within our control. It does not mean delays caused by author-side review windows, scope expansions you requested, or changes of brief mid-project.

How to request a refund

Email refunds@inkandchapter.com from the email address on your contract. Include the project name and the reason. A senior editor (not a finance person) reviews the request within two business days and replies with the calculation and timing.

Approved refunds are processed within 10 business days via the original payment method. International wire refunds may take a few extra days due to the receiving bank.

Exclusions

We do not refund for the following situations. They are listed last on this page deliberately.

• Change of mind on a delivered, signed-off manuscript more than 30 days after final delivery.
• Failure of the published book to sell. We do not guarantee sales, anywhere on the site, and refunds are not tied to commercial performance.
• Refusal to participate in interviews, review cycles, or revision check-ins that delayed the work past the agreed timeline.
• Disputes about subjective aesthetic preferences after the brief and voice sample were approved in writing.
• Material breach of the contract by the client, including non-payment, unauthorized publication under a different author name without our knowledge, or breach of the mutual NDA.

Disputes

If we disagree on a refund calculation, the dispute is resolved by arbitration in San Francisco, California, under JAMS streamlined commercial rules. The contract specifies this. Either party may bring the dispute. Costs are split unless the arbitrator finds bad faith.

This page is the user-facing summary of the refund clause in the contract. In any conflict between this page and the executed contract, the contract governs. The contract is two pages long and uses the same plain language as this page.