Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to Pendrilo. By creating an account or using the Pendrilo service (the “Service”), you agree to these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Pendrilo is a writing studio for indie authors, including a manuscript editor, formatting and export tools, story codex, beta-reader sharing, release tracking, and related features. Available features may depend on your access status.

We may add, change, or remove features, subject to applicable law and any commitments made when you purchased access.

2. Your Account

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for activity conducted through your account. Notify us promptly of suspected unauthorized access.

You must provide accurate account information and maintain an email address where you can receive account, billing, and service notices.

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are below the age of legal majority where you live, you must have permission from a parent or legal guardian. Purchases must be authorized by someone legally able to enter into the payment agreement.

3. Your Content

You retain ownership of every manuscript, chapter, note, cover design, and other work you create or upload to Pendrilo (“Your Content”). We claim no ownership of Your Content.

You grant Pendrilo a limited, non-exclusive license to store, process, and display Your Content solely to operate and provide the Service, including sharing features you choose to use.

This license ends when Your Content is deleted from our systems, except to the extent needed for limited backup retention, security, or legal obligations described in our Privacy Policy.

We do not use Your Content to train artificial-intelligence models, and we do not sell Your Content, as further described in our Privacy Policy.

You are responsible for Your Content and for having the rights necessary to upload, process, and share it.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Upload or share unlawful or infringing content.
• Violate another person’s intellectual-property, privacy, or other rights.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, another account, or our systems.
• Distribute malware, interfere with the Service, or conduct abusive automated access.
• Create multiple accounts or manipulate usage records to evade trial restrictions or payment requirements.
• Resell or sublicense access to the Service without our written permission.

These restrictions do not prevent authors from writing lawful fiction involving mature or difficult subjects.

We may suspend or terminate accounts for violations, subject to Section 10.

5. Trials, Subscriptions, Payments, and Refunds

No ongoing free writing plan. Pendrilo no longer offers a permanent free writing membership. New accounts may evaluate the Service through the trial described below. Read-only access after a trial or paid period ends is not an ongoing free writing plan.

New-account trial. The trial includes one book and ends when either seven days have elapsed or the account has used its cumulative allowance of 3,000 manuscript words, whichever occurs first. The trial starts when you first open the editor or import manuscript text.

Words added through typing, pasting, or importing count toward trial usage. Deleting words, chapters, or a book does not restore the allowance. Some features may require paid access.

No payment card is required for the trial. The trial does not automatically become a paid subscription, and you will not be charged unless you explicitly complete a purchase.

Existing-account transition. Eligible existing free accounts receive a 30-day transition period beginning when the new pricing model is activated. For the September 2026 transition, access ends on October 7, 2026, at 21:56:09 UTC, approximately 4:56 p.m. Central Time.

The transition begins on activation, even if you do not sign in. The new trial’s 3,000-word allowance does not apply during this period. Your deadline appears in your account.

When the transition ends, continued writing requires an active paid plan or another valid access grant. Existing lifetime and complimentary access are not removed solely because the free plan is discontinued.

Monthly and yearly subscriptions. Available plans and prices are shown on our Pricing page and at checkout. A monthly subscription is billed monthly. A yearly subscription is billed for the full year in advance; any monthly equivalent shown is for comparison and does not mean monthly installments.

Subscriptions renew automatically at the billing frequency and price disclosed at checkout until canceled. By completing subscription checkout, you authorize the initial payment and subsequent recurring payments under those disclosed terms.

The initial paid period begins when your purchase is completed, including if you purchase before your trial or transition ends.

Cancellation. You can stop future renewals through Settings → Manage billing or cancel subscription. Cancel before your next renewal to avoid the next scheduled charge. If you cannot access the billing portal, contact us through our contact form.

Cancellation normally takes effect at the end of the current paid period. You retain access through that period unless the payment is refunded or access is suspended under these Terms. Cancellation alone does not refund an earlier payment.

Payment failures. If a renewal payment fails, our payment processor may retry it. Access does not extend beyond the period covered by successful payment. Updating a payment method does not itself cancel a subscription.

Lifetime access. We may offer lifetime access as a one-time purchase when it is listed for sale. Removing that option from sale does not affect valid lifetime access already purchased.

Existing lifetime purchases retain the features, updates, and other benefits promised under the terms applicable to that purchase. “Lifetime” refers to the period for which we operate the Service, rather than the purchaser’s lifetime. A lifetime purchase does not create recurring subscription charges.

Payment processing. Payments are processed by Stripe. Prices are stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. Applicable taxes and the total payable will be disclosed at checkout.

30-day money-back guarantee. Your first paid subscription payment is covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. Contact us through our contact form within 30 days of that payment to request a full refund.

Subscription renewals are not covered by this guarantee. Restarting or changing a subscription does not create a new first-payment guarantee. Existing lifetime purchases retain the refund guarantee applicable when they were purchased.

Outside the guarantee, payments are generally non-refundable, and we do not ordinarily provide prorated refunds for unused time, except where required by law or expressly agreed by us.

Refunds are issued to the original payment method. A full refund ends the access provided by that payment; an account without another valid access entitlement becomes read-only.

Refunding a subscription payment does not by itself cancel future renewals. Cancel through the billing portal or ask support to cancel the subscription when requesting your refund.

Price changes. Changes to advertised prices apply to new purchases and do not automatically change an existing subscription’s rate. We will provide advance notice of any proposed change to your ongoing subscription price and obtain any consent required by law. You may cancel before the change takes effect.

Nothing in this section limits refund, withdrawal, or other consumer rights that cannot legally be excluded.

6. Beta-Reader Sharing

You can create read-only share links for beta readers. You are responsible for the content you share and for distributing those links appropriately. People who receive a link may forward it.

We are not a party to the relationship between you and your readers.

7. Service Availability

We work to keep Pendrilo available but cannot guarantee uninterrupted operation.

To the extent permitted by law, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied.

Maintenance, updates, and unplanned outages may interrupt access. We will give reasonable notice of planned maintenance when practicable.

Nothing in these Terms excludes warranties or rights that applicable law does not allow us to exclude.

8. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Pendrilo and its operators will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, or lost profits, revenue, data, or goodwill arising from your use of the Service.

Our total liability for claims related to the Service is limited to the amount you paid us in the twelve months preceding the claim, or one hundred U.S. dollars ($100), whichever is greater.

These limitations do not apply to liability that cannot legally be limited or excluded.

9. Backups, Read-Only Access, and Downloads

We provide manuscript snapshots and backup tools as a convenience. You remain responsible for maintaining independent copies of important work.

When a trial, transition period, or paid entitlement ends, your account ordinarily becomes read-only. The end of access does not, by itself, delete your saved writing.

While your account remains available, read-only access includes viewing saved writing and downloading Word, HTML, plain-text, and portable JSON manuscript backups. Continuing to write and creating publishing exports, including EPUB and print PDF, require an access entitlement that includes those features.

If you cannot download Your Content, contact us for assistance while your account and content remain available.

Download your work before requesting deletion or account closure. We cannot guarantee recovery or provide copies of content that has already been permanently deleted. Read-only access is subject to the continued operation of the Service and Section 10.

10. Account Closure, Suspension, and Termination

You may request account closure through our contact form. If you have a subscription, cancel it through the billing portal or ask support to arrange cancellation as part of your closure request.

Canceling a subscription and deleting an account are separate actions. Subscription cancellation normally preserves your account and saved writing.

We may suspend or terminate access for material breach of these Terms, unlawful activity, or conduct that threatens other users or the Service. Where practicable and appropriate, we will provide notice and an opportunity to address the issue or download Your Content. Immediate restrictions may be necessary for security or legal reasons.

Account deletion may permanently remove Your Content from active systems. Limited backup copies and records may remain for the periods and purposes described in our Privacy Policy. Do not rely on backups as a way to restore a deleted account.

Termination for material breach does not create an additional refund entitlement beyond Section 5 or applicable law.

11. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will communicate material changes through the Service, email, or another reasonable method before they take effect, where required by law.

We will obtain additional consent when required. Updated Terms do not, by themselves, authorize new charges or enroll you in a subscription.

Changes will not retroactively remove rights already earned under an existing purchase or rights protected by applicable law.

12. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Oklahoma, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

Disputes will be resolved in the courts located there, except where applicable law gives you the right to bring a claim elsewhere or provides other mandatory protections.

13. Contact

Questions about these Terms, billing, refunds, or Your Content? Contact us through our contact form.