Reader Agreement

1. How the programme works

I run two kinds of reader groups. ARC readers (advance review copy) receive a finished or near-finished book before its public release. Beta readers read a text that is still being polished and tell me, privately, what works and what does not.

Places are limited. I choose readers for each round personally, and I may decline or remove any application without giving a reason. Signing up does not guarantee a place, and being accepted for one round does not guarantee a place in the next.

2. Who can join

• You must be at least 18 years old and have a valid email address.
• ARC readers must have a public profile where they post book reviews or book content (Goodreads, Amazon, a blog, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or similar), and give me the link when they sign up. This helps me to know that ARC copies reach people who actually talk about books.
• Beta readers must tell me roughly when they can read and give feedback, and then do their best to keep to it.

3. What you receive

If I accept you, I will email you a digital copy of the book (in the format you chose, where available) for your personal reading. The copy is free. I do not pay for reviews or feedback, and receiving a free copy creates no other obligation on either side beyond what is written here.

4. What you can do

• Read the book before its public release.
• As a beta reader, send me your feedback privately, by email or in the way I ask.
• Write a review if you wish (see section 5).
• Tell friends and followers that the book exists, that you are reading it, and what you think of it in general terms.

5. Reviews are never required, but they are appreciated

If you do write one:

• Be honest. It does not have to be positive. I am asking for your real opinion, not praise.
• Say that you received a free advance copy. Many platforms and the law in several countries require it.
• Please wait until the book is publicly on sale before posting, unless I tell you otherwise. I will confirm the date.
• Avoid spoilers, especially the ending.

Beta feedback is private and is not a public review. Please do not post it.

6. What you cannot do

• Share the file. Do not send, forward, upload, post, lend or sell the book file or any part of it, to anyone, by any means (including cloud links, messaging apps, piracy sites and file-sharing groups).
• Remove or bypass protection. Do not strip watermarks or other protections, and do not convert the file in order to distribute it.
• Publish the text. Do not post long excerpts, screenshots or photographs of pages. A short quotation of a line or two in a review is fine.
• Use it with AI tools. Do not upload the text, or any part of it, to AI tools, chatbots or services that might store it or train on it.
• Discuss unfinished text in public. If you are a beta reader, do not publicly describe plot details or quote the text before the book is released.
• Take credit or payment. Do not present yourself as an author, editor or collaborator of the book, and do not ask anyone for payment for access to it.

7. Ownership

The book and its text remain the property of Kyle Alexandre Struan and, where applicable, Noble House Press. Your copy is a licence to read it for yourself, nothing more. You keep ownership of your own reviews and comments.

If your feedback leads me to change the book, I may use your suggestions freely and without credit or payment, but I am under no obligation to follow them.

8. Your data

I use your name, email and the information you give me only to run this programme, to contact you about it and to keep a record of your acceptance of these rules. I do not sell it and do not add you to my newsletter unless you ask. See the Privacy Policy. You can ask me at any time to see, correct or delete your data.

9. Leaving, or being removed

You may leave at any time by telling me, and I will remove you from my reader list. If you break the rules in section 6, I may remove you immediately, stop sending you books and ask you to delete any copies you hold. Because a leaked file can seriously harm an independent book, I may also take further steps allowed by law if files are shared.

10. Accepting this agreement

When you sign up on the Readers page, you tick a box to say you have read and accept this agreement, and you type your full name. That counts as your electronic signature. The date, time, the version of the agreement and a reference number are recorded, and a confirmation is emailed to you.

I may update this agreement for future rounds. The version you accepted is the one that applies to the copies you receive.

Questions? Use the contact form.

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