The deal in one sentence: you pay in three parts, you approve the design before anything gets built, and you own the result.
These are the standard terms, published so you can read them before you talk to me rather than after. They are not a substitute for the project agreement you'll sign, and they haven't been reviewed by an attorney. Where a signed agreement and this page disagree, the signed agreement wins.
1. Who you're contracting with
Spine & Site is a trade name of Optimize Income LLC, a New York company. "We" and "I" both mean the same one person.
2. What a project includes
A custom-designed, custom-built website, priced by the size of your catalog rather than by page count. Every build includes the full feature set described on the main site, a recorded walkthrough of your finished site, and a live launch session.
Anything not discussed before the project starts is a change order, quoted separately. This is not a trap: it's how you avoid paying in advance for things you don't want.
3. Schedule
- A designed homepage concept within 7 business days of your intake form and deposit.
- Two rounds of revisions on that concept, included.
- Five weeks from concept approval to launch-ready.
- 30 days of refinement after launch.
That schedule assumes you reply within about three business days and deliver your content on time. If you go quiet, the clock pauses rather than the deadline slipping silently. I'll always tell you when that happens.
4. If the concept isn't right
You approve a full homepage concept before build work begins. If two rounds of revisions don't get it there, you can end the project at that point and your deposit is refunded in full. Nothing further is owed by either of us, and you keep nothing from the concept stage.
5. Payment
- 30% to reserve your slot and begin.
- 40% at design approval.
- 30% at launch.
Bank transfer, card, or installments through Affirm or Klarna. Invoices are due on receipt. Work pauses on balances more than 14 days overdue, and your site stays on a staging subdomain until the final payment clears.
Ongoing plans
Hosting and the dashboard are billed annually. Annual billing isn't a lock-in tactic; it's the only way the price works, since card fees would eat a monthly charge that small. Cancel any time and it runs to the end of the paid year. There's no cancellation fee and no exit fee, ever.
6. What you own
On final payment, you own your site's visual design, all content and images you provided, all copy written for you, and your domain, which is registered in your name from day one.
You can export your entire site at any time, for any reason, at no charge: a complete package of built files you can host anywhere. That guarantee doesn't expire and doesn't require a reason.
I retain rights to the underlying component library and tooling used across projects. That's the reusable machinery, not your design. It means the next author benefits from what I learned building yours, and it never limits what you can do with your site.
7. What you're responsible for
- Delivering your content: book details, bios, retailer links, images.
- Confirming you have the right to use everything you send, including cover art and photography.
- Keeping your dashboard credentials to yourself.
- What you publish after launch.
8. Third-party assets
Typefaces, stock photography, and commissioned illustration carry their own licenses. Anything included in your build is licensed for your use on your site. Commissioned illustrators are credited on your site and paid at their rate. If you want an asset for print, merchandise, or advertising, tell me and I'll price the wider license honestly rather than pretend it's covered.
9. Portfolio
I may show your finished site in a portfolio or case study, and I'd like to. Say no and the answer is no, permanently, with no effect on anything else. Pen name work is never shown alongside another identity without written permission, and a pen name you haven't made public is never shown at all.
10. AI
The published AI policy is part of these terms, not marketing copy. AI tooling assists with writing code. It is never used for artwork, design, or copy, your manuscripts never go near a model, and your readers' data is never training data. You can ask what tools touched your project and you'll get a straight answer.
11. Uptime, warranty, and limits
Sites are served from a global edge network and are static, which is why they stay up. I don't sell an uptime SLA and won't pretend to control the whole internet. If something I built breaks, I fix it at no charge for as long as you're on a plan.
Otherwise the work is provided as is. To the extent the law allows, total liability is limited to the amount you paid for the project, and neither of us is liable to the other for lost profits or other indirect losses. Nothing here limits liability that legally can't be limited.
12. Ending the relationship
Either of us can end a project in writing. You pay for work completed to that point; anything paid beyond that is refunded. You get the export package regardless of how the relationship ends. I will not hold a site hostage over a disagreement.
13. Law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New York. Before anyone involves lawyers, we talk.
14. Changes
Updated terms don't retroactively change a signed project agreement. If terms change while you're an active client, you'll get an email before the change applies to you.
Contact
Anything unclear here, ask before you sign, not after. Use the form on the main site.