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Terms of Use


Official Terms of The Pen Factor 2023  

Key points:

-  The Pen Factor is open to residents of any country and of any age. The Pen Factor is open to absolutely anyone who enjoys writing, from raw beginners to established authors who wish to test their work anonymously.
-  Whilst you can submit work that you've used elsewhere such as on your own website or blog, you cannot submit work that is already contracted to an agent/publishing house.  
- The Pen Factor does not own any rights to your work. 
- The Pen Factor owns the rights to all reviews created through this website. 


Detailed terms:

ELIGIBILITY
1. Open to residents of the world unless prohibited by law.  
2.  Writers can submit as many entries (short stories or chapters of up to 1,500 words each) as desired, provided that the writer completes three reviews for each story submitted. If the three reviews are not completed, the writer has breached The Pen Factor Terms of Use and will be unable to continue using the website.
3. The Pen Factor shall have the right to terminate any account that has violated the Terms of Use or the culture of The Pen Factor. 
4. The Pen Factor is a free service, but reserves the right to offer Premium features in the future. Payments for Premium features come with an indefinite expiration date, and thus the understanding that The Pen Factor reseves the right to terminate, modify or suspend the website. 


ENTRY
1. To enter The Pen Factor, write a complete original first chapter or short story
 set in any of the available genres. Stories can be no longer than 1,500 typed words. Applicants may submit multiple times if they wish, but are not able to review their own work. Entrants may not use content based on other literary works or third-party intellectual property (i.e., no “mash-ups” or fan fiction).  
2. You may submit using a pseudonym; however, if your writing is selected by The Pen Factor to be sent to a literary agent, you will need to provide your real name. Published authors are welcome to submit their work and get feedback but are not eligible to be forwarded to our partner literary and publishing agents.
3. Submissions are void if they are in whole or in part illegible (unreadable) or incomplete. The Pen Factor will not assume responsibility for late, lost, incomplete, illegible, or misdirected submissions.
4. Submissions will not be returned. By submitting to The Pen Factor, writers acknowledge that they have read and understood these Terms and agree to abide by them and all of the decisions of The Pen Factor and associates, which shall be final and binding in all matters relating to "spotlighting" Writers and Reviewers, public promotion on The Pen Factor website and associated social media, blogs and other websites and in the facilitation of industry access.
5. By entering, entrants represent and warrant that their entries are their own and original creations, and do not violate or infringe the rights, including, without limitation, copyrights, trademark rights or rights of publicity/privacy of any third party.
6. The Pen Factor, subsidiary or affiliated companies are not responsible for technical, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, or failed, incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate, garbled or delayed electronic communications caused by the sender, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized by us which may limit the ability to participate, or by any human error which may occur in the processing of
 submissions. If for any reason the The Pen Factor platform is not capable of being operated as described in these Terms, The Pen Factor shall have the right to reject any submission or to terminate, modify or suspend the website.
7. In the event of a dispute over the identity of an online entrant, entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized holder of the email account.
8. All works must be without a third party contract to be published at the time of entry and cannot be subject to copyright. Posting your work on a website or in a writing community does not equate to its being published. 
9. You may not submit stories written by more than one author. 
10. All chapters and stories must be in English, although if you precede your work with a quote, that may be in another language.
11. No changes to your submission of any kind (including but not limited to spelling and grammatical corrections) will be accepted after receipt. Please check your work carefully before you submit.
12. The Pen Factor strongly recommends writers to review the work of others as soon as they have submitted their piece. If the 3 reviews have not been completed within 48 hours, entrants will forfeit their submission and will not receive feedback on their work. 
13. Writers should respect the integrity and culture of the website, as well as the fairness of the Top 25% ranking process. Any applicants in breach of these principles will be disqualified. 

GENERAL
1. All expenses, including taxes (if any), related to any promotion and/or industry access provided by The Pen Factor to any writer are the sole responsibility of that entrant.
2. No cash substitution, transfer or assignment of publicity and/or industry access is allowed.
3. Each submission will automatically grant to The Pen Factor the right to display that work in connection with The Pen Factor. The Pen Factor is not obligated to use or display any submission. 
4. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. By submitting work to The Pen Factor and/or accepting publicity and/or access to literary agents, entrants release The Pen Factor, subsidiary and affiliated companies, the agencies of any of them and the authors and/or editors of any books promoted hereby from any and all liability (including legal fees and expenses) of whatever nature or kind arising out of or relating to participation in this website. By submitting, you hereby forever waive, and release The Pen Factor from any claim, including any claim for injunctive relief, that you may have at any time in the future related to your submission and/or The Pen Factor use of your work. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL THE RELEASED PARTIES BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, ATTORNEYS’ FEES, OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES.
5. Any dispute arising from the use of The Pen Factor platform will be determined according to the laws of Australia, without reference to its conflict of law principles, and by entering the entrants' consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Melbourne and agree that such courts have exclusive jurisdiction over all such disputes.
6. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between these Terms and disclosures or other statements contained in any related materials, these Rules shall govern.
7. Any personal information collected from entrants will be used by The Pen Factor for the purpose of administering this website, and for any other purpose for which consent is expressly given at the time of submitting.
 
PRIVACY POLICY
1. We may ask for your address and phone number as backup to your email address in case of questions and/or to notify you if you have been succesful. We will not use your information for any other purpose, and of course, we never give out your personal information to anyone without your consent.
2. If you change your email address or address after submitting your story, please let us know.