Terms & Conditions

Last updated: 24 August 2026

Welcome to DripRead. These are the rules for using our platform — whether you’re here to read or to publish. We’ve tried to write them the way we’d explain them to a friend, not the way a law firm would. If anything is unclear, email me at anita@dripread.co.za and I’ll sort it out.

By creating an account or using DripRead, you’re agreeing to these terms. If you don’t agree, please don’t use the platform.

1. Who we are

DripRead is an online platform where independent fiction writers publish their books, and readers discover and read them. Readers get the first chapter of every book free. After that, they pay per chapter to keep reading, or buy the whole book at a discount if they want to binge.

DripRead is owned and operated by Anita Shapiro, trading as DripRead, based in South Africa. Anita Shapiro is a sole proprietor and is not currently VAT registered. We reserve the right to set and change the rules of the platform — including what content is allowed, how revenue is split, and how the site works — at our discretion, as explained below.

2. Accounts

You need an account to publish or to buy chapters. You can browse free previews without one.

You must be 18 or older to create an account. DripRead is not designed for or directed at children, and some content on the platform is intended for adults only (see Section 6).

You’re responsible for keeping your login details private and for anything that happens under your account. Tell us immediately if you think someone else has access to it.

You must give us accurate information when you sign up (a real name and working email, at a minimum). Fake or impersonated accounts will be removed.

3. For writers

3.1 You own your work

You keep full copyright and ownership of everything you publish on DripRead. We don’t take ownership of your writing, ever.

By uploading a book, you give DripRead a licence to host it, display it, and make it available for readers to purchase and read through the platform. This licence lasts for as long as your book stays on DripRead, and ends when you remove the book or close your account (except for chapters readers have already legitimately purchased — they keep access to what they’ve paid for).

3.2 You confirm it’s really yours

When you publish, you’re confirming that:

• The work is your own original writing, or you have full legal rights to publish it (for example, you’re not infringing someone else’s copyright, using someone else’s characters without permission, or publishing something written by AI and passed off as your own without disclosure).
• Publishing it on DripRead doesn’t breach any other agreement you’ve entered into (for example, an exclusive contract with another platform or publisher).
• You have the right to grant us the licence described above.

If any of this turns out to be untrue, you’re responsible for the consequences, and we can remove your work and your account.

3.3 Content standards

DripRead is a curated platform, not an open one. We set the content standards, and we’re the ones who decide whether something meets them — we call this being the “benevolent dictator” of the platform, and that’s by design, not an accident.

Broadly:

• Adult and erotic content is welcome, provided it involves only clearly adult, fictional characters and is legal to publish. We do not allow content that sexualises minors in any way, regardless of how it’s framed, disguised, or fictionalised — this is an absolute rule with no exceptions.
• We don’t allow content that promotes real-world violence, hatred against a group of people, or serious harm, or that is illegal to publish or distribute in South Africa.
• Beyond these lines, we curate for quality and fit with DripRead’s readership. We may decline to publish a submission, or remove a published book, at our discretion — we’ll explain why where we reasonably can.

Our full content and submission standards are set out separately in our writer guidelines, which form part of these terms.

3.4 Getting paid

• Readers pay per chapter after the free first chapter, or buy the whole book at a discounted bundle price.
• Founding cohort writers (our first 20 writers) keep 100% of their book revenue for their first six months on the platform, as agreed when you join the founding cohort. After that, or for writers who join later, the standard split is 51% to the writer and 49% to DripRead. Any change to this split will be set out clearly before you publish — we won’t change it retroactively on books you’ve already published without telling you first.
• We pay out earnings on a regular schedule (details provided in your writer dashboard once live). You’re responsible for declaring and paying any tax owed on your earnings — DripRead doesn’t do this for you.
• We use reader drop-off data (where readers stop reading) to help you understand how your book is performing. This data is yours to see and use to improve your writing and pricing choices.

3.5 Removing your work

You can remove your book from DripRead at any time. Chapters already purchased by readers remain accessible to them — we can’t claw back something someone’s already paid for. Where readers are actively partway through your book, we’ll give them notice and the chance to purchase the remaining chapters before the book comes down. When you leave the platform, we’ll provide you with the email addresses of readers who purchased your book, so you can stay in touch with your audience. Talk to us first if you’re planning to leave so we can figure out the details together.

4. For readers

4.1 How it works

• The first chapter of every book is free, no account required to preview (though you’ll need one to keep track of what you’re reading).
• After the first chapter, you pay per chapter to keep going, or buy the whole book upfront at a discount if you know you want it all.
• Prices are shown clearly before you buy. All prices are in ZAR. DripRead (Anita Shapiro, trading as DripRead) is not currently VAT registered, so no VAT is charged on purchases and receipts will not include a VAT number.

4.2 What you’re buying

When you pay for a chapter or a book, you’re buying a personal licence to read it — not the content itself. That means:

• You can read it for your own enjoyment, on the platform.
• You can’t copy, redistribute, screenshot-and-share in full, resell, or republish what you’ve purchased elsewhere. It’s someone’s original work, and piracy hurts the writers who make DripRead worth reading.

4.3 Payments and refunds

• Payments are processed securely through our payment provider. DripRead doesn’t store your full card details.
• Because you’re paying for digital content that’s delivered to you immediately (i.e., you can read it the second you pay), purchases are generally final and non-refundable once a chapter or book has been unlocked and made available to you — this is standard for instant-access digital content.
• If something’s genuinely gone wrong on our end (you were charged twice, a purchase didn’t unlock, etc.), email me at anita@dripread.co.za and I’ll sort it out.

5. Conduct on the platform

Whether you’re a writer or a reader, please don’t:

• Upload or share anything that isn’t yours to share.
• Harass, threaten, or abuse other users or DripRead staff.
• Try to hack, scrape, or interfere with the platform, or bypass the payment system.
• Use the platform for anything illegal.

We can suspend or close accounts that break these rules, at our discretion, with or without notice depending on the severity of the issue.

6. Age and content warnings

Some books on DripRead contain mature or explicit content, clearly intended for adult readers. Where a book contains this kind of content, we’ll label it so you know before you start reading. By using DripRead, you confirm you’re 18 or older and comfortable encountering adult content in a fiction context.

7. Our right to change things

DripRead is a small, actively growing platform, and we need room to improve it. We may:

• Update these terms as the platform evolves. If we make a material change, we’ll give you reasonable notice (for example, via email or a notice on the site) before it takes effect.
• Change features, pricing structures, or how the platform works, with reasonable notice where the change affects you directly (like revenue splits for writers).

Continuing to use DripRead after a change takes effect means you accept the updated terms.

8. Liability

We do our best to keep DripRead reliable, secure, and fun to use, but:

• We can’t guarantee the platform will be available 100% of the time, error-free, or uninterrupted.
• We’re not responsible for the content, opinions, or views expressed in books published by writers on the platform — those belong to the writers, not to us.
• To the extent permitted by South African law, DripRead isn’t liable for indirect or consequential losses arising from your use of the platform.

Nothing in these terms limits any rights you have under South African consumer protection law that can’t legally be excluded.

9. Privacy

We collect and use personal information (like your name, email, and reading/purchase history) to run the platform, process payments, and improve DripRead. Full details are in our separate Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms and is prepared in line with South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).

If you’re a reader, please note: if a writer whose book you’ve purchased leaves the platform, we’ll share your email address with that writer so they can stay in touch with their readers (see Section 3.5). By purchasing a book, you consent to your email being shared with that book’s writer under these circumstances.

10. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of South Africa. Any disputes will be handled in South African courts, unless we agree otherwise in writing.

11. Contact us

Questions about these terms, your account, or anything else? Email anita@dripread.co.za.