This Author Agreement governs participation as an author on Geschichtenkünstler.de, publication of original contributions, collaboration on branching stories, and remuneration for licensed rights of use. The author's contracting party is the operator identified in the legal notice of Geschichtenkünstler.de, referred to below as the “Operator”. The general terms of use, privacy notice, and content and youth-protection requirements also apply. For author activities, the more specific terms of this Author Agreement prevail in the event of a conflict.

1. Scope and formation of the agreement

This Agreement applies to natural persons, Education main accounts, and other approved organisations granted author permissions by the Operator. There is no entitlement to approval. The Agreement is formed when the user expressly accepts the current version and the Operator approves the author application. Drafts may be prepared before approval, but no contribution may be published or remunerated.

Authors act independently and generally decide whether, when, and for which approved story branch they create contributions. This Agreement does not create employment or an obligation to provide editing, moderation, support, or other services. Separate commissioned work requires a separate agreement.

2. Eligibility, accounts, and minors

• All account, author profile, billing, and tax information must be accurate, complete, and current.
• Login credentials and two-factor codes must be kept confidential. Actions performed through an account are attributed to the account holder to the extent they are responsible for them.
• Personal author accounts may not be transferred or shared. Education subaccounts are managed solely through their associated main account.
• Authors must be at least 18 years old. Minors may participate only through the designated Education process and with documented, valid consent from their legal representative. The main account retains the proof, version, and expiry date of that consent.

The Operator must be informed without delay if authority to represent, age of majority, or required consent changes. Publication and payout functions are suspended when required consent expires or is withdrawn until the matter is resolved.

3. Contributions and authorship

“Contributions” include stories, chapters, titles, summaries, character and world sheets, location data, maps, covers, chapter images, fan art, comments, translations, and other uploaded or entered content. Drafts remain non-public. Rights for public use are granted only when the author deliberately submits or releases a contribution for publication.

The author remains the copyright holder of their original creative contributions. The author warrants that they created each contribution or hold all rights and consents required for the contractual uses. This includes rights in text, images, maps, fonts, trademarks, names, personal attributes, and any AI output used. Sources, licences, and required permissions must be documented and produced on request.

Public-domain, licensed, or third-party content may be used only in compliance with its licence terms and with complete attribution where required. Content under a licence that prohibits commercial use, modification, or sublicensing may not be published where that licence is incompatible with platform use.

4. Collaboration on branching stories

A story may contain contributions by multiple authors. Each author remains responsible for their separable contribution. By publishing at an approved decision point, an author agrees that other authorised authors may create independent continuation chapters under the writing and world-sheet permissions selected by the story creator and may refer to already published plot, characters, locations, and world information.

A continuation does not alter the original chapter. Existing chapters, character sheets, or world objects may be changed only through the designated edit, suggestion, and approval processes. Branch-specific changes apply only from the designated chapter onward; approved additions may apply to the whole story where the technical rules provide this.

The story creator determines who may continue writing and supplement or alter the world sheet. Invitations, rank thresholds, friend groups, and approvals must be respected. A reservation grants only a temporary editing opportunity for the displayed period and no right to publication.

5. Grant of rights of use

Upon publication, the author grants the Operator a non-exclusive, worldwide right to use the contribution solely for the purposes expressly listed below. The author may continue to use and license the contribution, provided this does not impair published collaborative branches, existing reader access, or third-party rights.

The licence is limited to:

• storage, technical reproduction, and making available to the public on websites and applications offered by the Operator;
• display within the story, reader, author profile, search, fan-art gallery, previews, and accessible output formats;
• creation of technically necessary formats, sizes, thumbnails, backups, and exports without distortion of the work;
• linking to chapters, characters, world objects, maps, and metadata and use of short extracts, titles, and preview images to promote the specific story and the platform;
• continued access for readers who have already unlocked a contribution and retention of accounting, evidence, and moderation copies.

Unless separately and expressly agreed, the licence does not include publication as a printed book or standalone e-book outside the platform; audiobook, film, stage, game, or merchandising rights; promotion of third-party products; or training generative AI models. A translation for public release also requires separate author approval unless supplied by the author.

The Operator may pass the required rights to technical providers, including hosting, storage, delivery, security, and payment providers, only as necessary to operate the platform. Any broader transfer or sublicensing to publishers or exploitation partners requires a separate agreement. Mandatory statutory rights to appropriate remuneration, further participation, information, and accounts remain unaffected.

6. Attribution and permitted technical changes

Contributions are normally published under the name or pen name selected in the author's profile. Authors may choose among the available lawful display options. Mandatory moral rights remain unaffected.

The Operator may correct spelling, punctuation, technical formatting, metadata, image dimensions, accessibility, and display defects where this does not impair meaning, style, or the author's legitimate interests. Material editorial changes are submitted as suggestions or approval requests unless an immediate change or restriction is necessary to prevent infringement or a concrete risk.

7. Characters, worlds, locations, maps, and images

Characters and world objects are assigned to their creator and story. Creators may edit their own location or character records within the provided scope. Other authors may supplement, propose changes to, or edit records only according to the rules selected by the story creator. There is no right to acceptance of a proposal.

Profile pictures, covers, chapter images, maps, city images, and fan art must comply with upload rules and may not infringe third-party rights. Descriptions, credits, licences, content labels, and associations must be accurate. Map markers, lines, and polygons may represent only geographical relationships the author is authorised to edit.

8. Prohibited content and conduct

Prohibited material and conduct include:

• criminal, unlawful, defamatory, hate-inciting, extremist content or calls for violence against persons or groups;
• sexual depictions of minors, sexualised content involving apparently underage persons, grooming, or any trivialisation of sexual violence against minors;
• violations of human dignity, youth protection, privacy, data protection, copyright, trademarks, or other third-party rights;
• adult, violent, or otherwise development-impairing content without the required labels and visibility restrictions;
• plagiarism, misleading authorship, manipulated ratings, multiple accounts used for advantage, spam, malware, or circumvention of security, approval, or payment systems;
• publication of personal or confidential data without a sufficient legal basis and consent.

Fictional conflict, violence, or erotic content is not prohibited solely because of genre, but it must comply with law, age classification, visibility settings, and the platform's specific content rules.

9. Use of AI features

AI-assisted writing, analysis, SEO, and moderation features are tools. Authors decide whether to adopt suggestions and remain responsible for published contributions. Content created wholly or substantially with generative AI must be labelled as required by the displayed rules. Confidential data or content for which sufficient processing rights are unavailable may not be submitted to external AI services.

Automated safety checks may flag or temporarily hold contributions. A permanent restriction or material sanction will not rely solely on an unreviewed AI result; authors may request human review. Platform content will not be used to train generative models without a separate informed consent and remuneration arrangement.

10. Publication, review, and approval

Drafts and automatic saves are never published merely because a character threshold is reached. Publication requires deliberate use of the publication function and any required moderation or story approval. The Operator may delay publication for quality, security, rights, youth-protection, or consistency checks.

There is no entitlement to publication, particular placement, reach, minimum views, or permanent availability. Editorial rejections should be explained where possible. Published contributions may be restricted, labelled, removed from search, or blocked in the event of legal violations, rights conflicts, security threats, or serious rule breaches.

11. Remuneration and author credits

Remuneration is paid solely for the rights of use described in this Agreement. The remuneration and rank rules displayed in the admin area at the time of each paid reader unlock apply. The author's rank at the time of the reading transaction is used even if the chapter was created at a different rank.

Only redeemed paid credits may generate author remuneration. Free, bonus, test, goodwill, or otherwise complimentary credits are not converted into author balance and are not remunerated. Refunds, cancellations, chargebacks, abuse, and erroneous duplicate entries may be corrected transparently. The platform displays chapters, remunerated reads, calculation basis, rank, and available balance.

Ratings do not create a direct payment claim. Chapter ratings may contribute to the author rating under the transparently displayed calculation method. No income, view count, or payout amount is guaranteed. Mandatory statutory rights to appropriate remuneration and further participation remain unaffected.

12. Credit notes, tax details, and payout

The author agrees to the prior credit-note procedure: the Operator issues a document expressly labelled “Gutschrift” or “credit note” for settled rights remuneration in the applicable accounting periods. Authors must review each document and object promptly through the stated support channel if it is incorrect. The credit note, available author balance, and bank payout are separate processes.

Authors provide and maintain complete billing details, address, tax status, tax number or VAT identification number where applicable, account holder, and IBAN. A technical default of seven per cent VAT for certain copyright licences is not tax advice or a guarantee. Small-business treatment, standard taxation, reverse charge, country of establishment, and special cases are handled according to the stored and reviewed tax profile. Authors remain responsible for their own tax declarations.

Payouts are made on request or under the displayed payout rules once approved credit notes and any minimum threshold are available. Costs caused by culpably incorrect banking or tax information may be charged only in the amount actually and demonstrably incurred. Any artists' social security levy is an Operator expense and is not deducted from agreed author remuneration.

13. Information, accounting, and objections

Authors receive at least the information required by law about the extent of remunerated use and resulting revenue and benefits. Statements and available usage data are provided in the author account. Substantiated questions about individual entries may be raised within twelve months after the statement is made available; mandatory statutory rights and limitation periods remain unaffected.

Obvious technical errors should be reported promptly. Demonstrably incorrect entries may be corrected using traceable correction or cancellation documents without overwriting the original financial documents.

14. Term, termination, and consequences

This Agreement runs for an indefinite term and may be terminated by either party in text form on four weeks' notice to the end of a month. The right to terminate for cause remains unaffected. When termination takes effect, author and publication permissions for new contributions end; duly accrued remuneration and payout claims remain.

Unpublished drafts may be deleted unless statutory retention duties or pending reviews require otherwise. For published contributions, previously authorised readers retain access, and accounting, evidence, and moderation copies may be retained as necessary. Contributions on which published continuations rely may remain readable to preserve the story structure. After termination, no new paid exploitation benefiting the Operator may begin without separate author consent; existing unlocks and legal duties remain unaffected.

Where infringement, serious risk, or a mandatory statutory withdrawal ground is credibly shown, the Operator will review an earlier block or removal. The parties will consider the author's rights, third-party rights, youth protection, existing reader access, and the interests of collaborating authors.

15. Moderation, sanctions, and appeals

The Operator may temporarily hold contributions and request evidence where a concern exists. Measures include warnings, labels, reduced visibility, editing restrictions, removal of individual content, temporary account suspension, or removal of the author role. The reason, scope, and duration must be proportionate.

Except in cases of immediate risk or legal obligation, authors will be heard before a permanent material measure. They receive reasons and may request renewed human review through the stated appeal channel. Repeated or serious violations, manipulation of accounting, or lack of required rights may justify termination for cause.

16. Liability and third-party claims

Author and Operator are liable under applicable law. The author indemnifies the Operator against justified third-party claims caused by a culpable breach of the author's warranties or obligations. Indemnity is limited to necessary and reasonable costs. The Operator will notify the author promptly, allow participation in the defence, and not acknowledge claims without consultation where reasonably possible.

The Operator has unlimited liability for intent, gross negligence, injury to life, body, or health, and under mandatory law. For a slightly negligent breach of an essential contractual obligation, liability is limited to typically foreseeable loss. This limit does not apply where mandatory rights provide otherwise.

17. Data protection and confidentiality

Personal data is processed under the privacy notice. Non-public drafts, moderation matters, tax data, bank data, and internal Education data may be used only within the designated permissions. Authors may not publish or disclose confidential information concerning other users outside the platform.

18. Changes to this Agreement

The Operator may amend this Agreement prospectively where necessary because of changes in law or case law, security needs, new features, or a more balanced remuneration and rights structure, provided the change is reasonable for authors. Changed passages are shown before acceptance in a before-and-after comparison. Material changes to rights, remuneration bases, or termination consequences do not apply retroactively.

Authors must expressly accept a new version before publishing new contributions or materially editing existing ones. If a new version is not accepted, the author may terminate the Agreement; the previously accepted version continues to govern existing contributions until termination unless mandatory law requires otherwise.

19. Final provisions

German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Mandatory protections of the state in which an author habitually resides remain unaffected. Exclusive jurisdiction at the Operator's registered office is agreed only where the author is a merchant, a public-law entity or fund, or has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany.

If a provision is invalid, the remaining provisions remain effective and applicable law replaces the invalid term. No reduction preserving an invalid clause to the author's detriment is agreed. Individual agreements prevail. Notices and termination may be delivered at least in text form through the contact channels shown in the account or legal notice.

Acceptance

By selecting “Accept author rules”, the author confirms that they have read and understood this Author Agreement, including its licensing, remuneration, and credit-note rules, and accept the version displayed at the time. The acceptance date, user account, and version are stored as evidence.