Your $29 submission fee pays for your story to be considered for inclusion in a book. That is the entire product.
It does not buy publication, a response, a reading within any particular timeframe, payment, or copies of any book. I can't predict how many stories I'll include.
If your story is selected, I will contact you. That part is certain.
If it isn't selected, I may still reply, but I'm not promising to. A response isn't guaranteed, and there's no date by which you can assume a decision has been made. Please submit on the understanding that you may never hear anything.
There is no timeline. No deadline, no announcement date, no committed publication date, and no guaranteed number of stories selected. I intend to publish more than one book, but I'm not promising when, how many, or that any particular volume will happen.
Being selected isn't a commitment on either side. If I'd like to include your story, I'll contact you and we'll agree separate written terms covering credit, editing, and rights before anything is published. You can decline for any reason.
Contributors are not paid. No fee, no advance, no share of sales, and no free copies. You'd receive credit in the form you choose, and nothing else.
Submitting gives me permission to read, consider, and store your story. Nothing more. You keep full ownership of everything you send.
Any rights you grant later would be non-exclusive: you can publish or sell your story anywhere else, at any time, before or after any book of mine appears, and being included would never limit what you do with your own work. I acquire no publishing rights unless and until you sign a separate agreement.
You can't be anonymous to me — Stripe collects your name and email when you pay, and I need somewhere to send a reply if I send one. But you can be anonymous to readers.
If your story is selected, you choose how you're credited: full name, first name only, a pen name, or no name at all. You make that choice when we agree terms, so you're free to change your mind.
A missing byline isn't always enough on its own. Place names, employers, dates, and other people's names can identify you even without your name attached. If being unidentifiable matters, say so and I'll work with you to change those details before publication.
The $29 submission fee is non-refundable. There are no exceptions, including if your story isn't selected, if you don't hear from me, if no book is published, or if you change your mind.
To request a refund in a case where one is due — for example a duplicate or accidental charge — email Lucas@theuntoldtruths.com with the email address you paid from. Refunds that are issued are returned to the original card and take 5–10 business days to appear.
You must be 18 or older to submit. If your story involves other real people, you're responsible for what you choose to share about them.
I won't accept submissions containing sexual content involving minors, threats, harassment, or material that's illegal to possess or distribute. Submissions that do will be deleted and reported where I'm legally required to report them, the fee will not be refunded, and you'll be blocked from submitting again.
Your story, audio, and photos are stored on Tally and are visible only to me. I won't publish, share, or quote any part of your submission — or your name — without your written permission.
If you'd like your submission deleted, email Lucas@theuntoldtruths.com and I'll delete it.