1. Description of Sandawe's service to the Author
 

SANDAWE freely provides Authors with an internet platform (www.sandawe.com) and its community to get his/her graphic novel projects known and financed. As a graphic novel publisher, Sandawe supports the Author from the gestation phase of his/her project to the commercial exploitation of the work in all its forms, in all territories and in all languages, according to the specifics of each project, to the benefit of the Author, his/her Interneditors, and SANDAWE. 

Registration on www.sandawe.com
The Author must first register on the site www.sandawe.com, specifying his/her status as an Author and following the registration process specifically reserved for Authors. 

Once the registration of the Author is complete, SANDAWE puts at his/her disposal a personal space which allows him/her to propose visual and text-based material and to communicate with the SANDAWE community.

This personal space includes, at a minimum, public information relating to the Author, his/her bibliography, a photo, and an avatar to represent them on the site, as well as a blog module which allows him/her to add information and personal drawings.

Sending a project to SANDAWE
The Author has the possibility to submit by email, to the address projet@sandawe.com, folders of presentations of graphic novel Projects for future publishing by SANDAWE. 
These folders include everything that the Author considers necessary for the publisher to be able to judge the quality and professionalism of the projects; a pitch, synopsis, drawings, cut-outs, drawn panels, colourings, etc.

After a first reading of the folder, and if it is accepted, SANDAWE submits the set of contractual documents (publishing contract and audiovisual adaptation contract) which will govern any future relationship, so that the Author can become acquainted with these documents at his/her ease. During the same period, SANDAWE consults the project and gives their comments to the Author.

An agreement on the terms of the publishing and transfer of audiovisual rights contracts must take place with Editions Sandawe before the project is to be put online and presented to Interneditors. However, they will only come into effect once the Goal of the first edition has been reached.

This Goal (a budget to be collected from Interneditors, necessary for the funding of the first edition), is determined before the Project is put online, taking into account the nature of the book and SANDAWE's experience.

Putting the Project online at www.sandawe.com
The Project is then put online at www.sandawe.com in a space available to all visitors so that they may discover it and decide to invest in it, in shares of € 10€ or multiples of € 10. Aside from the descriptive elements of the Project, the Project pages permanently display the global budget amount (the Goal), as well as the current amount of registered investments.

To comply with the structure of the "Projects" pages on the site www.sandawe.com, the Author agrees to provide the following elements asked for by the publisher if s/he has not yet provided them: 

  • descriptive elements of the project (pitch, summary, synopsis, character descriptions drawings, at least two panels, and possible additional elements)
  • graphic elements which allow the creation of a trailer for the Project, which the Author agrees to collaborate with SANDAWE in the creation of.

As long as no money has been put forward for the project, the Author is free to interrupt the process and withdraw from the site www.sandawe.com. Once any money has been wagered on his/her project, s/he agrees to keep it on the site for a renewable period of one year, to manage his/her project pages on www.sandawe.com, and to communicate with the Interneditors who support him/her, in order to achieve the Goal.

The Goal may be revised upward or downward until it is reached. This measure allows SANDAWE to adjust certain parameters according to reactions on the site. For example, if the reception is particularly enthusiastic, the Goal may be increased to allow greater circulation, to give a better chance of commercial success.

Reaching the Goal
The publishing and transfer of audiovisual rights contracts come into effect.

The funds corresponding to the Goal of the project are kept in a temporary company exclusively dedicated to this project and managed by Sandawe. This allows us to create an account with a specific use, compatible with the individual Project. The temporary company will manage the graphic novel creation under the Editions Sandawe license for 5 years, after which the management will be resumed by the latter.

During the creation period of his/her book, the dialogue space on www.sandawe.com is reserved for the Interneditors of the Project (those who have invested in the project), to whom the Author regularly presents the state of the Project and with whom he holds a continued dialogue. This relationship between the Author and his/her biggest supporters and investors is crucial in the Sandawe system.

In relation to the Interneditors, the Author retains full control over his creative choices, in line with the Project that was approved by SANDAWE.

In principle, the Author must deliver the completed Project within 12 months of the Goal being reached, unless other arrangements have been agreed upon.

Marketing
Once the book has been created and printed, the Author can count on his/her Interneditors to promote the book to those around them during its first marketing. 

During the introductory period, the Author participates in appreciation activities for his/her Interneditors and their promotional efforts (book signings, signed copies, possible drawings for bookmarks, bookplates or otherwise, meetings with Interneditors and the press, ...). 

SANDAWE is responsible for marketing, promotion and the sale of the book (the first edition any following editions), and the potential operation of secondary and audiovisual rights. 

SANDAWE is also responsible for reporting the results of this marketing to the Author (and his/her Interneditors) and for paying royalties in accordance with the publishing contract.
 
2. Definitions
 
Author:

Member having an Author account on www.sandawe.com.
Designates the contributor(s) to the creation of a graphic novel project on www.sandawe.com.
Author account: An Author's private pages from which s/he can input, consult and modify his/her personal information and manage the pages which are connected to it.
Interneditor: Member having contributed to at least one project.
Project space:

Pages dedicated to a project on www.sandawe.com.
VIP space:

The part of a project space reserved solely for Interneditors of the project once the Goal has been.
Member: Natural person registered on the site www.sandawe.com and who has a member account in the SANDAWE community.
Putting online: The moment when the project becomes visible to visitors of the site www.sandawe.com.
Goal:

Budget necessary for the production of a book project or production cost.
This includes the following elements:

  • The costs of creation, including the minimum guaranteed to the Author
  • The costs of printing and transporting the books
  • The costs of promoting the book(s)
  • The accounting costs of the temporary company for a year.
  • The costs of publishing and management by SANDAWE which make up 15% of the budget.
Project pages: Pages presenting the book project(s) in the process of being or already financed by the Interneditors of www.sandawe.com.
Author pages: Part of the site dedicated to the hosting and circulation of artistic elements of the Author. This includes project page(s).
Share: A virtual title with a face value of 10€ that allows Interneditors to contribute to the production of a project.
Open share: Share in a project whose Goal is not yet reached and is therefore transferable to another project being funded or refundable via the member's credit.
Free share: Share of € 10 acquired for free, for example during a contest or a sponsorship action. This share is non-refundable, but the payment received from it is equivalent to that of a normal share.
Project : All graphic and non-graphic elements that allow the discovery of the visual universe, the scenario, as well as any other elements (structure, number of pages, number of volumes, etc.) which make up the essence of the graphic novel envisioned by the Author.
Visitor: Internet user browsing www.sandawe.com without having registered as a member.
 
3. Exclusivity of the project
 

Once the project has been put online by SANDAWE, the Author agrees to the exclusivity concerning this project. Therefore, the Author is prohibited from producing the project put online or a similar project for another editor and from publishing the project or a similar project him/herself. 

This exclusivity applies for a period of 12 months from the date when the project is first put online.

If the project does not reach the Goal within 12 months being put online, it can be kept online for successive periods of six additional months at a time, following an agreement between the Author and Sandawe. Exclusivity remains applicable during the additional period.

 
4. Transfer of Rights
 

Concerning the Author and Project pages, the Author transfers to SANDAWE, exclusively and freely, for the whole world, for the whole duration of the investment period, the intellectual rights of the content put online solely for the following purposes:

  1. Promotion of the Author's project to visitors of the site www.sandawe.com
  2. Promotion of the project and the site via SANDAWE publications
  3. Collection of Interneditors' investments in view of achieving the Goal
  4. Promotion and publicity of SANDAWE and of the site www.sandawe.com

As such, the Author authorises SANDAWE to, among other things:

  • reproduce or make reproduced, communicate to the public, adapt, translate, some or all of the visual elements provided by the Author, by any means, in any form, on any known or unknown medium, whether it be paper, electronic, magnetic, optical or digital, associated or not with other works no matter what their nature;
  • rank the projects of the Author among others and circulate these rankings via www.sandawe.com or any other promotional materials related to SANDAWE;
  • pursue, in case of the withdrawal of the Author, any advertising and/or promotional action using on his/her project, which had previously been undertaken by SANDAWE prior to the withdrawal of the Author's account and/or the associated Author's project; said advertising and/or promotional action continuing it course may not exceed a period of 8 (eight) months from the date of withdrawal.
 
5. Production of the project
 

For the service offered by SANDAWE and in order to take into account the commitments towards SANDAWE Interneditors, the Author is irrevocably committed to the following, without prejudice to other applicable provisions:

  • During the presentation of his project, the Author accepts the SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AUTHORS. He/she also has taken note of the publishing contracts and the transfer of broadcasting rights as provided by SANDAWE and agrees to the terms before the project is put online at the latest, knowing that these two contracts take effect only from the time the Goal is reached.
  • The Author agrees that SANDAWE validates the putting online of his/her project based on criteria left solely to their discretion. 
  • As soon as the project is put online, the Author agrees to finish the proposed project according to the set deadline. S/he also agrees to carry out, according to the set deadline, the drawings needed to produce the book in its entirety (cover, end-papers, title page, promotional page, back cover) and for its promotion, according to what has been agreed upon.
The Author agrees that the Goal of the project may evolve during the fund-raising period. If there are tangible signs of the project's success, SANDAWE may increase the Goal in order to finance a larger circulation. Conversely, SANDAWE, in agreement with the Author, may decrease the Goal.
 
6. Guarantees
 

The Author states in particular that his/her work is entirely original and borrows from no work of any nature whatsoever for which SANDAWE may be held liable.

The Author ensures that his/her work does not infringe upon the rights of any third party, and, if necessary, he has obtained all permissions from these third parties necessary for both the text and the documents to illustrate, and has carried out all the obligations it has assumed with respect to these third parties.

The Author also ensures that the submitted work does not contain anything that could fall under laws relating to defamation, indecency, counterfeiting, or other applicable regulations.

The Author states in particular that the submitted work is subject to neither another publishing contract still in effect nor a right a first refusal or other agreement with another publisher.

The Author guarantees to act for his/her own account and not on behalf of third parties. Thus, he is not to include banners or advertising for third parties on his/her Author pages.

The Author ensures that, if s/he circulates in his/her own space, on pages published by him/her with other publishers, s/he has full well the reproduction rights for such use. S/he will then specify the source and the copyright in accordance with customary practice.
 
7. The Author's personal details
 

The Author must complete the registration form, indicating his/her exact information. SANDAWE is permitted, but not forced, to verify the information provided by the registration form, and this in its sole and absolute discretion.

SANDAWE has no responsibility regarding any incorrect, inaccurate, illegal information and/or all actions and consequences which may result, concerning the age of the Author and other personal details and information provided by the Author on his/her registration form.

The Author is responsible for keeping the data up-to-date.
 
8. Duration
 

As an Author, the SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AUTHORS apply as long as you keep your account on the site.

SANDAWE may at any time and without notice terminate this agreement and cancel the account of the Author if s/he does not comply with any provision of the SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AUTHORS.

SANDAWE also has the right to remove a project from the site www.sandawe.com, ipso jure, without notice or compensation in any capacity whatsoever, for non-compliance with the SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AUTHORS and SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AUTHORS, following a simple notification to the Author by email. In this case, the shares of Interneditors on the project will be removed and the face value will be credited to these Interneditors.
 
9. Participation
 

In consideration of the investment made by the Interneditors and the participatory spirit of the SANDAWE team, the Author agrees to, throughout the duration of the aforementioned relationship, update their project pages by regularly adding new content. The Author is free to determine the pace and content of his/her updates, knowing that it is in the interest of the Project to enliven the pages.

Wherever possible, the Author will respond to messages from Interneditors and participate in events to promote the activities of SANDAWE and his/her project(s), following what has been agreed upon with SANDAWE.
 
10. Clause nullity
 
If any provision of these SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AUTHORS prove to be unenforceable, this fact will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. SANDAWE will replace them with legally valid provisions that are within the spirit and purpose of these SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF AUTHORS.
 
11. Applicable law
 

These SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONSOF AUTHORS are governed, interpreted and applied in accordance with Belgian law, the language of interpretation being the French language.

Subject to the provisions of public order applicable to the jurisdictional competence, the courts of Brussels, acting in French, will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute relating to these.
 
12. Annexes
 

To access the General Terms and Conditions of Use, click here.