Terms & Conditions

Please read these terms carefully before using writingdeskapp.com or the Writing Desk application. By accessing the site or downloading and using the app, you agree to be bound by these terms.

1. About Writing Desk

Writing Desk is operated by Ben Luxon, based in the United Kingdom. The service comprises a marketing and information website at writingdeskapp.com, the Writing Desk macOS application — a native desktop writing tool for novelists — and Writing Desk Formatter, a companion web app used for print-ready export. The site provides product information, a blog with writing advice and craft guides, and resources for fiction writers.

2. Use of this website

You may use this website for lawful, personal, non-commercial purposes only. You agree not to:

• Use the site in any way that violates applicable local, national, or international law
• Reproduce, duplicate, copy, or resell any part of our content without express written permission
• Use automated means to access or scrape the site without prior written consent
• Transmit unsolicited or unauthorised advertising material
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the site or related systems

3. The Writing Desk app

Eligibility

You must be 16 or older to use Writing Desk or create an account for premium features. By downloading or using the app you confirm that you meet this requirement.

Your manuscript and data

Writing Desk is a local-first application. Your manuscript files are stored on your own machine and are not transmitted to or stored on our servers during normal use. You retain full ownership of everything you write. We make no claim over your content.

The one exception is Writing Desk Formatter, our companion web app for print-ready export. When you send a manuscript to Formatter, a copy is stored on our servers so it can be typeset and exported. Full detail on how that's handled, including your right to delete it at any time, is in our Privacy Policy, which also covers how anonymised in-app usage analytics works.

Free trial

Every new Writing Desk account includes a 30-day free trial of Premium features. No card details are collected to start a trial. At the end of the 30 days, premium features lock automatically unless you choose to upgrade — there is no automatic conversion to a paid plan and you will not be charged without taking action.

Free and premium plans

Writing Desk is free to download and use for core offline writing features. Premium and Pro plans are available on a monthly or annual subscription basis and unlock AI-powered editorial tools, additional features, and access to Writing Desk Formatter for print-ready export. Current plans, pricing, and monthly usage allowances (such as chapter reviews, research queries, and AI Editor chat messages) are set out on the Pricing page, which may be updated from time to time.

Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled before the renewal date.

AI credit top-ups

You can purchase additional AI credit top-ups at any time. Top-up credits are used only after your plan's monthly allowance has been used up, and they do not expire.

Cancellation, downgrades and refunds

You can cancel or downgrade your subscription at any time from your account settings. Your current plan stays active until the end of the billing period you've already paid for (for example, the end of the current month on a monthly plan) — at that point you'll be moved to the free plan and premium features will lock.

As a general policy we don't offer refunds. That said, we look at requests on a case-by-case basis — if something's gone wrong, email help@writingdeskapp.com and we'll take a look. Nothing in this section affects your statutory rights.

Account

A Writing Desk account is required to access premium features. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your login credentials. You may not share your account with others or create multiple accounts to circumvent a suspension.

Acceptable use

You may not use Writing Desk to:

• Produce content that is unlawful, defamatory, or infringes third-party rights
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to our systems or the accounts of other users
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or otherwise attempt to extract the source code of the application
• Use the app in any way that violates applicable local, national, or international law

Account suspension and termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms. Where possible we will notify you of the reason. You may delete your account at any time from within account settings.

4. AI features

Writing Desk's AI editorial features — including the Research Assistant, AI Editor, and Full Manuscript Review — are powered by the Anthropic API. When you use these features, relevant content from your manuscript is sent to Anthropic's API for processing and a response is returned. This content is not retained by Anthropic beyond a 7-day operational log window and is never used to train AI models. Writing Desk does not store or retain manuscript content sent through these features.

Writing Desk will never generate prose on your behalf. AI features are designed to assist your thinking and editorial process — not to write your manuscript. Everything on the page is your own work.

You can read Anthropic's data policy at anthropic.com/legal/privacy.

5. Intellectual property

All content on this website — including articles, guides, tool code, and design — is the property of Writing Desk or Ben Luxon and is protected by copyright. Short excerpts may be shared with attribution and a link to the original page. Full reproduction without permission is not permitted.

The Writing Desk application, including its code, design, and branding, is proprietary software. You are granted a personal, non-transferable licence to use the application on your own devices. This licence does not permit redistribution, resale, or modification of the software.

6. Accuracy of content

We make every effort to ensure content on this site — including blog articles and craft guides — is accurate and helpful. Writing advice represents the opinions of the author. We make no warranty that content is complete, current, or suitable for your specific circumstances.

7. External links

This site contains links to third-party websites including Anthropic, Amazon, and other services. These are provided for convenience only. We have no control over external content and accept no responsibility for it.

Some links — including links to books on Amazon — may be affiliate links. Where we earn a small commission from a qualifying purchase, this is noted. Our editorial opinions are our own and are not influenced by affiliate relationships.

8. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Writing Desk and Ben Luxon shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of this website or application. Both are provided on an "as is" basis without warranties of any kind. In particular, we accept no liability for loss of manuscript content — we strongly recommend maintaining regular backups of your work.

9. Changes to these terms

We reserve the right to update these terms at any time. The date at the top of this page indicates when they were last revised. Continued use of the site or app after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

10. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.