What we promise, and what we ask

Cartouche is published by Altoria Digital, the trading name of a French sole trader registered under SIREN 909 750 390 — full details in our legal notice. Payment is taken by Stripe, acting as merchant of record, so your card details never reach us. A French sole trader registers under the owner's own name, so that name — not "Cartouche" — may be what you see on your receipt.

A memoir written from the material you provide. The First Chapter ($69) is one chapter, delivered as a digital book. Portrait ($690), Full Life ($1,500) and Signature ($3,500) are longer books, delivered digitally and as a printed edition posted to you. The Signature edition also includes an interview conducted by a person.

Each book is made to order for you. Length, chapters and structure follow what the material can honestly support — we would rather deliver a shorter true book than pad one out.

We aim to deliver a digital book within 2 to 4 weeks of receiving everything we need from you. Printed editions are produced and shipped afterwards, and usually arrive within a few further weeks depending on where you are.

These are honest estimates, not guarantees: a book waits on the material. If we're going to be late, we'll write and tell you rather than let the date pass in silence.

They stay yours. Everything you send us — answers, notes, recordings, photographs — remains the property of the person it belongs to. We use it to write your book and for nothing else. We do not sell it, we do not train anything public on it, and we never publish a line of it without asking you first, in writing.

The finished book is yours too. You are free to print it, copy it, and pass it on within your family. We claim no royalty on it.

Please only send material you have the right to share. If a story involves someone else, that is your judgement to make — you know your family; we don't.

We do not invent facts. If the material is unclear or contradictory, we mark the passage and ask you rather than filling the gap with something plausible. A memoir that says something untrue about a real life is worse than one that leaves a gap.

We also won't write a book intended to defame, harass, or expose someone. If a project reads that way, we'll say so and refund you.

Before we start writing: tell us and we'll refund you in full, no explanation needed.

Once writing has begun: your book is made specifically to your order, so it can't simply be returned to a shelf — under EU consumer law, custom-made goods are outside the usual 14-day right of withdrawal, and by asking us to begin you accept that.

That said, we are not looking to keep money for a book you don't want. If what we deliver doesn't sound like the person it's about, tell us: we will rework it. If we still can't get it right, we'll refund you. Write to contact@cartouchebooks.com.

Printed books that arrive damaged or misprinted are replaced at our cost. Just send us a photograph.

Prices are shown in US dollars and include any sales tax or VAT due, which Stripe handles as merchant of record. Your bank may apply its own currency conversion if you don't hold a dollar account.

Altoria Digital is not itself registered for VAT and charges none: TVA non applicable, article 293 B du Code général des impôts. Any tax shown at checkout is collected and remitted by Stripe, which is the seller of record for your order.

Write to contact@cartouchebooks.com and a person will answer. We would always rather fix a problem than argue about a clause.

These terms are governed by French law. Nothing here removes the statutory rights you have as a consumer where you live.

If we change these terms, we'll update this page and the date at the top. The terms that apply to your order are the ones published when you placed it.