T & Cs

Terms and Conditions:

You (the Client) will be deemed to have accepted these terms and conditions upon payment of the deposit and every subsequent invoice for each and every project; this forms the contract between us.

1. These terms and conditions apply to any work done for the Client by me.
2. I will provide service(s) as mutually agreed, confirmed or agreed in writing (usually by email) by the Client.
3. The work will be carried out unsupervised at such times and places as determined by me, using my own equipment.
4. I confirm that I am self-employed, and am responsible for my own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and will not claim benefits granted to the Client’s employees (if applicable).
5. If it should become necessary for me to attend the Client’s or other premises for meetings, the time spent and agreed reasonable expenses incurred are to be reimbursed by the Client.
6. The Client will reimburse me for agreed reasonable expenses over and above usual expenses incurred in the process of editorial work.

7. The Client will pay me a fee per hour OR per thousand words OR an agreed flat fee for the job as agreed.
8. We will agree a price for the project before work begins. Should any further material be added by you during the term of the work, such as a prologue, new chapters, a glossary, or a synopsis, a separate price will be negotiated based on the original fee per thousand words OR per hour based on CIEP recommended rates. In such circumstances the deadline may also be renegotiated.
9. If, on receipt of the item to be worked on or at an early stage, it becomes apparent that significantly more work is required than had been anticipated in the preliminary discussion/brief, I may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
10. I charge a reservation fee of £150 or 10% of the total fee, whichever is the greater, (non-refundable upon cancellation) to book an editing slot, which will be deducted from the balance of the fee. If a Client finds he/she cannot meet the agreed start date for the work (due to illness or similar of the Client or his/her immediate family), I will use my best endeavours to accommodate him/her within a reasonable period of the original date. Should a new start date not be agreed to begin within one month of the original date, the reservation deposit will be forfeit and a new booking will have to be made. I require 50% of the total agreed fee (for each stage, if appropriate, of the edit) four weeks before work is due to begin, with the remainder (less the reservation fee paid) due within seven days of receipt by the Client of the edited manuscript. An alternative payment schedule may be agreed for particularly large manuscripts.
11. I charge a minimum fee of £50, payable in advance, regardless of the word count.
12. In the event of a Client cancelling an edit, cancellation fees (to include the booking deposit) will be charged as follows: For a cancellation four weeks before the anticipated start date – 10% of the agreed fee; cancellations four to two weeks before the anticipated start date – 25% of the agreed fee; cancellations less than two weeks before the anticipated start date – 50% of the agreed fee. These charges are at my discretion.
13. Payment is via bank transfer to the account shown on my invoice. For overseas clients who pay by PayPal, any fees will be payable by the Client.
14. The completed work will be delivered on or before the date agreed, for the agreed fee, which will be based on the description of the work required and the brief, both supplied by the Client (subject to number 8 above).
15. If the project is lengthy, I may invoice periodically for completed stages.
16. Every effort will be taken to provide an error-free document, but please be aware that editing is not the final stage of the publication process (which is proofreading). The number of changes a document will undergo (as an example, a 90,000-word novel will usually require at least 4,000 amendments) means that perfection is impossible to guarantee. Most editors (and scientists) agree that catching around 95% of mistakes is the maximum a human being can achieve. Please therefore arrange to have the manuscript proofread before publication. If your budget precludes this, make sure you read through the manuscript thoroughly yourself to check for any small errors remaining.
17. Any content created by me as part of the copy-editing/proofreading process will become the copyright of the Client, unless otherwise agreed.
18. The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client and his/her/its contractors without prior written permission.
19. Unless agreed otherwise at the outset, final payment will be made within 7 days of receipt of my invoice. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (amended 2002 and 2013) applies to this contract.
20. Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Client and I may keep on record such information (e.g. contact details) as is necessary. Either may view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct and up to date. See also my privacy policy.
21. Either the Client or I have the right to terminate a contract for services if there is a serious breach of its terms.
22. I may use the Client’s name in my promotional material by prior agreement.
23. This agreement is subject to the laws of England and Wales, and both I and the Client agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.