Contract of editing/proofreading services
The following terms and conditions are provided so that you and I both have an upfront and honest understanding of what is involved in the process of working together. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me so that I can provide clarity and reassurance.
Terms and Conditions
- General Overview
1.1 These terms and conditions apply to any work done on behalf of the Client (you) by me (Karen Ette).
1.2 I will provide editing as agreed upon (in writing) by myself and the Client.
1.3 The Client is under no obligation to offer me work; neither am I under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client.
1.4 The work will be carried out by me. I will not subcontract proofreading/editing projects, or parts of projects, to third parties.
1.5 I am not VAT-registered.
1.6 The contract for service requires that the Client acknowledges, in writing (including email) that they have read, understood and agreed to these terms and conditions.
- Project Terms
2.1 Prior to commencement of editing work, the Client and I will agree, in writing (including email), the terms of the project:
- the medium in which it will be carried out (e.g. in Word)
- how the material will be annotated (e.g. Track Changes)
- the length of time required to complete the project, as advised by me
- a fee for the project, based on a quotation supplied by me, in writing (including email), following my evaluation of the material and the time frame required to complete the job
- the date by which the material will be delivered by the Client to me
- the latest date by which the completed project will be returned, following my advice to the Client
2.2 Please note that if, on receipt of the project 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 or from the sample supplied, I may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline, or decline to carry out the work.
- Quotations and Fees
3.1 A quotation for the work will be provided by me to the Client following my evaluation of a representative sample of the materials to be worked on, and a discussion with the Client as to what is required.
3.2 Once the Client and I have agreed on the full fee, it is non-negotiable unless the Client extends the word count of the job or requests additional services. In this case, a revised quotation and job-completion date will be negotiated.
3.3 The Client will pay me a fee per 1,000 words (for proofreading only) OR per hour OR an agreed flat fee for the project, as agreed in writing.
3.4 The Client will pay 50 per cent of the total fee upfront, once it has been agreed in writing (this is the booking fee).
3.5 Unless otherwise agreed, I will supply the Client with an invoice immediately upon completion of the project.
3.6 Payment should be received within a specified time, agreed in advance, from submission of the invoice or within 30 days, as set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 – Amended and Supplemented in 2002.
- Cancellation Policy
4.1 Both the Client and I have the right to terminate a contract for services at any time if there is a serious breach of its terms.
4.2 This Client is free to cancel a service by providing me with written notice (including email); I must acknowledge this cancellation in writing (including email) for this to be valid. I will refund any remaining fee from the booking fee less the work I have already started on the project.
4.3 I may cancel a service by providing written notice (including email) to the Client. In the unlikely event that I cancel service, I will provide a prorated refund of any overages of fees paid (including the booking fee).
4.4 If, in the unlikely event that the Client is affected by extraordinary or adverse circumstances that cause cancellation or delay (e.g. family crisis, illness, bereavement), the Client should contact me to discuss the terms of the cancellation policy.
4.5 If I am affected by extraordinary or adverse circumstances that cause cancellation (e.g. family crisis, illness, bereavement), I will contact the Client in writing at the earliest opportunity and do my best to renegotiate the time frame of the project or find an alternative supplier of editing/proofreading services.
- Confidentiality
5.1 The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client without prior written permission.
5.2 I will not, under any circumstances, upload the Client’s files to external websites or distribute them to third parties unless specifically authorised to do so, in writing, by the Client.
- Copyright
6.1 All content delivered to me by the Client for editing is owned by the Client.
6.2 In this respect, the Client agrees to hold me harmless from and against all claims, liabilities and expenses arising out of any potential or actual copyright or trademark misappropriation or infringement claimed against them.
6.3 Following payment of my invoice, any content created by me as part of the editing/proofreading will become the copyright of the Client unless otherwise agreed.
- Quality Assurance
7.1 The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading [CIEP] guidance:
In response to the question of whether perfection can be expected from the editor/proofreader, the CIEP (the UK’s professional editorial association) says:
‘That is the aim, but perfection is rarely possible. By the Law of Diminishing Returns, perfection requires inordinate amounts of time and money. It is not realistic, but nor are some clients. Even when time is tight, they still want perfection while paying only for ‘good enough’. If they did not pay for copy-editing, the proofreader can only sort out the worst problems. […]
Will a manuscript be error-free after a copy-edit?
Probably not although that is always the aim. It is impossible for every error to be caught in a single pass. The CIEP says: ‘A good copy-editor picks up 80% of errors and a good proofreader picks up 80% of what’s left.’ A line and copy-edit helps improve the writing as well as catch as many errors as possible.
WiSH Editing and Proofreading 