Terms and Conditions
Section 1: General Overview
These terms apply to any work done on behalf of the Client (you) by me (Christine Locock | A Helpful Edit).
I am committed to supporting human creativity, and to working with writers in a way that is respectful of them and their lived experience. I welcome authors from all backgrounds and minority groups and I try to be conscientious in checking my own assumptions and privileges. I respect everyone’s right to hold their own political beliefs, however, if you subscribe to far-right ideology, then I am not the right editor for you.
I will provide editorial services as agreed with you via email. Full details of each service can be found on the relevant section of my website. We’ll agree any adjustments to these (e.g. as discussed via a discovery call) via email.
You are under no obligation to offer me work, and I’m under no obligation to accept work offered by you.
The work will be carried out unsupervised at a time and place determined by me, using my own equipment.
The work will only be carried out by me. I will not subcontract any part of it to third parties.
I confirm that I am self-employed, am responsible for my own tax arrangements and National Insurance contributions and am not entitled to employee benefits from you or your company
I am not VAT-registered.
By submitting the booking-agreement form, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to these terms and conditions, and that the you and I have entered into a contract of editorial services.
Section 2: Project information
A. For services where a quote is required (copyediting, proofreading and ‘professional eye’ overview)
I will edit your work in Microsoft Word, using the ‘track changes’ function. I may also convert your file to a pdf to read and hand annotate it via the files app on my iPad.
You and I will agree, via email, the timeframe of the project, based on my availability and the amount of time I estimate it will take me to complete the work.
You and I will agree via email a fee for the project, based on a quotation supplied by me. This quotation will be based on my evaluation of the material, the brief you have given me, and the time required to complete the job.
If there are going to be any additional expenses in addition to the costs of the editing, you and I will also agree this via email.
You and I will agree, via email, the date by which you will send me the material to be edited.
You and I will agree, via email, the latest date by which I will return the completed project, following my advice to you.
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 I anticipated from the preliminary discussion/brief or from the sample supplied, I may need to renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline, or decline to carry out the work.
B. For ‘flat rate’ services (manuscript reviews, snapshot copyedit, birds-eye overview, and submission package feedback services).
I will edit your work in Microsoft Word, using the ‘track changes’ function. I may also convert your file to a pdf to read and hand annotate it via the files app on my iPad.
The fee for these projects is fixed, as per the information on the relevant project page. However, if you require a more bespoke arrangement, a different service and fee can be negotiated. This will be confirmed via email.
If there are going to be any additional expenses in addition to the costs of the editing, you and I will also agree this via email.
You and I will agree the time frame for the project, according to my availability and how long I estimate it will take me to complete the service you have requested.
You and I will agree the date by which you will send me the material to be edited.
You and I will agree the latest date by which I will return the completed project, following my advice to you.
Section 3. Quotations and fees
A. For services where a quote is required (copyediting, proofreading and ‘professional eye’ overview)
To provide you with a quote, I will read a sample of your work (5000 words taken from the middle of your manuscript), together with any information you have provided about your requirements (to be agreed via email). The quote will be calculated according to how long I believe the work will take me.
Once we have agreed the fee and the brief and you have made your booking, that fee is non-negotiable, as are the start and end dates for the project.
If you wish to make adjustments to the brief, you must do so via email at least one week before the agreed start date for the work.
If the adjustment(s) you have requested will involve additional hours of work to what was agreed between us, a new fee and job-completion date may be negotiated according to my availability. Please note that in such instances I cannot postpone other clients’ start dates to accommodate your new requirements, and you will have to wait until my next available slot for me to complete the additional work you requested.
Fees will be determined according to the time it will take me to complete the service.
If the project takes less time than I quoted you for, I will adjust your final invoice accordingly so that you pay the lower price.
Unless otherwise agreed, I will supply you with a final invoice immediately upon completion of the project.
Payment should be received within 14 days for full edits. Booking fees must be paid within 3 days of receiving your booking invoice.
Invoices will be in pounds sterling.
Payments should be made via direct bank transfer.
B. For ‘flat rate’ services (manuscript reviews, snapshot copyedit, birds-eye overview, and submission package feedback services).
These services are charged at a flat rate and follow the brief laid out in the relevant service description. However, the fee may be negotiated before booking if you wish to adjust the brief. These adjustments, and any change to the fee, will be agreed via email before you book.
Once you have made your booking, the agreed fee is non-negotiable, as are the start and end dates we agreed for the project and any adjustments that were agreed upon to the brief.
Booking fees must be paid within 3 days of receiving your booking invoice.
Invoices will be in pounds sterling.
Payments should be made via direct bank transfer.
Section 4: Contracts, bookings and deposits
The bookings agreement form is an agreement to the contract of services between you and me.
Once you have submitted the booking agreement form, I will issue the invoice for the booking fee.
Booking fees are non-refundable.
For a project with a total fee in excess of £500, you will pay a booking fee of £500.
For a project with a total fee of £500 or less, you will pay the full fee up front. This is non-refundable.
By filling in the booking agreement form, you agree to secure my editing services for a specific and mutually agreed-upon project, at a specific and mutually agreed-upon time.
By filling in the booking agreement form, you confirm that you have read and agreed to the terms and conditions in this document. From that point on, the terms of the cancellation policy (see below) apply.
I will deduct the booking fee from the final invoice. I will send this invoice to you once I’ve completed the editing work, unless otherwise agreed.
The booking is considered confirmed once the booking fee has been paid by you and received by me.
The booking fee should be paid within 3 days of sending the booking-agreement form to secure the slot in my schedule. Failure to do so may mean that you will lose that slot and will have to book a later slot according to my availability.
Section 5: Cancellation policy
Both you and I have the right to terminate a contract for services at any time if there is a serious breach of the terms as laid out in this agreement.
Cancelations must be made by email. I must acknowledge this cancellation via email for this to be valid.
If I am affected by extraordinary or difficult circumstances (e.g. family crisis, illness, bereavement) that prevent me from completing the work by the agreed date, I will contact you in writing as soon as I can to renegotiate the time frame of the project. If you choose to cancel at that point, the booking fee will be refunded, less the costs of any work completed to that point.
For projects priced in excess of £500: If you cancel the work once the editing project has begun (on or after the agreed start date of the project), I reserve the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee (less the booking fee which you will already have paid).
For projects priced in excess of £500: If you cancel with less than two weeks’ notice, I reserve the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee (less the booking fee). If you wish to cancel with more than one month’s notice, the booking fee will not be refunded but no other charge will apply.
Please not that for projects priced at £500 or less, fees are non-refundable.
Section 6: Receipt of files
The file(s) to be edited must be received by me at least 24 hours before our mutually agreed start date for the project. I will email you to confirm that I have received it.
I will email you a reminder prior to the start date that the file is due.
In the unlikely event that you do not provide the file by the above deadline, the project is deemed to have been cancelled by you. The above cancelation policy will therefore apply and the slot in my schedule will be released.
Section 7: Confidentiality
I will treat your work confidentially and will not share it with third parties unless you give me permission.
Your files will be stored in my iCloud account. Other than this, I will not upload your files to external websites or platforms unless you authorize me to do so in writing.
Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, you and I may keep a record of information that is necessary to carrying out the services we have agreed upon. (E.g. contact details, invoicing information etc.) We may both view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct and up to date.
For more information on how your data is stored, processed and protected, please see my privacy policy.
Section 8: Copyright
All content that you deliver to me for the editing project is owned by you.
All content created by me during the editing project (eg chapter summaries, style guides etc.) will be owned by you upon receipt of final payment, unless otherwise agreed.
You agree to not hold me responsible for any claims, liabilities and/or expenses arising from any potential or actual copyright or trademark misappropriation or infringement claimed against you.
Section 9: Quality Assurance
As a member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), I abide by its Membership Codes and commit to a programme of continuing professional development.
Section 10: Legal jurisdiction
This agreement is subject to the laws of England and Wales, and both you and I agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.
The venue for any arbitration or court proceeding based on or arising out of this Agreement shall be Bristol, England.
Section 11: Privacy policy and the GDPR
Please read my Privacy Policy, which explains the data I collect, how I use it and store it, and my compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Section 12: Acknowledgements in published works
There is no requirement for you to mention me the acknowledgements section of your published work. However, you agree that I will have the opportunity to review any such mention prior to publication, or to decline to be mentioned.
Section 13: Use of artificial intelligence (AI)
I will never input your work into generative AI platforms, as this would lead to your writing being used for language model training, and could also compromise your privacy and data.
I make every effort to eliminate generative AI from my editing process, for example, AI assistants such as Co-Pilot are switched off in my email and Word preferences. However, given the frequency of software updates and changes to platform terms and conditions, and given that most apps, programmes and platforms have AI tools running in the background (even if I am not actively using them), it is impossible for me to provide a 100% guarantee against AI being involved (however indirectly) in the editing process.
Except for the purposes of secure storage, backup and recovery, I will never upload your work to a third-party site without your express permission.
I use reputable providers and maintain the confidentiality of your materials. However, by submitting your content for editing, you acknowledge and consent to my use of the digital tools referred to below in the processing of your work.
Section 14. Use of digital tools
The tools I currently use to edit your work are as follows:
Microsoft Word: For text editing (with changes tracked) and writing feedback, queries etc. I use a licensed version of Microsoft 365, with CoPilot switched off, and files are stored using iCloud.
Microsoft Excel: Used (as needed) for creating additional resources, such as chapter summaries, timelines etc. I use a licensed version of Microsoft 365 and files are stored using iCloud.
Files app (iPad): Used to read pdf files and hand-annotate work. Files are stored using iCloud.
Various macros: Used for text analysis and edits. These are a feature of Microsoft Word and do not use AI.
Online search engines: Used for fact-checking. May uses AI systems to match queries with relevant results.
iCloud: Used for secure file storage, backup and recovery. Cloud-based licensed version.
Section 15: Disclaimer
I do my best to fulfil the brief you give me to the highest possible standard, however, there are limits to what I can guarantee:
Owing to the subjective nature of stylistic editorial work, I can't guarantee that your final document will be 100% free of errors.
I am not responsible for how you use the work I've edited and returned to you, or for any changes you do or do not make to them.
I cannot guarantee that an agent or publisher will accept a submission from you following my edits or suggestions to either your manuscript or submission package.
I accept your work in good faith on the understanding that it is your own, and I am not responsible for plagiarism on your part.
While I some services include checking for factual errors, these are limited to areas of ‘general knowledge’ that it might be reasonable for the average person to pick up on. I cannot guarantee that your final document will be 100% factually correct, and it is your ultimate responsibility to ensure that you have been as thorough as possible in your research.
I am not responsible for files that are lost, damaged or corrupted by your systems or third-party platforms that you ask me to use or that you upload the edited files to.
I am not responsible for missed deadlines caused any delay on your part in sending me files or responding to queries.
To edit your work I will require you to send it to me in .doc or .docx format. I do not accept other formats (such as Pages) and cannot guarantee that the Word files I return to you will be compatible with other platforms, apps or programmes.
I am not responsible for any changes made to your file by third parties such as publishers or agents after I've edited it.
I am not responsible for delays caused by force majeure (eg internet outages, emergencies and pandemics).
