amyedits is here to provide authors with a gloriously stress-free and professional editing service. Email me at contact@amyedits.co.uk or fill in a form to get a free quote.
Follow me:
Terms + Conditions
General
All work will be carried out on a freelance basis. The Client is under no obligation to offer work; neither is the Editor, Amy Davies, under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client. The Editor will provide services as mutually agreed and confirmed in writing (via email).
The work will be carried out unsupervised using my own equipment and resources.
I confirm that I am self-employed, am responsible for my own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and am not registered for VAT.
Project terms
Prior to commencement of my services, the Client and Editor will agree, in writing, to the terms of the project, including:
The length of the time required to complete the project as advised by the Editor upon reviewing the document/manuscript in question
The overall fee for the project (including a booking fee) supplied by me upon reviewing the document/manuscript in question. This is based on, but not confined to, the overall wordcount, current quality and legibility of the text and length of time required to complete the service.
The software or means by which the service will be carried out (e.g., Microsoft Word, on paper)
The nature of the annotations as part of the service (e.g., Track Changes, correction symbols on hard copy)
The date by which th Editor will receive the material to be edited or reviewed, delivered from the Client to the Editor (via email or post).
The date by which the material (the completed project) will be returned following my evaluation of the material.
The availability of both the Client and I to communicate via email in a timely manner; the Client will be available to answer questions in sufficient time to meet the target date and will remain vigilant to respond to emails regarding my services both before work commencement and thereafter until the work is completed.
To note: if the Editor is supplied with a sample of the manuscript for evaluation that is later revealed as not representative of the entire work, and it becomes apparent that the project needs significantly more work than anticipated from the initial sample, the Editor may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline or decline to carry out the work.
To note: should the Client prove difficult to get hold of, to the effect that the Editor cannot continue or commence work until receiving a response (to a query or to ask permissions, etc), I retain the right to withhold commencement of the work in question. Should the Client prove unresponsive for a significant period of time, I will view the Client as non-committal and may cancel my services.
Fees
The Editor will supply a quote for fees to the Client only after the Editor has seen the material to be reviewed or edited. The Editor will then discuss with the Client what service/s are required and the time needed to complete what is required.
The Client will provide their full name and billing address at the outset and let me know if these change in a timely manner.
According to prior written agreement (via email and booking confirmation), the Client will pay the Editor a fee based on per hour OR per word, OR an agreed flat fee.
After the full fee has been agreed and the booking confirmation form has been submitted, the full fee is non-negotiable and no longer open for modification. However, if the Client extends the word count or requests other services prior to work commencement, the quote, time frame for the project, and deadline date can be renegotiated.
The full fee is non-negotiable and no longer open for modification once work has commenced.
I will supply the Client with an invoice immediately upon completion of the project. The work commencement date will be specified on this invoice.
I will release edited work upon full payment of the work invoiced for.
Payment should be received within a specified credit period agreed in advance. Or, if no credit period is arranged, payment should be received within 30 days from submission of the invoice, as set out in the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 – Amended and Supplemented in 2002.
Booking confirmation
The booking-confirmation form is an agreement to the contract of services between the Editor and the Client and acts to invoke the terms of the contract outlined herein.
Once the Client has submitted the booking confirmation form, the Editor will issue the invoice for the booking fee.
No booking is official until the Client fills out and submits a booking confirmation form and pays the booking fee. Until such a time the Editor will not book the Client in for the Editor’s services and thus the terms and conditions policy will not be triggered.
Booking fee
All Clients are required to pay a non-refundable booking fee that is calculated at an additional 35% of the overall fee. This booking fee will be deducted from the invoice upon completion of the project. For a full run-down of how this system works, see my fees explained page.
By filling in the booking confirmation form the Client agrees to secure my feedback/editing services for only the specific project that has been discussed, reviewed, and agreed upon, at a specific and mutually agreed timeslot.
By filling in the booking confirmation form, the Client confirms that they have read and agreed to the terms and conditions herein.
By filling in the booking confirmation form, the Client confirms their compliance and understanding of the terms of the cancellation policy which will apply forthwith.
The booking fee will be deducted from the overall fee in the final invoice issued when the editing work is complete.
The booking is considered confirmed only once the booking fee has been paid in full by the client and received by the Editor.
The booking fee should be paid within 4 days of sending the booking confirmation form to secure the slot in the Editor’s schedule.
Cancellation policy
The cancellation policy may be invoked when the dates agreed upon, by both myself and the Client, are changed after the client has spoken to me via email and subsequently submitted the booking confirmation form.
The nature of payment under such circumstances is reliant on when a client may choose to cancel work. (For further details on booking fees, see Fees explained.)
Cancellation during the project: the Editor reserves the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed upon fee (less the booking fee).
Cancellation with less than two weeks’ notice: the Editor reserves the right to invoice for 50% of the agreed upon fee (less the booking fee).
Cancellation with less than four weeks’ notice but more than two weeks’ notice: the Editor reserves the right to invoice for 25%
Cancellation with more than four weeks’ notice: the booking fee will not be refunded but no further charges will apply.
Breach of contract
In the highly unlikely circumstance that a serious breach of the terms of the contract are apparent:
The Editor has the right to terminate the contract for her services.
The Client has the right to terminate the contract for the Editor’s services.
If pressing circumstances affect the Editor’s ability to work causing for cancellation of the Editor’s services prior to work commencement (e.g., serious illness, bereavement) the booking fee will be fully refunded to the Client. The Editor will immediately contact the Client and do her best to renegotiate the terms of the project (the time-frame).
Quality assurance
Although I can help you present a coherent and consistent version of your work, and endeavour to do as thorough a job as is possible, I cannot guarantee that it will be error free, nor that it will be accepted for publication. For more information about what is realistic to expect of my copy-editing services, and what I can and cannot promise, see My promise. In agreeing to the terms and conditions you accept the possibilities and risks outlined on said page.
You must notify me in writing within 7 days of final delivery of the project of any complaints relating to the work I have carried out. A complaint of any nature will not void the Client’s obligation to pay the fee invoiced for. If I take up your complaint, this does not mean that I consider the complaint justified or submitted in time enough to secure any refund or action to be taken up in your favour.
Privacy and confidentiality
Your personal details and information and content of the work you send to me will be kept strictly confidential and will not be made known to any third-party individuals unless consent is given by Client, to myself, with written permission.
I will never share, distribute or sell your information to third parties unless the Client (only) gives me written permission to do so, or I am required to do so by law.
I will keep the work confidential – unless the Client gives me permission to do otherwise.
If you confirm your consent (which I will obtain from you separately via email), I may use your name and feedback in my promotional material.
The Client agrees to ask my permission (via email) if said Client wishes to credit me in their work.
Under the terms of data protection and GDPR legislation, the Client and I may keep on record such information (e.g. contact details) as is necessary for record-keeping and to fulfil contracts and secure relevant communication between us. Both parties may view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct, and up to date.
I collect the following information from all Clients:
full name
email address
contact postal address
information regarding your project and my services (e.g. word count, nature of project, whether you're an author or an editor)
I store all Client information in password protected documents, within a password protected folder on a password protected monitor.
I collect this specific information from Clients in order to:
be able to respond to Clients for information regarding my availability and editing services prior to any work commencement and during work on your text.
allow me to contact a Client upon work commencement with any queries or important updates.
allow access to any text/manuscript/script to be edited
enable certain functions on this website
to better understand how visitors use my website and help improve my services
I collect your data for use as follows:
For my accounts, invoicing Clients, and so that I am compliant with HMRC’s requirements.
To contact Clients in response to any enquiries, quotes, special offers or bookings.
To record your agreement to the terms and conditions of my services.
I will never use this data for marketing or promotion purposes without getting your permission in writing first, or unless you have signed up to be notified about specific offers via newsletter.
Cookies
The only way in which I use cookies is for web analytics: Squarespace analytics.
“Squarespace places cookies on visitors’ browsers to help your site run effectively, provide the best experience for your visitors, and help [me]… learn more about traffic” (see Squarespace’s Cookie Policy). You can change your cookie settings should you wish to disallow cookies on your device. However, because of the reasons outlined above, this may affect the way my website runs on your device.
Squarespace’s Privacy Policy
Squarespace’s About the cookies that Squarespace uses
I collect this data via:
Contact form (via Squarespace)
Booking confirmation form (via Squarespace)
Email (via Gmail)
I will never share, distribute, or sell your information to third parties unless the Client (only) gives me written permission to do so, or I am required to do so by law.
Storing data
Because it is common for editors to have returning Clients, I do not delete data unless specifically requested to do so. Please ask if you want me to delete your records. I will be happy to do this for you as long as I am complying with HMRC's legal requirements in doing so.
According to HMRC’s legal requirements, “[I] must keep [my] records for at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year.” See 'Business records'. This means I must keep hold of the Client’s records for 5 years should HMRC wish to check that I am paying the correct amount of tax.
Your data will not be shared with anyone unless you request that I do so in writing. The only exception: HMRC chooses to audit my business and I am requested to do so by law.
Copyright
Any content created by me, Amy Davies, as part of the editing/feedback process will become the copyright of you, the Client, unless otherwise agreed.
Written content to be edited, sent to me by the Client, is understood by me, Amy Davies, to be under copyright and owned by the Client.
Liability and indemnity
You are responsible for the legality, accuracy and completeness of your work and all information given to me in order to complete the project. I will accept no liability for consequential loss, damage of whatever nature, or claims by third parties, if it should prove that the information provided to me was incorrect or incomplete, even if such information was provided in good faith. I will accept no liability for problems with the text that I advised the Client change as part of my copyediting services if the Client failed to do so.
You are ultimately responsible for the content of your work and how it is used or published. In particular, I am not responsible for any changes made after your work leaves me.
You will indemnify me against all claims by third parties due to an alleged infringement of any copyright, property, patent or other intellectual property right associated with the project.
You will indemnify me against all claims by third parties ensuing from the use of the project work.