GENERAL OVERVIEW

​

• These terms and conditions apply to any work done on behalf of the Client (you) by me (Tin Lantern Editorial, LLC).

 

• I will provide editing services agreed upon (in writing) by myself and the Client.

 

• The Client is under no obligation to offer me work; neither am I under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client.

 

• The work will be carried out unsupervised at such times and places as determined by me, using my own equipment.

 

• The work will be carried out by me. I will not subcontract editing projects, or parts of projects, to third parties.

 

• I confirm that I am self-employed, am responsible for my own income tax as subject to the Internal Revenue Service, and will not claim benefits granted to the Client’s employees.

 

• The contract of service requires that the Client acknowledge, in writing (including email via the reservation form), that they have read, understood and agreed to these terms and conditions.

​

​

PROJECT TERMS

​

Prior to commencement of the editing work, the Client and I will agree, in writing (including email), the terms of the project:

​

• the medium in which the editing service will be carried out (e.g. in Microsoft Word)

 

• how the material will be annotated (e.g. Track Changes in Microsoft Word)​

 

• 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 to be edited and the time frame required to complete the job

 

• any expenses (e.g. postage) that the Client will bear in addition to the costs of the editing

 

• 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

 

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.

​

 

COST OF SERVICES

​

• A proposal, including the cost of the project, 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.

 

• 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.

 

• The Client will pay me a fee per word OR per hour OR an agreed flat fee for the project, as agreed in writing.

 

• If the full project cost was not paid in advance, a final invoice will be sent to the Client once the project is complete. 

 

• Payment should be received within 14 days for full edits. Otherwise, a late fee of 1.5% of the remaining balance will be assessed every 30 days that payment is late. 

 

• The project materials will be sent to the Client once the invoice has been paid in full.​

 

• Unless otherwise agreed, the fee quoted is for one pass of a manuscript. Additional passes are new projects, the terms of which will be agreed separately.

​

 

RESERVATION PROCESS

​

• Once the Client and I have agreed, in writing, to the terms of the project, the Client will fill out the Reservation Form (see below) to agree to these terms. Completing the Reservation Form serves as a contract of services between me and the Client.

 

• By filling in the Reservation Form, the Client agrees to secure my editing services for a specific and mutually agreed-upon project, at a specific and mutually agreed time.

 

• By filling in the Reservation Form, the Client confirms that they have read and agreed to the terms and conditions herein. From thereon, the terms of the cancellation policy (see below) apply.

 

• When the Client has sent the Reservation Form at the bottom of this page, I will issue the invoice for the reservation fee. This fee should be paid within 3 days to secure the slot in my schedule.

 

• The reservation fee is a nonrefundable charge of 50% of the total quoted amount to reserve time in my schedule for the Client’s project. Projects that total $500.00 or less will be invoiced in full in advance. 

 

• Reservation fees are non-refundable.

 

• The reservation fee will be deducted from the final invoice issued when the editing work is complete.

 

• The reservation is considered confirmed once the reservation fee has been paid by the Client and received by me (Tin Lantern Editorial, LLC).

​

​

PROJECT COMMENCEMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

• I will contact the Client two weeks before the mutually agreed start date with a reminder that the file is due 24 hours before said start date.

​

• If in the unlikely event the Client does not confirm in writing (including email) within one week prior to the mutually agreed start date that they will be supplying the file for editing, the project is deemed to have been cancelled by the Client and the slot in my schedule will be released.

 

• If, as is likely, the Client confirms the project, I will ask for the file to be sent to me 24 hours before the start date.

​

​

CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICIES​

​

• If the Client decides to cancel the project:​

  • Before the project start date: The deposit will not be refunded, and no other fees will be charged.

  • After project work has begun: I reserve the right to invoice 100% of the total agreed fee.

​

• If, in the unlikely event the Client is touched by extraordinary or difficult 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. I aim to be fair and helpful at all times. 

​

• If I am touched by extraordinary or difficult 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 services. The reservation fee will be refunded. 

​

• Quality Assurance: My editorial feedback is based on established literary theory, genre conventions, and style guide manuals. While I aim for the highest editorial standards, I cannot guarantee the Client will secure agent representation, publication, or sales of the published work. The Client is required to pay for work completed.

​

• Plagiarism: If the Client has been found to have plagiarized work, I’ll stop work immediately and invoice payment for all work done up to that point. If the work done is less than the deposit amount, the full deposit will be kept. The Client holds me harmless against any charges of plagiarism alleged in their work.

​

• Content disclosure: Before the project work commences, the Client is responsible for telling me if their manuscript contains content that may be considered graphic or hateful (including, but not limited to, graphic depictions of torture, abuse, sexual violence, cruelty to animals, or language or themes that promote discrimination based on race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, creed, etc.). If this content isn’t disclosed ahead of time and I’m unable to complete the project because of it, I reserve the right to stop working on the project. The Client will be invoiced for the work already done.

​

• Both the Client and I have the right to cancel a contract for services if there is a serious breach of its terms.

​

​

CONFIDENTIALITY

​

• The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client and its contractors without prior written permission.

 

• I will not, under any circumstances, upload the Client’s files to external websites or distribute them to third parties unless specifically authorized to do so, in writing, by the Client. I do, however, use Google Drive and iCloud as cloud storage systems. See my Privacy Policy for how your data is protected. 

​

 

COPYRIGHT

​

• All content delivered to me by the Client for the editing project is owned by the Client.

 

• 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.

 

• Following payment of my invoice, any line editing (sentence-level) content created by me as part of the editing process will become the copyright of the Client unless otherwise agreed.

​

• The copyright of any content created by me as part of the developmental analysis or manuscript critiquing process will remain mine. The Client may not share the content of these reports without prior written permission from Tin Lantern Editorial, LLC.

​

​

LEGAL JURISDICTION

​

• This agreement is subject to the laws of The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in The United States of America, and both the Client and I agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania courts. 

 

• The exclusive venue for any arbitration or court proceeding based on or arising out of this Agreement shall be Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.

​

 

PRIVACY POLICY

​

Please read my Privacy Policy, which explains the data I collect, how I use it and store it.

​

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS IN PUBLISHED WORKS

​

There is no requirement for the Client to mention me in the published work’s acknowledgements section. However, the Client agrees that I will have the opportunity to review any such mention prior to publication, or to decline to be mentioned.