Contract Terms
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The general contract terms presented on this Web page are negotiable on a case-by-case basis. Unless negotiated between the client and Stephen Evans dba The Freelance Editor (hereafter, “the-freelance-editor”), the terms stand as worded and complete contracts between a client of the-freelance-editor and the-freelance-editor. That being the case, both parties are bound by the terms, irregardless of whether each term is explicitly referenced in a client's proposal/contract. It will be the responsibility of the-freelance-editor to reference this Web page in each proposal/contract; it then becomes the client's responsibility to review, understand, and negotiate or accept without amendment the general contract terms outlined herein. |
Basic Agreement and Specific Terms
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The following sections will be provided by the-freelance-editor in separate correspondence, since they pertain to specifics of each individualized project:
As client/project-specific terms, no description or verbage follows on this page. |
General Terms
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Unless addressed otherwise, the following sections will be standard terms of each and every project:
Each of these sections is discussed below. |
Section 1: |
As standard procedure, the-freelance-editor will provide one complimentary “follow-up reading” after the author reworks the substantially same* material. This optional (the author's decision) reading is offered at no charge as long as the resubmitted text is an obvious deriviative* of the originally reviewed work. This follow-up reading is a courtesy that is offered for comparative and basic proofing purposes only and is not intended to be a second “review.” Additional reviews may be arranged as possible at a negotiated later date for a discounted rate. The primary purpose of this follow-up reading is to ensure that the author has
During the follow-up reading, the-freelance-editor will not argue over or debate substantive opinion. Instead, the-freelance-editor takes the liberty to assume that the author has considered and evaluated any comments, queries, and suggestions offered in the original review and made appropriate adjustments and changes. During the follow-up reading, the-freelance-editor will primarily focus on correcting only obvious errors in spelling, grammatical construction, word choice, and punctuation. After the follow-up reading, the author may then opt for additional reviews for which the-freelance-editor will provide additional corrections as well as additional comments, queries, and suggestions. Any additional reviews will be performed as possible at a negotiated later date for a discounted rate. Following any additional review, the-freelance-editor will perform one more follow-up reading of that substantially same* material to see that all corrections/suggestions have been addressed in a proper manner and that all comments/queries have been addressed or dismissed appropriately.
*As stated, the material in a follow-up reading must be substantially similar to the material already reviewed, an obvious derivative. Any changes made by the author should have been reasonable adjustments meant to improve small sections of the same earlier material, not major changes or rewrites intended to replace that material or to extensively expand it or to extensively elaborate on it. |
Section 2:
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Unless agreed upon and mentioned elsewhere, this project does not include verification (fact-checking) of any references, formatting of any regular text nor any footnote or endnote or bibliography entries (though content of such entries will be weighed as much as possible for continuity and relevance with the text to be sure the note correlates with the text), or checking or correcting errors between the text and an index (though titles and subtitles of the table of contents and any provided reference/table/illustration list will be checked against titles used in the text). Likewise, unless agreed upon and mentioned elsewhere, this project does not include any implementation of or correction of formatting (though discrepancies will be pointed out as noticed) or the application or correction of any instructional design techniques (though suggestions might be made). If the-freelance-editor is retained to provide an index, pagination will be provided for only one version of the text; if the text is revised or amended to the point that page numbers shift from the original reference, re-verification will be provided only at additional cost as scheduling permits. Note that all of these services are available from the-freelance-editor but that scheduling and payment issues require them to be arranged separately. In addition, the scope of this project does not allow for any evaluation of or judgment on the use of original text vs. plagiarized text or potential copyright infringement. If any other services relevant to this project arise, they will be discussed and negotiated. |
Section 3:
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If, at any time, the submitted material is judged, in the opinion of the-freelance-editor, to be of substantially less quality than any samples submitted for the purpose of creating an estimate or proposal, the client will be notified of the possibility of additional but justifiable charges. The client will, naturally, have the opportunity to contradict this opinion and to request support for the proposed charges. |
Section 4:
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As stated on the Web site of the-freelance-editor: unlike many editors, the-freelance-editor does not expect editorial comments to be taken as gospel; instead, it is hoped they will prove useful as “markers” that point out weak spots where works could be made stronger. If a suggestion is accepted, that’s great—it helps the-freelance-editor know his services are on the same track as the client; but if any ideas/comments/changes spark other, additional creativity, that’s even better. In the end, how a writer changes, and hopefully improves, his or her work is up to the author. |
Section 5:
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Clients will be billed after a mutually agreed-upon interval (weekly, biweekly, or monthly, for instance) or after a mutually agreed-upon amount of work ( a chapter or two or three, a section, or a number of pages, for example). Upon receipt of each payment, the client will receive the corresponding work. If, at any time, any client or associate of a client falls behind in payment, the-freelance-editor reserves the right to withhold completed work. Upon receipt of adequate payment, the work that has been processed will be released. Subsequent payments may then be requested in advance. Payments are expected in full in a timely fashion; all obligations are due in full within a twenty-day period from the date on any outstanding invoice. Final payment of any outstanding balance will be due within a twenty-day period from the date on a final invoice. If a deposit is requested (as is common for a first project), it is due any time before completed work is presented for a client's review. In exchange, the client may request a copy of the then-current working document file, with the warning that it might not be the final version of that section of the manuscript. Payments can be made
Additional options are available to Bank of America customers who use electronic banking. |
Section 6:
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I usually do not work for royalties only (in-lieu-of “instant,” upfront payment), and unless an alternative arrangement is agreed upon by both parties, no royalty will ever be requested by the-freelance-editor against sales related to this project. If, however, the author feels or comes to feel in the future that editorial services provided as a result of this contract contributed to the success of the finished product or a derivative product, the author may offer periodic royalty payments at their discretion. A royalty in the neighborhood of ½ percent would be considered most generous! |
Section 7:
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I recognize that you are placing a great deal of trust in me by allowing me to see your most secret thoughts and ideas before they are made public. Let me assure you that I will not at any time or in any manner use for my own benefit or communicate with anyone or any entity any plots or story lines, character descriptions, settings, outlines or summaries, research or facts, trials or calculations, assumptions, propositions, conclusions, or any other part of your project without your express permission. All dealings will be kept strictly confidential, at this time and in the future. |
Section 8:
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the-freelance-editor is free to negotiate and invites the client (if necessary) to make a counteroffer/counterproposal to any of the terms in either the Specific Terms document or the General Terms page, especially if the client has other ideas (or a different rate or a more flexible deadline) in mind. Within reason, the-freelance-editor will try to work with all prospective clients. It is the mission of the-freelance-editor to reach as many writers as possible by keeping total costs as low as is reasonable and competitive. That said, remember that two components weigh heavily on a project’s price:
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Section 9:
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Unless agreed to by both parties, prices and deadlines or turnaround times proposed in the Specific Terms document are valid for only thirty calendar days from the date that document was submitted by the-freelance-editor to the client. |