INTER ALIA EDITING
PROOFREADING AND COPY-EDITING TERMS AND CONDITIONS
PART 1
GENERAL TERMS
1. These terms and conditions apply to any work done for the Client (you) by Inter Alia Editing (me/my/myself/I).
2. I will provide proofreading and/or copy-editing services as mutually agreed in writing by myself and the Client.
3. The Client is under no obligation to offer me work; neither am I under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client.
4. The work will be carried out unsupervised at such times and places as determined by me, using my own equipment.
5. The work will be carried out by me and not subcontracted to third parties, in part or in whole.
6. I, Anika E. Parsons on behalf of Inter Alia Editing, confirm that I am self-employed and therefore responsible for my own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and will not claim benefits granted to the Client’s employees.
7. I confirm that I am operating as a sole trader and am therefore not VAT registered.
8. The contract for services requires that the Client and I both acknowledge, in writing, that we have read, understood, and agreed to these terms and conditions.
PROJECT TERMS
9. Prior to the proofreading and/or copy-editing work commencing, the Client and I will agree, in writing, to the project terms, including:
9.1. The marking method by which the project will be carried out, and which medium will be used (Track Changes in MS Word/Annotations in Adobe Reader/BSI mark-up on a paper hard copy).
9.2. The deadline for the project.
9.3. The fee for the project based on the content, level of editing required, and the deadline (as advised by me).
9.4. Any expenses that the Client will bear in addition to the above-mentioned fee (e.g. postage, travel expenses to attend meetings requested by the Client etc.).
9.5. The date by which the Client will deliver the material to me.
9.6. I will not be held liable for errors or omissions caused by the Client’s failure to communicate the requirements clearly.
9.7. I will not be held liable for any delay or failure to perform any obligation under these Terms and Conditions, and both parties shall be released from their respective obligations, if the delay or failure is caused by circumstances beyond the parties’ reasonable control, including, but not limited to, fire, explosion, flood, war (or similar events such as national emergency or civil unrest), industrial disputes, technical failure, or any other similar event which renders the performance of obligations impossible.
9.8. If there is a waiver or variation of any of these Terms and Conditions by me at any time, it will constitute a waiver or variation for that transaction only. Your obligations in respect of being bound by the remaining Terms and Conditions will continue to be in force.
FEES SCHEDULE
10. The fee quote is supplied by me after the preliminary assessment of the material to be proofread and/or copy-edited.
11. The Client will pay me a fee per hour, OR, if otherwise agreed in writing prior to work commencing, a fee per 1,000 words OR an agreed flat fee for the project.
12. If, upon receipt of the project, it becomes apparent that significantly more work is required than had been anticipated and agreed upon in the preliminary discussion/brief, I reserve the right to renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
13. Similarly, if, during the project, additional tasks are requested by you, the Client, I reserve the right to renegotiate the fee and/or deadline.
14. Payment of fees will be requested by invoice, which will be sent to the Client with the completed proofread/copy-edited project. Payment will be made within 30 days by bank transfer to a UK bank account.
15. I reserve the right to charge interest and a late fee on any outstanding fees after the 30 days from the date of the Client receiving the invoice, according to the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (amended 2002 and 2013).
DEPOSIT
16. For students contracting to use my Academic Proofreading service, I require a 50% deposit prior to work commencing.
17. For author and business clients, a deposit is not required.
CANCELLATION
18. Cancellation prior to the project commencing: You, the Client, can cancel the request for work up to the commencement date, at no charge.
19. Cancellation during the project: If the project is more than halfway complete and you, the Client, cancels the request for work, I reserve the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee. If the job is under halfway complete, I reserve the right to invoice for 50% of the agreed fee.
20. Either the Client, or I, has the right to terminate a contract for services if there is a serious breach in its terms.
PART 2
ACADEMIC PROJECTS
21. I recommend that you check with your academic institution, prior to engaging my services, whether academic proofreading of your work is permitted, and, if so, whether it is a requirement that this be referenced in your work.
22. I will require confirmation from you that you have received authorisation from your supervisor to use my proofreading services.
23. Plagiarism (including collusion) and breach of copyright are serious offences, and there can be severe penalties if plagiarism or breaches of copyright are found to be contained within your work. This includes, but is not limited to, permanent disqualification from your studies. I do not check, and will not be held liable, for any plagiarism arising in your work.
24. If, upon receipt of your work, I suspect that it contains plagiarism, I reserve the right to cancel the contract between us with immediate effect.
25. I will not proofread your document in any way that breaches your academic institution’s rules concerning plagiarism. I will not rewrite your document or parts thereof, or change the content or meaning of existing text.
26. I will not copy-edit the work. The academic service provides proofreading services only. These are outlined on the SERVICES page on my website, under PROOFREADING.
27. This service does not constitute professional academic advice.
28. The mark you are awarded by your academic institution is not within my control and I cannot be held liable for a lower than expected mark or grade in relation to your proofread material. While my aim is to ensure your work is free from errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and is consistent in style, I cannot guarantee that using my proofreading service will result in an improved mark or grade.
PART 3
CONFIDENTIALITY
29. The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client and its contractors, unless with prior written permission.
30. I will not, under any circumstances, upload the Client’s files to external websites (other than to Dropbox for the purposes of file storage and retrieval by me or the Client), or distribute them to third parties, unless with the full written permission of the Client.
31. Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Client and I may keep on record such information (e.g. contact details) as is necessary. Either may view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct, and up to date.
32. I may use the Client’s name in my promotional material with the Client’s full written consent.
COPYRIGHT
33. All content delivered to me by the Client for the proofreading and/or copy-editing project is owned by the Client.
34. Any content created by me as part of the project will, following payment of the invoice, become the copyright of the Client, unless otherwise agreed.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
35. I aim to provide an accurate, thorough, and reliable proofreading and copy-editing service. However, I cannot guarantee 100% accuracy due to the nature of human error.
PRIVACY POLICY AND THE GDPR
36. Please refer to the privacy policy page, which explains the data I collect, how it is used and stored, and my compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
LEGAL
37. These terms and conditions are subject to the laws of England and Wales, and both I and the Client agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts.