Terms, Policies, and Procedures
Hard-Copy Editing

(Go to Electronic Editing Terms)

Please review the following terms before requesting a quote for hard-copy editing services.

All prices and options associated with hard-copy editing can be found on the Hard-Copy Revision form. After you've filled out the hard-copy editing form and sent it along with the manuscript portion to me either by email or postal mail, I'll provide an invoice and one-page Client Agreement. Invoices for less than $150.00 are required to be paid in full, up front, regardless of when the editing job is scheduled. For invoices of $150.00 or more, half of the balance or $150 (whichever is greater) is required up front as a deposit, and the balance required before delivery of the last half of the printed edited manuscript. I reserve the right to decline a proposed project if I feel it is not well suited to me. You are also under no obligation to accept any offer. [See FAQ for info about AI-generated content]

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sending any invoice payment indicates your agreement to all terms detailed in the Client Agreement. So, please read it carefully and contact me before paying if you have any concerns.

Often, projects will need to be scheduled weeks in advance. Contacting me as soon as possible is best, so that I can schedule time for your manuscript and discuss deadlines and expectations. I don't offer rush jobs for hard-copy editing due to the added time allowed for shipping. Once your initial payment is received, my time is reserved for your book as agreed.

Accepted payment methods include debit, credit, PayPal and Square. All payments are processed securely through PayPal or Square (account not required to pay invoices). I will send an invoice that includes payment and delivery details, as well as an offer expiration date.

All manuscripts need to be submitted in one of two ways: 1) printed and sent by postal mail; or 2) in a Microsoft Word document attached to an email (for me to print out). Document formatting and printing instructions are included on the hard-copy editing form.

If you'd like me to sign an NDA before you ship the manuscript to me, feel free to send me one in an email. I'd be happy to print out, sign, and mail it to you.

All content submitted must be the author’s original content; non-original material must be credited to original author and permissions received where necessary. If the majority of content was AI-GENERATED, it must be noted on the form and $100 will be added to the quote, regardless of length. If I am NOT informed and run some of the manuscript text through an AI-detector after purchase and discover it IS AI-generated, then I will decline the job and refund your deposit MINUS a $50 inconvenience fee.

If I have questions regarding clarification of ideas or intent throughout the editing process, I’ll send you a questions document either by postal mail or email. Please respond to my specific questions and send them to me by postal mail or email.

I'll accept additions to your manuscript after your original submission as long as you check with me first and my schedule permits. I'll adjust the invoice to reflect the additional charges based on the word count of the added content.

Once I’ve completed editing of the printed manuscript, I'll ship it to your postal mailing address and email the tracking number to you. Before shipping it, I'll scan your edited printed manuscript and keep the images as a temporary backup UNLESS you opted out of scanning on the form. If you also choose to have me send those images to you, I'll send them either by email in a compressed zip file, or on a flash drive to your postal address. If you opt out of scanning, then you accept any risk and agree to not hold me liable if either the edited or unedited printed manuscripts are lost in shipment.

Once you receive the edited printed manuscript, then you will have complete control over which revisions to make to your own original electronic file or a new typed document.

I do not offer refunds once I have already begun editing. If you request a refund before I start editing your manuscript, and within one week of payment, then I will refund your deposit (minus $25 cancellation fee and any fees that have already been used for printing and scanning) within seven days of receiving your request. Scanned images of the unedited manuscript will be sent to you. I will return the printed manuscript to your postal address (shipping cost will be deducted from the refund).

If you decide not to pay the remaining invoice balance after receiving the first portion of the edited printed manuscript for whatever reason, then I will store the second half of the printed manuscript (non-negotiable). You are welcome to pay for editing and shipping of the second half of the book at a later date, subject to availability in my schedule.

Please realize that I cannot guarantee successful or lucrative book publication. I DO guarantee that I will provide dedicated and accurate editing services along with honest and specific feedback as promised. My goal is to suggest significant improvements and enhancements of your manuscript in preparation for publishing, while protecting your ideas, intent and tone.

One week after you've received the complete edited printed manuscript, all scanned images that I've temporarily stored for backup will be deleted.

Your work will never be shared with or distributed to anyone, period, without your express permission. Authors retain full copyright protection of original content at all times, and gain copyright protection of content edited and delivered by karolyneditsbooks.com upon receipt of payment. The only exception to this is AI-generated content which is not copyrightable. Likewise, I will only use your content for the purpose of providing editing and proofreading services. In addition, your personal details, including contact information, email address, postal address, and personal communications will be kept private and never shared, sold, or rented at any time. The only exception to this rule would be in the unlikely event of nonpayment for services rendered or reversal of charges, in which case legal recourse would require the sharing of said information with the appropriate government authorities.

I often add published book covers to my online portfolio to display many of the finished books that I've worked on. Editing clients and newsletter subscribers will automatically receive occasional email updates about my services or scheduling. ***If you choose to request exclusion from this activity or future emails (unrelated to current contracts), please notify me either through this site's contact form, by sending me a dated, signed letter, or by replying directly to an email previously received from karolyneditsbooks.com.

After the job is complete, I may ask if you’d like to write a testimonial about my services. This is completely optional. If you choose to do so, then it will be posted on my website, along with your name (first name only or both, whichever you prefer) and country.

Alternative contact method for clients and quote requestors

I reserve the right to update these Terms periodically. Updated terms are not retroactive.
Last updated: June 4, 2023