Terms and conditions

Updated 18th April

1. General overview

  1. These terms and conditions apply to any work done on behalf of the Client (you) by me (Isla Aitken | Green Gables Editing​).
  2. I will provide editorial services agreed by me and you via email.
  3. My editorial services may include: book coaching, copyediting, proofreading, formatting and typesetting.
  4. You are under no obligation to offer me work, and I’m under no obligation to accept work offered by you.
  5. The work will be carried out unsupervised at a time and place determined by me, using my own equipment.
  6. The work will be carried out by me alone. I will not subcontract editing projects, or parts of projects, to third parties.
  7. I confirm that I am self-employed, am responsible for my own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and will not claim benefits granted to your employees (if you have any).
  8. I am not VAT-registered.
  9. By signing the contract, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to these terms and conditions, and that the two of us have entered into a contract of editorial services.

​2. Project terms

  1. All editing work takes place in Microsoft Word, using Track Changes.
  2. You and I will agree, via email, the length of time required to complete the project, as advised by me.
  3. You and I will agree a fee for the project, based on a quotation supplied by me, via email, following my evaluation of the material to be edited and the time frame required to complete the job.
  4. You and I will agree any expenses (e.g. postage) that you will bear in addition to the costs of the editing.
  5. You and I will agree the date by which the material will be delivered by you to me.
  6. You and I will agree the latest date by which I will return the completed project, following my advice to you.
  7. 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 I anticipated from 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.

​3. Quotations and fees

  1. I will provide you with a quotation for the editorial work following my evaluation of a representative sample of the material, and a discussion with you about what is required.
  2. Once you and I have agreed the full fee, it is non-negotiable unless you extend the word count of the job or request additional services. In this case, a revised quotation and job-completion date will be negotiated. 
  3. You will pay me a fee per 1,000 words in the original document, OR per hour OR an agreed flat fee for the project, as agreed in writing.
  4. Unless otherwise agreed, I will supply you with an invoice immediately upon completion of the proofreading/editing project.
  5. Payment should be received within 30 days.
  6. Invoices to you will be in pounds sterling.
  7. Payments should usually be made via direct bank transfer. 
  8. Unless otherwise agreed, the fee I will quote is for one pass of a manuscript. Additional passes are new projects, the terms of which you and I will need to agree separately.

4. Cancellation policy: Terms and fees

A. TERMS

  1. Both you and I have the right to terminate a contract for services at any time if there is a serious breach of its terms.
  2. You are free to cancel a service for any reason by providing me with written notice (including email); I must acknowledge this cancellation in writing (including email) for this to be valid.
  3. I may cancel a service at any time for any reason by providing written notice (including email) to you. In the unlikely event that I cancel a service, I will provide a prorated refund of any overages of fees paid.
  4. If, in the unlikely event that you are touched by extraordinary or difficult circumstances that cause cancellation or delay (e.g. family crisis, illness, bereavement), you will contact me to discuss the terms of the cancellation policy. I aim to be fair and helpful at all times.
  5. If I am touched by extraordinary or difficult circumstances that cause cancellation (e.g. family crisis, illness, bereavement), I will contact you 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. 

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B. FEES

  1. CANCELLATION DURING THE PROJECT: If you cancel the work during the editing project, I reserve the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee.
  2. CANCELLATION PRIOR TO PROJECT COMMENCEMENT: If you wish to cancel with less than one month’s notice, I reserve the right to invoice for 100% of the agreed fee. ​If you wish to cancel with more than one month’s notice, no charge will apply.

5. Confidentiality

  1. I will keep the nature and content of the editing work confidential and will not make it known to anyone other than you and your contractors without prior written permission.
  2. I will not, under any circumstances, upload your files to external websites or distribute them to third parties unless specifically authorised to do so, in writing, by you. I do, however, use iCloud as a cloud storage system. See my Privacy Policy for how your data is protected.
  3. Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998, you and I may keep on record necessary information (e.g. contact details). Either may view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct and up to date.

​6. Copyright

  1. All content delivered to me by you for the editing project is owned by you.
  2. In this respect, you agree 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 you.
  3. Following your payment of my invoice, the copyright for any content created by me as part of the editing process will become owned by you unless otherwise agreed.

7. Quality assurance

  1. As member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), I abide by its Professional Practice Code. 

8. Legal jurisdiction

  1. This agreement is subject to the laws of Scotland, and both you and I agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the Scottish courts.
  2. The exclusive venue for any arbitration or court proceeding based on or arising out of this Agreement shall be Edinburgh, Scotland.

9. Business insurance

  1. I hold professional indemnity insurance, which provides coverage for the editing services I offer. This insurance protects both me and you by ensuring that, in the unlikely event of professional error or omission, appropriate safeguards are in place.

10. Privacy policy and the GDPR

  1. Please read my Privacy Policy, which explains the data I collect, how I use it and store it, and my compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

11. Acknowledgements in published works

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

12. Use of digital tools and artificial intelligence (AI)

A. TERMS OF USE

  1. To enhance the quality, accuracy, consistency and efficiency of my editing service, I use digital tools that may have AI-assisted technologies running in the background (even if I’m not actively using them).
  2. Except for the purposes of secure storage, backup and recovery (see 12.B.4), I will never upload your text to a third-party site without your express permission.
  3. All outputs are reviewed and refined by me, a qualified human editor, before delivery to ensure quality and contextual accuracy. Software and AI tools are used strictly to support my human editing process and do not replace my human judgement or professional oversight.
  4. I do not use generative AI to draft recasts of your text or make stylistic recommendations on how your book should read.
  5. I do not use open AI systems for client work. This ensures that your materials are never used for language model training and that your privacy and data are fully protected.
  6. I use reputable providers and maintain the confidentiality of your materials. However, by submitting your content for editing, you acknowledge and consent to my use of the digital tools referred to in 12.B in the processing of your materials under my supervision.
  7. Green Gables Editing shall not be required to use generative AI or to work from AI-generated text. The Client shall disclose to Green Gables Editing if any AI-generated text is included in the submitted manuscript, and may not include more than 5 per cent AI-generated text.


​B. DIGITAL TOOLS
The tools I currently use in the editing process are as follows: 

  1. Microsoft Word: Used for text editing and reporting. Hosted locally via a licensed version of Microsoft 365. AI is embedded in it in the form of CoPilot but I do not actively use it to edit or generate text.
  2. Various macros: Used for text analysis. Hosted locally. Do not use AI. Run offline and do not transmit data.
  3. Ecosia search: Used for fact-checking. Cloud-based service. Uses multiple AI systems to match queries with relevant results.​
  4. iCloud: Used for secure file storage, backup and recovery. Cloud-based licensed version. 

13. Disclaimer

I do my best to provide excellent work, but there are some limits to what I can guarantee. This section explains those limits so we both know what to expect.

  1. Owing to the subjective nature of stylistic editorial work, I can’t guarantee that my editing will be 100 per cent free of ‘errors’.
  2. I am not responsible for how you use the files I’ve edited and returned to you, or for any changes you make to them.
  3. I can’t guarantee that an agent or publisher will accept a submission from you following my edits.
  4. I am not responsible for plagiarism in a client’s document.
  5. I am not responsible for files that are lost, damaged or corrupted by your systems or third-party platforms that you ask me to use or that you upload the edited files to.
  6. I am not responsible for missed deadlines caused by a client’s delay in sending me their files.
  7. I can’t guarantee that I will be able to work with every software/platform or that the Word files I return to you will be compatible with other platforms.
  8. I am not responsible for any changes made to your file by third parties such as publishers or agents after I’ve edited it.
  9. I am not responsible for delays caused by force majeure (e.g. internet outages, emergencies and pandemics).

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