Terms and conditions

Contract of services

Last updated September 2026.

General overview

1. These terms and conditions apply to work done for the Client (you) by the Editor (Rachel Rowlands).
2. The Client is under no obligation to offer the Editor work; neither is the Editor under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client.
3. The Editor will provide service(s) as agreed upon and confirmed in writing via email.
4. The work will be carried out unsupervised at such times and places as determined by the Editor, using her own equipment.
5. The Editor is self-employed, responsible for her own income tax and National Insurance contributions, and will not claim benefits granted to the Client’s employees (if you have them).
6. The Editor is not VAT registered.
7. The Client confirms they are over the age of eighteen.
8. By signing the contract of services, you acknowledge and confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to these terms and conditions.

Content policy

1. If the Client’s work contains explicit and/or disturbing content (such as sexual abuse involving children or animals, incest, animal cruelty, etc.), the Client agrees to disclose this prior to signing the contract of services, so the Editor can decide whether or not to accept the project.
2. Should the Client fail to disclose this type of content, work on the project may be paused or ceased. The Client agrees to pay to cover any work already completed.

AI policy

1. The Editor provides editorial services for human-written manuscripts. The Editor does not provide services for manuscripts where artificial intelligence systems or generative AI have been used to draft, structure, create, or generate content for the manuscript.
2. If the Editor discovers the manuscript was generated, structured, or created by AI, the service will cease. The Client agrees to pay to cover any work already completed.
3. The Client agrees they will not feed the Editor’s content, including notes, editorial reports, comments, and resources provided as part of an editorial service, or the Editor’s written communications, into any form of AI or language learning model.
4. All edits, notes, and comments created as part of an edit are carried out and written by the Editor. Generative AI is not used to create or generate edits, notes, or commentary.
5. The Editor will not feed the Client’s writing or manuscript into any form of AI or language learning model. 

Editorial process

1. If additional tasks are requested by the Client that fall outside of the agreed scope, or if the agreed word count changes, the Editor may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
2. Any files relevant to the project are due at least 24 hours before the project start date.
3. If files are not received on time, the Editor reserves the right to postpone or cancel the project. A new booking deposit will be required for rescheduling or rebooking.
4. Should the Client wish to credit the Editor within the work, the Client will seek permission from the Editor prior to publishing her name and/or website in any acknowledgement sections or on the book cover.
5. The Editor may use the Client’s book cover in her portfolio (https://racheljrowlands.com/editorialportfolio/), on her website, or on her social media or editing directory pages, unless requested not to do so.
6. The Editor adheres to the Code of Practice of the editorial associations she belongs to, and strives to provide high-quality services in line with industry standards. However, a small number of residual errors may remain after a line edit, copyedit, or proofread. The Editor does not promise or guarantee perfection. The Client acknowledges that, despite the best efforts of all parties, the final work may contain residual errors.
7. Where a service includes an optional review of additional material, such as reviewing revision plans or rewritten query letters, these should be sent to the Editor within eight weeks of the Editor completing and returning the agreed-upon work.
8. If additional materials are not provided within this time frame, the service will be closed and considered completed. If the Client wishes to have additional material reviewed after this time, an additional charge will be required. The work will be carried out subject to the Editor’s availability.
9. If an optional consultation is included with a service, this must be carried out within eight weeks of the editorial files being returned to the Client. Should the Client fail to arrange the consultation within this time frame, the service will be closed and considered completed.
10. Consultations included with a service will be carried out using Teams or Google Chat.
11. Consultations may be conducted via Google Chat to allow the Editor flexibility in scheduling and to accommodate different time zones, or based on the Client’s preference.
12. After a copyedit, the Editor will review the Client’s changes to the manuscript within a time frame pertinent to her schedule.

Booking process and fees

1. The Client will pay the Editor the agreed fee, as discussed in writing via email.
2. A 25% booking deposit will be required for full manuscripts. Deposits are non-refundable.
3. Deposits are due within three days of the Client receiving the deposit invoice. The Editor cannot guarantee the spot in her schedule until the Client pays the booking deposit.
4. The deposit will be taken off the Client’s final invoice. The remainder of the fee is payable when the work is complete.
5. Payments for submission packages are to be paid upfront seven days before the agreed-upon start date.
6. The project will not begin until the Client has paid the booking deposit or made payment in full, depending on the service.
7. The Client’s final invoice will be sent upon job completion (where a deposit was paid). This should be paid within three days of receipt. The Editor will only release editorial files when final payment is made.
8. If, on receipt of the work, or at an early stage, it becomes apparent that significantly more work is required, the Editor may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline or decline the work.
9. For lengthy or more complex projects, the Editor may invoice the Client periodically. Payment plans will be confirmed in writing via email. 
10. Under the terms of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, the Editor reserves the right to charge interest and compensation if payments exceed the date specified on the invoice. 

Cancellations and rescheduling

1. The Client is free to cancel or reschedule by providing four weeks’ notice via email. The Editor must acknowledge this for it to be valid.
2. If four weeks’ notice is given for cancellations, the service will be cancelled and the spot in the Editor’s schedule released. Any deposit paid is non-refundable.
3. Should the Client provide the Editor with less than four weeks’ notice of cancellation, the Editor reserves the right to charge 100% of the remaining fee, not including the deposit.
4. Should the Client provide the Editor with less than four weeks’ notice of rescheduling, the Editor reserves the right to charge a rescheduling fee equal to 25% of the total fee.
5. Should the Client cancel while the job is in progress, the Editor reserves the right to charge 100% of the fee, not including the deposit.
6. Either the Client or the Editor has the right to terminate a contract if there is a serious breach of its terms.
7. The Editor is free to cancel or postpone at any time in the unlikely event of difficult or severe circumstances such as illness or bereavement. The Editor will contact the Client to renegotiate the time frame, or to find the Client an alternative editor.
8. If the Editor cancels while a job is in progress, the Editor will return any completed work and the Client agrees to pay for the work completed.
9. If any proposed changes to the time frame made by the Editor are not suitable for the Client, the Client’s deposit may be applied towards another service with the Editor. This credit must be used within twelve months of the original booking.

Client communication

1. The Client agrees to respond to emails from the Editor in a timely manner throughout the duration of the service.
2. After booking a service, if the Client becomes unresponsive for more than 10 days without notice (including before the agreed start date), the Editor may cancel the service or pause the project until communication resumes and will reschedule it in line with her availability. The original delivery date will no longer be guaranteed.
3. In the event of unresponsiveness and a service being cancelled, the Client will be invoiced for any work completed and agrees to pay for the work completed.

Copyright and confidentiality

1. All written materials delivered to the Editor by the Client will remain the property of the Client.
2. The nature and content of the work will be kept confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client without written permission.
3. All editorial letters, annotations, in-line comments, and written correspondence from the Editor remain the intellectual property of the Editor and are protected by copyright.
4. The Client agrees that the Editor’s letters, annotations, in-line comments, and email communications are provided solely for editorial guidance and cannot be integrated, adapted, or copied into the client’s manuscript or used, copied, or published elsewhere, including on social media. For the avoidance of doubt, this restriction does not apply to direct edits made via Track Changes, grammatical corrections, or specific alternative phrasing options provided by the Editor for the Client’s creative prose (whether inline or written within a comment). The Client holds full ownership and copyright of their manuscript text upon incorporating those specific revisions.
5. The Client is responsible for their own work and the Editor cannot be held accountable for its success, any legal or copyright issues, or negative feedback and reviews.
6. The Editor declares that she is also an author, and engaged in creative pursuits outside of providing editorial services. The Client acknowledges that any similarities in style, themes, or ideas between their work and any of the Editor’s existing or future works are purely coincidental.

Data protection policy

1. The information that the Client and the Editor may keep on record is covered by the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). No more such information will be held than is necessary, at any time, to comply with those terms and with any compliance statement or privacy policy published by the Client and/or the Editor. Both the Client and the Editor agree that, where consent is required to hold or process such data, such consent has been requested and obtained and both facts can be demonstrated. Either may view the other’s records to ensure that they are relevant, correct and up to date.
2. In case of emergencies, such as the Editor becoming severely ill, and where the Editor is unable to contact the Client, the Client’s name and email address may be passed on to a trusted individual to notify the Client of any delays, disruptions to the service, or cancellations. The Client agrees they are happy for this information to be passed on in the case of an emergency or any severe circumstances impacting the work.