It covers the copy editing work described in the proposal you’ve accepted, and it’s the agreement we both rely on while we do it.
We edit in a careful, accountable way: you can see every change, we keep your voice, and we flag anything that could affect meaning, numbers, claims, citations, or agreed wording. The rest of this document explains how we run the job, what you’ll receive, what we need from you, and how we handle changes if anything shifts after we start.
What we’re doing
We’ll provide copy editing for the document(s) listed in the accepted proposal, using UK English by default and following your house style where you have one. We’ll do the work in Track Changes and we’ll keep a style sheet as we go so decisions stay consistent across the whole document.
Under this heading, the proposal sets out the deliverables you’ll receive. If anything you need is not listed there, tell us before Day 1 so we can confirm whether it’s included or price it as an extra.
* Tracked-changes copy edit * Editor queries in context * House style sheet * Consistency check notes * Reference and citation tidy * PDF proof corrections
Payment
To book the work, you pay 50% of the agreed price when you sign the proposal. We schedule the project once that first payment is in and we’ve got what we need to start.
The remaining 50% is due when we hand over the finished work. We invoice at each stage, and each invoice is payable within 14 days of its date.
If a payment is late, we’ll pause work and any handover until the invoice is paid. If a deadline is in play, we’ll tell you straight away what that pause does to the schedule so there are no surprises.
Changes and revisions
Our copy editing is done in Track Changes, so your main “revision” is your review of our edits and queries. This project includes one round of client revisions: you send one consolidated set of responses (answers to queries and any requested tweaks), and we apply them.
If you send further rounds, or if the text changes after Day 1, we treat that as a change to the brief. Before we do any extra work, we’ll tell you what it means for price and timing and we’ll only continue once you’ve agreed it in writing.
We work from the version you approve as ready for copy editing.
Who owns what
You keep ownership of your original text and materials. Once the final invoice is paid, you own the final edited files we hand over, including the marked-up Track Changes version and any clean copy we provide as part of the agreed deliverables.
We keep ownership of our working methods and tools, including any templates, checklists, and processes we use to do the work. We may also keep working files and the style sheet for our records so we can track decisions made on the project. We don’t reuse your content in other work, and we don’t publish it or share it with anyone outside the project team.
What we’re responsible for
We take care with your meaning. We use queries where something could change sense, affect a number, alter a claim, shift a citation, or touch wording you’ve agreed with others. That said, copy editing is not fact-checking. Unless you ask for it in writing, we don’t verify sources, recalculate figures, or confirm that references are complete beyond flagging gaps and obvious inconsistencies we can see.
If something goes wrong, we’ll put it right by rechecking the affected section and issuing corrected files. We’re not responsible for losses that come from how the text is used after handover, or from changes made by others after we deliver the files.
Ending the project
Either of us can end the project by telling the other in writing. We’ll agree the notice period with you in writing based on where the work has got to and any deadlines you’ve told us about.
If the project ends, you pay for the work we’ve completed up to the end date, plus any non-cancellable costs you’ve approved. If you’ve already paid more than that amount, we’ll refund the difference.
Once payment for work done is settled, we’ll hand over what we’ve completed so far in a usable form, along with the current style sheet and notes. We’ll also flag anything we think needs a final check before you publish or send to print.
Signature
