Terms and Conditions
Please read this information carefully before contacting me. These conditions are effective as of May 16th, 2019.
Cooperative Efforts
After your work has been submitted to me and we have established the details (needs, fees, turnaround time), you will be sent a copy of my standard Project Agreement. I need to receive the signature electronically and a 50% deposit. The second half of the fee is due upon receipt of work. Please see more about payment below.
Submission InstructionsOnce we agree to work together, all submissions must be formatted with standard 1" margins, double-spaced, with 12 point Times New Roman (or similar) font, and sent as Word .doc or .docx attachments. This does not include your initial submission to me–that can be copied and pasted into an email message. If you do not know about formatting standards, there are many websites that can help.
For all consulting and editorial work, feedback is done electronically. Notes are provided in a Word document, and line edits use Word’s Track Changes function. Please make sure you can transmit and receive files electronically and are capable of reading Track Changes comments in Microsoft Word or an equivalent program. I am happy to transmit the document as a PDF, which will show the margin notes if you are really having trouble. I’m afraid that I cannot help you with technical troubleshooting beyond this. Any issue that prevents you from transmitting manuscripts or receiving feedback is your responsibility to resolve.
SchedulingPlease note that travel or other activities can impact my schedule. Please let me know if you have any time constraints. Once we agree to work together, I will provide you with an accurate deadline.
GuaranteePlease note that I cannot guarantee that you will achieve publication or literary representation as a result of my services. As with any creative endeavor, there are some things that are simply out of my control.
Payment PolicyFor all services rendered, my policy is to receive a deposit of half the total fee before we begin our consulting or editorial relationship and the balance upon completion of the project.
I am happy to send you a Venmo request if you supply your username or send directly to me (@JCBallard).
If you send anything that incurs a fee that reduces the total, I will add that discrepancy to your balance payment. The balance of the editing fee (if applicable) is due upon receipt of the service. This policy is non-negotiable.
RefundsOnce I have begun working on your project, I will not refund your deposit on the work. The only exception to this is if I have not started the process. If I have not started, I will refund your deposit via your original payment method within one week of your written request. Otherwise, no refunds are offered under any circumstances. If you elect not to pay the second half of the editing fee after the feedback has been submitted, I will pursue official channels to recover payment. This policy is non-negotiable.
TestimonialsAfter the conclusion of our work together, I may solicit a testimonial from you about my services. You are under no obligation to provide one. If you do, however, I reserve the right to edit it for clarity and length (without changing your meaning), publish it and attribute your name first name and last initial on this website and in other marketing materials.
Privacy NoticeYour work is safe with me. Authors must mail out their work to agents, editors, newspapers and magazines in order to be published, and this is no different. Your personal information, like your e-mail address, name and other contact information you exchange with me over the course of our relationship is also safe. I will NEVER sell, trade, rent or otherwise abuse your personal information in any way.
If you are worried about copyright infringement or theft of your ideas, perhaps working with an independent editor or consultant is not right for you at this time. I can only assure you that I will never share, expose, disclose or otherwise use–in any fashion, public or private–any of the materials that you send to me without your written permission.
Right to Refuse ServiceI reserve the right to politely decline the chance to work on a manuscript if I don’t feel it is a good fit for me. This is a decision that I will make before engaging in a consulting or editorial relationship with you.
Cooperative Efforts
After your work has been submitted to me and we have established the details (needs, fees, turnaround time), you will be sent a copy of my standard Project Agreement. I need to receive the signature electronically and a 50% deposit. The second half of the fee is due upon receipt of work. Please see more about payment below.
Submission InstructionsOnce we agree to work together, all submissions must be formatted with standard 1" margins, double-spaced, with 12 point Times New Roman (or similar) font, and sent as Word .doc or .docx attachments. This does not include your initial submission to me–that can be copied and pasted into an email message. If you do not know about formatting standards, there are many websites that can help.
For all consulting and editorial work, feedback is done electronically. Notes are provided in a Word document, and line edits use Word’s Track Changes function. Please make sure you can transmit and receive files electronically and are capable of reading Track Changes comments in Microsoft Word or an equivalent program. I am happy to transmit the document as a PDF, which will show the margin notes if you are really having trouble. I’m afraid that I cannot help you with technical troubleshooting beyond this. Any issue that prevents you from transmitting manuscripts or receiving feedback is your responsibility to resolve.
SchedulingPlease note that travel or other activities can impact my schedule. Please let me know if you have any time constraints. Once we agree to work together, I will provide you with an accurate deadline.
GuaranteePlease note that I cannot guarantee that you will achieve publication or literary representation as a result of my services. As with any creative endeavor, there are some things that are simply out of my control.
Payment PolicyFor all services rendered, my policy is to receive a deposit of half the total fee before we begin our consulting or editorial relationship and the balance upon completion of the project.
I am happy to send you a Venmo request if you supply your username or send directly to me (@JCBallard).
If you send anything that incurs a fee that reduces the total, I will add that discrepancy to your balance payment. The balance of the editing fee (if applicable) is due upon receipt of the service. This policy is non-negotiable.
RefundsOnce I have begun working on your project, I will not refund your deposit on the work. The only exception to this is if I have not started the process. If I have not started, I will refund your deposit via your original payment method within one week of your written request. Otherwise, no refunds are offered under any circumstances. If you elect not to pay the second half of the editing fee after the feedback has been submitted, I will pursue official channels to recover payment. This policy is non-negotiable.
TestimonialsAfter the conclusion of our work together, I may solicit a testimonial from you about my services. You are under no obligation to provide one. If you do, however, I reserve the right to edit it for clarity and length (without changing your meaning), publish it and attribute your name first name and last initial on this website and in other marketing materials.
Privacy NoticeYour work is safe with me. Authors must mail out their work to agents, editors, newspapers and magazines in order to be published, and this is no different. Your personal information, like your e-mail address, name and other contact information you exchange with me over the course of our relationship is also safe. I will NEVER sell, trade, rent or otherwise abuse your personal information in any way.
If you are worried about copyright infringement or theft of your ideas, perhaps working with an independent editor or consultant is not right for you at this time. I can only assure you that I will never share, expose, disclose or otherwise use–in any fashion, public or private–any of the materials that you send to me without your written permission.
Right to Refuse ServiceI reserve the right to politely decline the chance to work on a manuscript if I don’t feel it is a good fit for me. This is a decision that I will make before engaging in a consulting or editorial relationship with you.