The non-boring policy page
Good fences make good neighbors
Yes, this is terribly boring and contract-y and sounds sort of official. Well, not this bit. But what follows.
Having a clear understanding of what does and doesn’t occur, and setting both clear expectations for work and parameters for how/when the work will be done, makes it easier for us to work together.
Story Sessions.
Story sessions last one hour. This can be either via phone calls (for US domestic clients) or Google Meet or Skype (for US domestic or international.) If you want to use Zoom, please provide a Zoom link.
Story sessions are paid up front, prior to the call being scheduled. If you find yourself unable to make the scheduled call, please give at least twenty-four hours notice. Anything less than that, and it is nearly impossible to book the time for another client, so we’ve instituted a 50% cancellation fee for “late cancellations” (under the forty-eight hour threshold.) If it’s an emergency, do let us know, and we’ll see what we can do.
Coaching Sessions.
Coaching sessions are offered in bundles. There is a discount for how many hours of coaching you purchase, but all coaching hours are billed up front.
If you miss a session or cancel with less than 24 hours notice, there will be a 50% cancellation fee against your banked “hours.”
Bankable hours are billed in full increments, and used in quarter-hour increments. So you need to buy full “hours” and the minimum you can use at a time is 15 minutes. (No “quickie 5-minute check-in” calls. It’s just too much to keep track of.)
Coaching/ Story Session Specials.
At least twice a year, I offer a special on hours that can be used for either coaching or story sessions. These specials are for a discount on hours… normally $150 USD/hour, the specials are for $100 USD/hour. These are capped at 5 hours per client and are good up to a year from the date of the special, as outlined on the story session page, coaching page, newsletter, and on the Paypal invoice. After one year, the hours are forfeit.
Editing.
Editing is billed on a per-page basis, with a “page” consisting of a Microsoft Word “page” set at 1 inch margins, 12 point Times New Roman font. If your work isn’t formatted to this, it will be re-formatted at no cost to ensure the proper page count. You will be billed for that amount, though, and the up-front cost will be updated if the original estimate was based on an incorrect format.
Clients pay half of the total bill at time of scheduling, and the remainder on completion. The editing project will be given a window of completion.
Due to sickness/accidents/force majeure/the condition of the work/backlog, this time table may slip up to two weeks, but you’ll be given warning of any delay in your project as well as given the option of working with an alternative, comparable editor in the meantime. You will also be given the option of refund if this proves unacceptable.
I also request a ten page writing sample prior to moving forward with any edits. If your work isn’t ready for a high-level edit, I may suggest other alternatives that might prove more helpful and less costly. I reserve the right to refuse editing if I feel I’m not a good match for the material.
Finally, you are required to pay the remainder of the editing fee on completion, or pay the balance of amount owed via payment plan, no matter how you feel about the edit. So far, I’ve only been burned once, which is why we’re instituting a contract so I have legal recourse. Editing is a lot of work, and sometimes you’re going to get feedback you’d rather not hear. That’s not an excuse to decide you don’t need to pay for my time.
Editing specials.
From time to time, I offer an editing “special” — special pricing for the per-page cost. For the duration of the special, a client can “reserve the rate” for $150 USD. This gives them the opportunity to use the price for a project of their choosing. This special rate is only applicable to one project. One novel only! Not a trilogy, or series, or several unrelated novels. Due to the high demand during this time, you will be required to schedule your project on reserving the rate. (We usually book out almost a year when the special comes up.) Once the rate is reserved and the date is scheduled, you pay half on submission (less the reservation deposit) and half on completion. If you miss your scheduled date, we will retain the rate reservation deposit. If possible, we’ll try to reschedule, but again, we book out a year at this point. We also reserve the right to refund and refuse a project as necessary.
Proposal critiques.
Similar to editing specials, these are paid half up front, half on completion. They will be slotted into the editing schedule, although turnaround tends to be much quicker (unless there’s a partial involved.)
