Terms and Conditions

How It Works

You will submit a sample of your writing (no more than 20 pages double-spaced) with an outline or summary of your project and word count. I will look at it, and then contact you so we can discuss your creative vision, my rates, and an estimated turnaround time.

I will then send you a standard Terms of Agreement to sign, which covers everything stated here. I will need to receive your signature through the DocuSign service and the deposit for the first half of my total fee. The second half of my total fee is due upon the date of our consultation. My total fee covers line-by-line edits, a typed-written evaluation of the project as a whole, a phone or Skype consultation, and email correspondences.

Once we agree to work together, you must submit the remainder of your project in the following format: 1” margins, double-spaced, 12 point Times New Roman (or Helvetica). Please send your project in either a Word.doc or a .docx attachment. If you are unfamiliar with this format, you can Google “How to convert a pages document to a word doc…” etc.

My feedback of your work will be done electronically. I will send you an overview of my typed-written critiques, via email attachment. In addition, you will receive my line-by-line comments, which will be made on the word.doc / .docx attachment you sent me.

That being said, please make sure you can send and open these files from your computer, and are able to read my comments in Microsoft Word—or in a similar program.

If you are experiencing trouble, I can send you my feedback as a PDF—or, if you prefer, I can mail you a printed version—however, you will be responsible for all applicable charges, including shipping fees.

I will be in touch, via email, once my evaluation of your work is complete. From there, we will set up a time to meet either by phone or by Skype.

We will then have our conference time together (one hour, give or take), where we will discuss your work in detail—and where you will have the opportunity to ask me questions.

Options

At the end of our conference we will make a plan for your next steps, whatever they may be. From there, you can decide if you are feeling confident enough to go forward on your own—as you are under no obligation to continue working with me. You may later email me questions you might have about a comment I made in the written critiques, but that may not have been discussed during conference at no additional charge.

Or, you may decide to revise and resubmit your work to me, with a plan to schedule a second conference. This, too, will include emails of further questions you may have, after the fact, with no additional charge. However, please know that there is an additional fee for resubmitted material, because it represents additional time spent on your project. However, I will charge half of the original fee, in most cases, as an improved manuscript usually entails less work with each subsequent read.

Note: I will begin working on your project as soon as you send it out. That being said, please know I cannot except updated drafts of your work after you’ve sent it to me, and before our conference meeting time.

Discounts and Referrals

Clients who have booked a full-length manuscript evaluation with me (Approx. 50K words or more) will receive a 15% discount on new, full-length projects.

Clients will receive a 20% discount on new, full-length projects for every friend they refer, who books a full-length manuscript evaluation with me (Approx. 50K words or more). Your friend(s) will also receive 20% off the total fee.

Refund Policy

Due to the rigorous and time-consuming nature of my services, I cannot offer refunds after I’ve begun working on your project. The only exception is if I have not yet begun the editing process, in which case I will gladly refund your deposit within one week of receiving your written request. If you elect not to pay the second half of the fee after the consultation, I will need to pursue official channels in order to recover the payment. This policy is non-negotiable.

Testimonials

Once we have completed our work together, I may ask you for a testimony about my services—of which you are not obligated to provide. If you do decide to provide one, however, I reserve the right to edit it for clarity and for word economy while maintaining the meaning of your message. I also reserve the right to publish it on this website and any other marketing materials, using only your first name and the first letter of your last.

Privacy and Security

Your manuscript is safe with me. I will never use any of the work you send me, for any reason, without your written permission. I understand that releasing your baby into the world for the first time can be anxiety provoking, however, please know that in order to be published, you will have to place the same kind of trust in an editor or agent when submitting your work to writing contests, journals or publishing houses.

Moreover, our work together will remain confidential. I will never discuss your work with anyone outside of our conference time or email exchanges.

In addition, your personal information: email, phone number, etc. will be kept safe. I will never sell, trade, rent or abuse your information in any way.

I reserve the right to send promotional emails or mailings to existing clients on rare occasions. You are free to unsubscribe from Book Breakthroughs at any time by clicking the “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the page.

Guarantee

It is my sincere hope that you go on to land an agent and/or get your work accepted for publication. That being said, it’s important to note that the work we do together—the shaping of your ideas, the building of momentum in your manuscript, the defining of your creative vision—will leave you feeling more focused and inspired to move toward the next phase of completion. However, I cannot promise that our work together will result in the publication of your work, or the landing of an agent—that is a whole separate journey that you must make, on your own, once you feel confident enough in your writing, have the story you want, know how you want to market it, and have done your research. My duty is simply to help you find your voice and to be the absolute best writer you can be!

Right To Refuse Service

I reserve the right to politely decline the opportunity to work on a project if, on the rare occasion, I don’t feel said project is a good fit for me—a decision that will be made before we begin any work together.