Legal Terms
Ruth Bullivant Book Coaching and Editing
I serve writers who require a professional, objective view on the impact of their artistic and creative work.
These are the terms on which I do business.
Read them before you pay me.
Because when you pay me, you will be bound by them.
Universal terms that govern all our work together
These terms apply to whatever paid service I provide to you, whether book coaching, editing, or something else.
1. Cancellation
Of course, you may withdraw from our coaching agreement at any time but if you withdraw or cancel, my policy is not to refund any money you have already paid to me.
This is because by the time you pay me anything, I will have – at the very least – tailored a plan of support for you and your book; and I will have carved out and protected time in my schedule for you despite applications from other writers.
2. Application Form
If you wish to apply to work with me, please use this form:
Apply for book coaching
Apply for editing
All the terms in that form are incorporated into this set of terms which forms our contract when you pay me to support your book.
3. My liability
It’s really hard to think what liability I might attract by helping you to write a better book. (There’s a hostage to fortune, if you like!)
In case I’m being unimaginative, let’s make it absolutely clear that in entering into our contract to work together, you agree that I am not and will not and cannot be construed to be liable to you or to any third party for loss or damages of any kind suffered by you or that third party. Period.
I hope there will never be any dispute between us but for the record, these terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales and the courts of England have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute.
4. Your deadlines
I undertake to give your work equal attention with all my other clients. Your obligation is to submit your assignments by the time and date I ask you.
Usually, you should send your homework so that it is in my inbox by 8 am UK time on the Monday morning before your scheduled call.
If you miss your submission deadline, I will not have time to give deep thought to your work before our call. That means you will get less benefit from coaching. If you persistently miss deadlines, we will need to discuss and replan and possibly even part ways.
5. Rescheduling calls
Please don’t (unless you are suffering an emergency) because the whole point of coaching is to bring your raw, authentic self to the call. You don’t have to feel “ready” for the call. Otherwise, why would you be paying me to help you?
If you have trouble finding the time or headspace to work on your book, and feel a desire to put our call off to a later date, please email me as soon as you start to feel you’re in trouble.
If you fail to show up for a call, I will not be liable to refund any payment nor to reschedule.
6. Emergencies
If you are prevented from attending a scheduled call because an emergency such as illness or injury incapacitates you or someone you care for, email me as soon as possible. Head the email ‘URGENT’ and we will find a solution.
7. Payment
You make payment, in a currency we agree, for each coaching call to secure my time in advance; for my editing service, you pay a 50% deposit and the balance on delivery of the edited manuscript.
You pay by credit card on the secure payment platform Stripe on a link I email you. Payment is due on receipt of the link.
Payment is nonrefundable, as I said in “1. Cancellation”.
I never enter into contingent fee or royalty-share arrangements.
8. Business Information
My business name is Ruth Pedley trading as Ruth Bullivant Book Coaching and I am registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) in the UK under GB239376182. VAT at 20% is applied to the cost of my services to UK and EU clients.
I am contactable by email on the address I give you when you apply for my service.
9 Guarantees
I give no guarantee: of monetary success, of finding an agent or a publisher, of reader enjoyment, nor of achieving “bestseller” status.
In my coaching service, I do guarantee you an honest and productive experience that will help you to get clear about how to move your book on to the finish.
In my editing service, I guarantee you a careful and thorough edit.
10. Editing
Even editors mean different things when they describe a service as “editing.”
When I undertake an editing service for you (be it Line Editing, Copyediting, Proofreading, or Indexing) I define exactly what falls in, and out, of scope of the service.
Scroll down this page to find #3, 4, 5, & 6. They are the definitions I work to. The differences are also laid out on this page.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It is essential to copyedit and proofread your manuscript in MS Word before you publish, but your manuscript will not be ready for publishing until it has been “set” (formatted) in a publishing-friendly form of software, and the formatted pages have been proofread. (I don’t offer a formatting service.)
Specific terms that apply when I edit your work
1. Before you hire me
Before we agree to go ahead with your editing service, we determine:
What sort of edit your manuscript needs
We agree a price, and a deposit to secure my time, and
We agree a timetable for you to hand over your manuscript and for me to return it to you, fully edited.
2. Handover
I only edit in MS Word and not in Google Doc, .pdf files or InDesign, or any other software.
Your manuscript must be complete, and in a finished form appropriate for the level of editing service we agree.
Share your manuscript with me by attachment to email (and not by linking to a shared drive, Google, or Dropbox, or similar). I may agree to file-sharing during the course of our work together.
3. Line editing
I will:
• Determine the language and reading level appropriate for the intended audience and medium;
• Ensure the work conforms to the appropriate style manual or guide and dictionary, and create a Style Guide to establish design decisions for this manuscript;
• Where necessary for narrative clarity and quality, move chapters, sections, or paragraphs from one place to another;
• Flag sentences or paragraphs that require further development by you for effective narrative quality and flow;
• Only write original material (ghostwrite) if commissioned by you for a certain purpose and at additional rate; and
• Only conduct original research if commissioned by you for a certain purpose and at additional rate.
Nonfiction
• Recommend, if necessary, that certain ideas be developed further or cut from the manuscript for use in a second publication.
Fiction
• Recommend changes in pacing and plot;
• Recommend changes in dialogue to ensure that diction, tone, and vocabulary are consistent with character’s age, occupation, life experience and educational background; and
• Identify characters who should get more or less time on the stage, or who should be cut from the manuscript.
I will not:
• Ensure that the grammar, spelling, and punctuation of the work is correct, line-by-line (because that needs to be done in the next phase of writing, once all the bigger picture pieces are in place);
• Perform any proofreading;
• Write original material (ghostwriting) unless commissioned by you for a certain purpose and at an additional rate; or
• Conduct research unless commissioned by you for a certain purpose and at an additional rate.
4. Copyediting
I will:
• Determine the language and reading level appropriate for the intended audience and medium;
• Ensure the work conforms to the appropriate style manual or guide and dictionary, and create a Style Guide to establish design decisions for this manuscript;
• Only where necessary, rewrite sentences, paragraphs, or passages to resolve ambiguities, ensure logical connections, and clarify your meaning or intention, in harmony with the style of the material;
• Ensure that transitions between sentences and between paragraphs are smooth and support the coherent development of the text as a whole;
• Adjust the length and structure of paragraphs to ensure variety or consistency, as appropriate to the audience and medium;
• Where necessary to ensure that a paragraph has a clear and coherent focus, reorder sentences within paragraphs;
• Eliminate wordiness;
• Render jargon to plain language while leaving terms of art intact;
• Delete material that is redundant or detracts from the narrative, or flag such material that in my judgement, should be deleted;
• Ensure correctness and consistency of spelling, mechanics, usage and punctuation. Language is a flexible tool and evolves daily: different styles of expression, usage and punctuation are appropriate to different forms of writing. The approach will be set out in the Style Guide.
• I will use the styles that appear to me to be most appropriate to your work. If that means, for example, including or misplacing commas, splitting infinitives, or using terminal prepositions where your friend who reads a lot of books and majored in English at college would not, then my decision is final, because you are paying me to read the whole manuscript and to judge what is appropriate, correct, and consistent for the document as a whole;
• Make sure that text boxes and tables add to the clarity and coherence of the manuscript; and
• Ensure that headings, tables, and footnotes are clearly and sequentially numbered.
I will not:
• Undertake a final proofreading of the copyedited manuscript;
• Write original material (ghostwriting) unless commissioned by you for a certain purpose and at additional rate; or
• Conduct research
to establish the accuracy of your text or footnotes unless commissioned by you for a certain purpose and at additional rate.
5. Proofreading
I will:
• remove punctuation, grammatical, and spelling errors, text defects, spacing errors, update any automated table of contents, and will ensure consistency in the presentation of your text and footnotes.
• Where ambiguity arises, I will note it and I may exercise professional judgment in areas where there is no right answer (always striving for internal consistency).
I do not
• Assume responsibility for the layout or presentation, for example, the position or application of shaded text boxes, or any other layout,
• Conduct research to establish the accuracy of your text or footnotes unless commissioned by you for a certain purpose and at additional rate.
6. Indexing
Indexing is a service that is performed ‘manually’. There is no button in MS Word that you can press to automatically generate an index.
When I index, I comb through your copyedited and proofread manuscript to identify the terms that a reader might want to look up in the index. I mark up the manuscript to show every instance of each word. I create a ‘concordance’ file that enables variations of terms to be located. Once that is done, I use a button on MS Word to generate an index based on the word selections I have made by hand.
When you take my Indexing Service, you are relying on my professional judgment to create an index that will be of real use to your reader.
7. Delivery
I will return your manuscript in MS Word, by attachment to email unless we agree otherwise, both in a tracked changes version showing my changes and comments, and in a clean version that you can take forward.
8. Payment
When we have agreed I will edit your manuscript, you make payment of a nonrefundable 50% deposit, in a currency we agree, to secure my time in advance; the balance of full payment is due upon delivery of the edited manuscript.
It is up to you to deliver your complete manuscript on the date we agree. If you don’t, you might have to forfeit your deposit, or pay a higher amount for your edits than we initially agreed.
You pay by credit card on the secure payment platform Stripe on a link I email you. Payment is due on receipt of the link.
I never enter into contingent fee, or royalty-share, arrangements.
9. Guarantee
I give no guarantee, of monetary success, of finding an agent or a publisher, of reader enjoyment, nor of achieving ‘bestseller’ status.
In my editing service, I do guarantee you a careful and thorough edit.
I may err – I am human – but I can guarantee that any errors or typos are reduced to a minute percentage of your whole manuscript, and that if you draw my attention to a typo I have missed within four weeks of delivery, I will correct it and return your updated manuscript to you.
10. No affiliation
I have no affiliation with any other person or business.
As an Author Accelerator certified book coach, I am qualified to coach writers using Author Accelerator’s strategy, methods, and materials, but I operate independently of Author Accelerator and I am not affiliated with them.
My Privacy Policy
I respect your privacy and promise not to spam you or sell or give away your email address.
HOW I TREAT YOUR INFORMATION
Ruth Bullivant is the trading and author name of Ruth Pedley. Ruth Pedley is a natural person with a real identity in law and the administrator of the website ruthbullivant.com
By using ruthbullivant.com, you agree to the conditions of this Privacy Policy which informs you about what happens to the data I, Ruth Pedley collect from you. It also explains when and how I can use this information.
INFORMATION COLLECTED FROM YOU
When you fill out a form on the site, you will be asked to provide your contact information. Otherwise, there is probably not much point in filling out the form. This information (your personal information) will be used by me, Ruth Pedley to contact you in response to your request and to send you information about my work, if you have asked for that. I will not transfer it, sell it or give it to any other party unless required by law to do so.
You have the right to remain silent… no, sorry, wrong script. You have the right not provide your contact information but if you do not, you will not be able to submit the contact form.
If you leave a book review or any other comment for other readers to see, your comments may be used and posted by me, Ruth Pedley (writing and trading as Ruth Bullivant) without restriction and free of charge on my website and/or as deemed appropriate by Ruth Pedley in other marketing efforts. You can always request to have these comments or reviews deleted at any time by contacting me.
NEWSLETTER & CRM
Please note that you can unsubscribe from my newsletter by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the end of every newsletter.
I use MailerLite to manage my email marketing subscriber list and to send emails to my subscribers. MailerLite is a third-party provider, which may collect and process your data using industry standard technologies to help me monitor and improve my newsletters. MailerLite’s privacy policy is available at https://www.mailerlite.com/privacy-policy . If you subscribe to my newsletter, your name and email address will be kept private and saved on MailerLite’s secure servers.
I will only email you to send you news about my writing and publications and/or to offer free or discounted books from other authors you may enjoy, and/or general advice related to writing, publishing, or marketing.
I use a client relationship management system called Capsule and your email address is also stored on their secure servers. Capsule’s Privacy Policy can be found here.
COOKIES ARE NOT BISCUITS
Cookie Notice
This site may use cookies and keep track of browsing behaviour and traffic information such as URL, ISP, IP addresses, entry page, exit page and other statistical, demographic or aggregated information from its visitors. This non-personal information cannot be linked to your personal data but can be used to improve this website and the information it contains. You can always change your browser configuration if you do not want to accept cookies from this site although it could result in problematic viewing of the site.
AFFILIATE LINKS
Broadly, I dislike affiliate links but I make an exception for small companies and some individuals whom I trust and support because of our professional relationship, such as Author Accelerator. If you click on one of my affiliate links, a cookie will be placed on your computer and should you make a purchase on that website, I, Ruth Pedley (trading and writing as Ruth Bullivant), if I am very lucky, may be paid a commission. You will not pay a penny more by going through these links than if you went to the companies direct.
LIMITATION OF MY LIABILITY
By using this site, you acknowledge that I, Ruth Pedley (coaching, editing and writing as Ruth Bullivant) accept no type of liability invented by the wit of lawyers, law makers or the courts for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or any other type of damage associated with this site, including but not limited to any virus that may infect your computer. All efforts are made to ensure such consequences don’t occur but you are solely responsible for any damage your equipment or you suffer that is related to downloading material obtained from this site or from sites linked to this site.
I am not liable for the unavailability of this or any other site, its failure or that of site functions except to the extent required by applicable laws.