Terms and Conditions
General
- These terms & conditions apply to any work done for you [“the Client”] by Brian Langan, trading as Storyline Editorial Services [“the Editor”], and by agreeing to avail of services provided by the Editor, the Client explicitly agrees to be bound by and agree to all terms and conditions listed on this page. These terms and conditions form an automatic, irrevocable, and essential agreement that explicitly exists between the Client and Storyline Editorial Services.
- The Client is under no obligation to offer work to the Editor; neither is the Editor under any obligation to accept work offered by the Client.
- The Editor reserves the right to refuse service to any client or prospective client for any reason and without explanation.
- Brian Langan, trading as Storyline Editorial Services, confirms that he is self-employed, is responsible for his own income tax and PRSI contributions and will not claim benefits granted to the Client’s employees.
Contracted Services
- An agreement by email between the Editor and the Client will usually serve as a contract, subject to acceptance of these terms and conditions. Such an agreement will summarise the details of the services the Editor will provide, the Client’s responsibilities, and a quote in the form of a best estimate of the costs. A more formal contract can be drawn up if required.
- The Editor will provide service(s) as mutually agreed, confirmed in writing by the Client. In certain cases, the Editor may suggest that a different service to the one requested by the Client may serve the Client’s needs better; the type of service agreed upon will then be at the Client’s discretion.
- The Editor will carry out all editing or other services to the high quality and standards laid out on this website and in these terms and conditions. He will treat all work and communications with professionalism, courtesy, honesty, and integrity at all times.
- While the Editor will complete all work to a very high standard, he is unable to guarantee that the Client’s work will be completely error-free at the end of the process. The Editor aims to be as accurate as possible, but he neither implies nor states that completed work will be entirely free of error. Therefore the Editor does not warrant or guarantee that any work carried out by will be completely accurate, reliable, current, or error-free.
- It is the Client’s responsibility to check the veracity and accuracy of all facts and statements in their work through their own research. While the Editor will be alert to certain possible inaccuracies, he cannot verify all such facts and statements, particularly where they are related to a topic outside of his expertise or training.
- Any content created by the Editor as part of the editing process will become the copyright of the Client, unless otherwise agreed.
Estimates, Quotes and Fees
- The Editor can provide an estimate of fees on the basis of a sample of the document and an accurate word count of the full document. This estimate is based on the approximate amount of time the Editor believes it will take to complete the services required, based on the estimated level of work that may be required and the total word count.
- A more accurate quote can be given once the full document has been supplied, and will reflect a fair estimate of the number of hours required multiplied by an industry-standard hourly fee. Unless specifically agreed in writing, no contract exists between the Client and the Editor until such a time as the Editor has seen the full document and a quote has been agreed on. The Editor undertakes to keep a full record of time spent on the Client’s work.
- The Editor will endeavour to give an accurate quote that will be reflected in the final fee. However, the time spent on certain types of work can be difficult to predict, and the final fee may differ from the quote. If, however, on receipt of the document to be worked on or at an early stage in the editing process, it becomes apparent that significantly more work is required than had been anticipated in the preliminary discussions, the Editor may renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline. If the Editor believes the final fee is likely to exceed the quote by more than 10%, he will inform the Client at the earliest opportunity.
- Similarly, if, during the term of work undertaken by the Editor, additional tasks are requested by the Client, the Editor reserves the right to renegotiate the fee and/or the deadline.
- The work will be carried out unsupervised at such times and places as determined by the Editor. If required, the Editor agrees to attend the Client’s or other premises for necessary meetings at a mutually agreeable time, the time spent and agreed reasonable expenses incurred, including travel, to be reimbursed by the Client.
- The Client will reimburse the Editor for agreed reasonable expenses over and above usual expenses incurred in the process of editorial work.
Payment and Delivery of Work
- Unless agreed otherwise at the outset, the Client will pay the Editor on the following basis: 50% of the mutually agreed quote in advance of any work being undertaken; and the balance (including reasonable expenses and any additional fees that are mutually agreed upon during the course of the work being undertaken) within 30 days of receipt of the Editor’s invoice.
- Payment will be made by bank transfer unless otherwise agreed. The Editor regrets that he cannot process payments by credit card or through online payment systems such as PayPal.
- The Editor will make every effort to complete and deliver the work by the date agreed, for the agreed fee. However, services and deadlines are subject to the Editor’s availability and workload at a particular point in time. The Editor will only take on work that he believes can be completed by the mutually agreed deadline.
- The Client undertakes to supply all requested material by an agreed date well in advance of the required deadline. The Editor cannot guarantee that the work will be completed by the deadline if the material is not supplied within a reasonable time.
- If extenuating personal or professional circumstances result in the Editor being unable to complete the work by the agreed date, the Editor will inform the Client at the earliest reasonable opportunity.
- If the project is lengthy – for example, if several drafts are required – the Editor may invoice periodically for completed stages.
Confidentiality
- The nature and content of the work will remain confidential and not made known to anyone other than the Client and its contractors without prior written permission. If requested, the Editor will agree to sign a confidentiality agreement.
- All contact information and other data supplied is subject to our Privacy Policy, and to the Irish Data Protection Acts of 1988 and 2003.
- Storyline Editorial Services may use the Client’s name in promotional material, with the Client’s agreement.
Termination of Contract and Legal Issues
- Either the Client or the Editor has the right to terminate a contract for services if there is a serious breach of its terms.
- Under certain circumstances, the Editor reserves the right to discontinue work undertaken for the Client and to terminate a contract. These circumstances include, but are not restricted to: suspicion of plagiarism; copyright infringement without due acknowledgement; any content that encourages or condones any practices that are illegal in Ireland or the UK, or that promotes racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. or that incites hatred or encourages or promotes fraudulent activity. In such circumstances, the Editor reserves the right to cease working on the project, cancel our contract and delete all materials relating to the matter, and to invoice for work completed to that point.
- If requested, the Editor will highlight any issues that he believes may give cause for concern in terms of libel, contempt of court, breach of copyright or other potential legal issues. However, the Editor advises that any such concern should be raised with a lawyer and/or the publisher of the work before the work is published. Storyline Editorial Services accepts no liability for any legal challenge to any aspect of the work as undertaken and completed, or any damages that may result from publication of the work.
- This agreement is subject to the laws of the Republic of Ireland, and both the Editor and Client agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the Irish courts.