Terms of Service

Sara Simone Bennett | Editing Services

Effective date: 9/1/2026

Last updated: 9/1/2026

1. Agreement

These terms cover editing work performed by Sara Rose Bennett, doing business as Sara Simone Bennett ("Editor," "I," "me"), for clients ("you," "Client"). Booking a project, paying a deposit, or sending a manuscript for editing means you accept these terms. If you don't agree with them, don't book.

A separate project agreement or invoice may carry details specific to your project: word count, rate, start date, delivery date, payment schedule. Where that document conflicts with this page, the project agreement governs.

2. Services

Three services are offered:

Copy editing. $0.025 per word. Mechanics over style and voice. Covers grammar, punctuation, usage, internal consistency, fact checking, formatting.

Line editing. $0.03 per word. Everything in copy editing, with added attention to sentence rhythm, word choice, syntax, clarity, and voice at the line level.

Proofreading. $0.02 per word. A final pass after editing is complete, looking for leftover errors and layout or formatting conflicts.

Rates are quoted in U.S. dollars, per word of the manuscript as submitted. Published rates may change at any time. The rate named in your project agreement is locked for that project.

3. Work not accepted

I don't take on:

Erotica or romance, including dark-toned work in those genres

Manuscripts generated in whole or in substantial part by AI tools

Work outside the genres I edit (horror, weird fiction, science fiction, grimdark fantasy, and related dark fiction)

Ghostwriting or any content to be produced on your behalf

If a submitted manuscript appears machine-generated, I reserve the right to end the project immediately. The deposit isn't refunded in that case, and any completed work is delivered as-is.

4. Booking

A project is booked when the deposit clears, not when we agree by email. Calendar slots go to whoever pays first.

The deposit is 10% of the estimated total.

The deposit is non-refundable. It holds your slot and covers the sample read and project setup.

The balance is due on the date named in your project agreement. Edited files are delivered after the balance clears.

5. Word count and quotes

Quotes use the word count reported by Scrivener for the submitted file, body text only. Front matter, back matter, and acknowledgments are excluded unless you ask for them to be edited.

The final invoice reflects the actual count of the file you submit, not the estimate given at inquiry. If the submitted manuscript runs more than [10]% longer than quoted, I'll send a revised quote before starting.

Sending a longer or restructured manuscript after booking can move your delivery date.

6. Payment

Payment runs through Stripe or PayPal.

Processor transaction fees are covered by me and aren't added to your invoice.

Work stops and the delivery slot is released if the balance isn't received within 2 days after the due date.

Refunds filed after edited files are delivered will be contested with the editing and delivery record.

7. Cancellation and rescheduling

By you:

You may cancel up to 24 hours before work begins. The deposit isn't returned.

If you cancel after work begins, you're billed for the portion completed, calculated at the per-word rate for text already edited. Anything paid above that amount is refunded within 2 business days.

One reschedule with at least 7 days notice is free. A second reschedule is treated as a cancellation, and you will owe a new deposit if you decide to rebook.

A manuscript that arrives later than the agreed start date may be moved to the next open slot.

By me:

Illness, family emergency, or another event outside my control may delay delivery. I'll notify you within 24 hours and give you a revised delivery date.

If I decide that I cannot complete the project, your payment will be refunded in full within 7 business days, regardless of work completed.

8. Manuscript submission

File type: Submit in .docx only. Google Docs links, PDFs, Scrivener projects, and image scans aren't accepted.

Formatting: [12pt Times New Roman, double spaced, single file, chapter breaks marked with numbered headings].

One version per project. Once work starts, replacement files aren't accepted.

The version you send is the version I edit. Revisions you make on your own copy during the edit won't be reconciled into the returned file.

9. Turnaround and delivery

Turnaround is set per project by length and service type, and stated in your project agreement.

Edits are returned as a .docx with Track Changes and margin comments.

Delivery goes to the email address on file. If you need it delivered to any other address, you must notify me within 48 hours before work is completed.

One round of follow-up questions is included, within [14] days of delivery. Passes over revised text are quoted as a new project.

10. What editing does and doesn't do

The manuscript stays yours. Every change I make is a suggestion, and you accept or reject each one. Final decisions on your text belong to you.

No editing pass produces error-free text. Editors miss things, especially across long manuscripts. Proofreading reduces the error count, and doesn't zero it out.

No outcome is promised or implied: not publication, not agent representation, not sales, not reviews, not contest placement.

I hold no formal editorial certification. What you're hiring is judgment built on my own practice as a writer and reader of dark fiction.

In plain terms: you're paying for a skilled writer's suggestions over a set number of hours, not for a result in the market.

11. Rights and ownership

You keep all copyright and all rights to your manuscript at every stage of the work.

I claim no ownership, no co-authorship credit, no royalty share, no claim on future editions.

The editorial letter, margin comments, and any notes I write are my documents. You receive an unlimited, perpetual license to use them however you want in service of your own work. You can't resell them or publish them as standalone content.

In plain terms: your story stays yours, my notes about your story stay mine, and you can do anything you want with those notes short of selling them.

12. Confidentiality

Your manuscript, your identity as a client, and anything you tell me about the project stay private.

Files are stored on password-protected local storage and deleted 90 days after final delivery.

I'll sign an NDA if you have one. Send it before the deposit.

Two exceptions apply: disclosure required by law, and content indicating a credible threat of harm to a verifiably real person.

13. AI use

I don't run client manuscripts through generative AI tools of any kind. No editing pass, no summarizing, no rewriting, no grammar checking beyond the spell-check built into Word.

Your manuscript has to be human-written. What you do with AI for research notes or brainstorming is your business. Model-generated prose isn't accepted.

Presenting an AI-generated manuscript as your own ends the project with no refund. I will not accept a rebooking for any reason.

14. Testimonials and promotion

I won't name you, name your title, or quote your work publicly without your written permission.

If you give a testimonial, I can use it on the site and in marketing materials, with the attribution you approve.

Permission can be withdrawn by email at any time. Removal happens within 3 days.

15. Conduct

I can end a project, with no refund for work already performed, if you:

Send abusive or threatening messages

Demand work outside the booked service without paying for it

Miss agreed dates repeatedly in a way that makes scheduling unworkable

Submit material you don't hold the rights to submit

You can end the project at any time under the cancellation terms in Section 7.

16. Your warranties

By booking, you confirm that:

The manuscript is your original work, or you hold the rights to have it edited

It doesn't infringe anyone's copyright, defame a real person, or contain material that's illegal to possess or distribute

You're 18 or older, or have a parent or guardian agreeing on your behalf

What you've told me about word count, deadlines, and prior editing is accurate

You agree to cover legal costs I incur from any claim about your manuscript's content or ownership.

In plain terms: if someone sues over what's in your book, that's yours to handle, not mine.

17. Limits on liability

My total liability for any claim connected to a project is capped at the amount you paid me for that project.

I'm not liable for lost profits, lost publishing opportunities, lost royalties, or reputational harm.

Nothing here limits liability that can't be limited under applicable law.

18. Third-party services

The site runs on Squarespace. Payments go through Stripe or PayPal. Files may move through Proton email or Google email. Those companies' own terms and privacy policies apply to their portion of the transaction, and outages or data incidents on their end aren't within my control.

19. Changes to these terms

These terms can change. Whichever version is live on this page when you book governs your project. Material changes won't be applied retroactively to work already underway.

20. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of South Dakota, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Before either side files anything, both agree to attempt resolution by email or a scheduled call within 30 days of written notice. Unresolved disputes go to the state or federal courts located in South Dakota.

21. General

If any part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest stays in effect.

Not enforcing a term on one occasion doesn't waive it later.

These terms, plus your project agreement, are the entire agreement between us, and they replace prior emails or conversations on the same subject.

You can't transfer your booked project to another person without my written agreement.

22. Contact

Questions about these terms: email me at sara.rose.bennett@proton.me, or use the contact form at sarasimonebennett.com/contact.