Terms of Service
These terms are subject to change, so please check back occasionally. Please refer to your estimate for current terms and details about your specific project.
Appointments. 24 hours notice is required to cancel or reschedule appointments, or you may be
billed for the time. Please refer to your appointment confirmation email for details about your appointment and for
access to our web appointment calendar.
Billing.
1. Billing is processed through PayPal, under the name Genuine Coaching
Services.
2. All prices are in Canadian dollars (convert).
3. GST will be applied to Canadian orders.
4. All invoices are due upon receipt.
5. A rush fee may be added to urgent projects and we will discuss this with you before beginning the
project.
Confidentiality. We will never share any of your intellectual property (including your ideas and any of the writing we have done on your project) without your permission. As well, we keep our client list completely confidential, so no one will know that you've hired a ghostwriter or editor unless you choose to tell them. We do greatly appreciate your testimonials and referrals, however.
Conflicts of Interest. While Linda Dessau is working as the Editor of an external publication, she will not accept submissions of any articles that we have been paid to edit, ghostwrite or improve in any way.
Estimates. Estimates are just that. You will be billed for all actual time spent on your project, including time spent on telephone consultation and writing sessions, writing and editing time, revisions, email consultation and research. Timelines are also estimates, and depend greatly on how available you are for edits and revisions.
Fees - Project-based. Please see your estimate for specific details for your project. At the beginning of your project, you will submit a project fee of 50% of the total estimate. When we've completed our work on your project, we will send you an invoice for the remaining balance. Payment for larger projects may be divided differently. Please see your estimate for details. Please note that if the scope of our project changes, the original estimate is no longer valid. We will discuss and clarify the new terms at that time.
Please note: If your project becomes inactive, you will be billed for all work to date. If and when you decide to re-activate your project, we will discuss a new time line and payment process.
Fees - Retainer. For multiple and/or ongoing projects (newsletters, blogs, etc.), you might prefer the flexibility and convenience of our pre-paid 5- or 10-hour retainer packages. That way, if your project changes scope or if an unexpected opportunity comes up that you want us to start working on right away, we have the structure in place to switch gears. We will email you weekly with an update of your balance of hours (on the weeks that we have worked on your projects).
Please note: Retainer payments are non-refundable, but if you need to take a break from our work together, please notify us in writing and we can hold your hours for a limited time.
Format and layout. Products are delivered as Word or .PDF documents, as per request. Writing services do NOT include any graphic design or layout.
Liability. As the author, you accept sole responsibility and liability for the ideas and content in your writing projects.
Ownership. As the author, you retain 100% ownership and copyright of all materials related to your writing project, including your ideas and any written materials.
Process - Editing. We begin with a Power Edit session*. From there, if we need more time to finish editing your project, we will give you an estimate and request a deposit or retainer payment (see "Fees," above). We use Microsoft Word's "track changes" feature, which is the most efficient way for you to review our work. We are also happy to discuss revisions with you over the phone if that is easier for you. It may take two or three rounds to get your piece of writing "just right."
* Limit one per person. If we want to keep working together after your Power Edit session, we'll ask you to submit either a project-based or retainer fee (see "Fees," above).
Process - Ghostwriting. You'll begin with a Claim Your Expertise session with Linda Dessau. From there, she will send you a detailed call summary and an estimate of the cost and timeline for your project, and we will request a deposit or retainer payment (see "Fees," above). Typically, we will meet for one or more telephone writing sessions to create the content of your writing project. We will take notes during our calls and turn those notes into a written draft for your review. Please plan sufficient time in your schedule for these tasks so that we can stay on track.
Team. Writing, editing and administrative tasks are provided by a team. Linda Dessau will personally review and approve every piece of work before it is submitted to you for your feedback.
Turnaround times - New projects. Once you have submitted your deposit, we will reserve the next available time for you in our queue of projects (generally 4-6 weeks in the future).
Turnaround times - Newsletters/ongoing publications. Drafts will be delivered according to the editorial schedule that we set up at the beginning of our work arrangement.
Turnaround times - Retainer clients. Please allow 1 week for us to turnaround your work.
Turnaround times - Returning clients. Thank you, we appreciate your repeat business! If your project is small (e.g., less than 2 hours), please allow 1-2 weeks for delivery. If it is a larger project, please see turnaround times for new projects, above.
Terms of Service updated and effective immediately on February 2, 2009.
