Editorial Terms of Service

Please read these EDITORIAL TERMS OF SERVICE carefully prior to ordering. Making a purchase on this site confirms your explicit acceptance of and agreement with these EDITORIAL TERMS OF SERVICE regarding editing and other publishing services offered to Indie authors. If you do not agree to any part or aspect of these Terms of Service or the way Melissa Alvarez does business at MelissaA.com, then do not make a purchase from this website. There are no remedies available once a service is purchased.

Whenever you order a service from MelissaA.com, owned by Melissa Alvarez and where she conducts the business of promoting her books, selling books, offering readings, selling merchandise and offers Beta Reading, Proofreading, and Comprehensive Editing services for clients/authors, you and any organization or business you represent are agreeing to be bound by all of the terms and conditions of service listed on this page. These Terms of Service automatically form an irrevocable, and essential agreement that explicitly exists between you and Melissa Alvarez for the product or service purchased. Each editing product page contains an Editorial Agreement form for the editing services. By submitting the forms and making a purchase, you are giving Melissa Alvarez the required permission to perform the work that you are requesting and you are stating that you have read, understood and agree to the Beta Reader Agreement and/or the Editorial Agreement and these Terms of Service.

In these terms:

  • “I”, “me”, “my”, and “Melissa Alvarez” relates to the services offered by Melissa Alvarez.
  • “You”, “Customer”, “Client”, “Author” relates to you.
  • “We” and “Us” relates to both you and I.
  • “The Agreement(s)” refers to either/or/and the Beta Reader Agreement and the Editorial Agreement.

BOOK COVER SERVICES

My book cover design services are located at https://BookCovers.us and consist of predesigned eBook covers in a variety of price ranges. All pictures used in the covers were purchased with a standard license from DepositPhotos.com. My premade book covers are not for use on print books. I am currently not designing print book covers or formatting print book interiors. I may bring those services back at a future date. I also design custom eBook covers that are based on the author’s vision of the cover. Details of what is included in each price range of the custom cover options are included on the individual product pages. Please visit https://BookCovers.us to order.

EDITORIAL SERVICES

I offer the following editorial services: Beta Reading, Proofreading, Query & Synopsis, a Comprehensive Editing Package, and a Second Round Edits Package (at 25% off the price of the Comprehensive Editing Package for clients who have already purchased the Comprehensive Editing Package). All of these services are editorial in nature which means that to the best of my ability, based on my knowledge and experience, I will provide feedback through Microsoft Word’s track changes, comments and notes about corrections, ideas, and changes that will make a stronger book that flows better and is easier to read. I will not do any writing on your behalf and these packages do not include any revisions or rewrites to the text, and you should not expect revisions or rewrites from me. Editorial Services also do not include co-writing services or ghostwriting services. It is the author/client’s responsibility to take the edits that I provide with this service and do their own revisions by either accepting or declining the suggestions through Microsoft Word’s track changes feature, or by re-writing the manuscript to include the suggested changes or to ignore the suggested changes. Revisions and rewrites are entirely the responsibility of the client/author as is the choice to use or not to use the edits I provide with this service.

What you can expect from me:

  • I will treat you with the utmost respect as we work together on your project. I will be professional and courteous and will deliver constructive advice in a positive way, never in a negative manner. I will be honest and work with integrity at all times.
  • I will meet all of my commitments to you.
  • I will complete the work you ordered before or on the deadline you submit on the product form. Expedited service requests sooner than the posted turnaround time will incur additional fees.
  • I will follow any special instructions you provide through the form. If there are any questions or concerns on my part, we will discuss and come to a mutual agreement.
  • I will carry out all editing and proofreading services according to the American English quality and standards of spelling and grammar.
  • If I am booked, I will pause all ordering on the website until I catch up. If you would like to be put on a waiting list, I can do that. I will not take on more jobs at one time than I can handle because that’s not fair to you.
  • I will only take on a job if I know I can finish it by your deadline.
  • If life happens, and it does, and I discover that I’m in a situation where I may not be able to meet the agreed upon deadline, I will let you know right away.

What I need from you:

  • A completed Beta Reader Agreement or Editorial Agreement submitted through my website that includes all the information I need to work on  your book.
  • Any deadlines that you are under so that I can get the work back to you in a timely manner. (enter on the form)
  • Any special requirements. (enter on the form)
  • Payment in full prior to beginning work and payment of PayPal’s fees within 24 hours of receiving the invoice.
  • If requesting beta reading or editing services, please only submit the latest version of your manuscript that you don’t expect to make any more changes to the text. Revised manuscript submissions are not allowed.
  • If you have any questions at all, please ask me. I’m very chatty by nature and enjoy talking to people about their work. I’d rather you ask, then to sit there worrying about something that you don’t need to worry about.
  • It is your responsibility to submit the manuscript as a Microsoft Word .doc or .docx file. It is also your responsibility to know how to be able to use the track changes features of Word to accept or decline the edits that I send to you. I am unable to provide technical advice on using Microsoft Word.

Services. Melissa Alvarez provides editorial services (“Services”) at her website MelissaA.com (“Website”). Editing services are provided on a per manuscript basis (each manuscript is considered a “Project”) and all relevant details of the Project are provided by the author of the Project in the input sections of the appropriate form on the product pages. Services do not include fact checking, calculations, references, conclusions you’ve drawn, research, methodology, claims you’ve made, your approach, or the validity of any of the information included within the text. I do not check for plagiarism. Please don’t plagiarize. It’s not fair to the author you’re copying. Instead write your own text and use footnotes to give credit where credit is due. I do not offer legal advice about copyright. I am not an attorney and you will need to consult with an attorney for any legal issues.

Fees. Fees for the Services are calculated on the individual product pages of the Website and are based on word count or are a set flat rate fee. Services can be purchased by the Client after submitting the Agreements on the appropriate product pages. Each product page details all the individual services offered within each product package. I require payment in full before starting work on your project. I have been burned in the past and completed work that I was never paid for, so this is the only way to prevent that from happening again.  

Refunds. If you request a refund before I have started working on your project, I will refund it in full, However, all of the services I provide are time-intensive and I cannot offer any full or partial refunds after I begin work on your project. I will not negotiate with you regarding this policy. If you are dissatisfied with my services I will not issue refunds, and your only course of action is to discontinue using my services in the future.

Right to Refuse Service. If I do not feel that your manuscript is a good fit for me, I reserve the right to decline the chance to work on your project and will refund all fees paid when you ordered. It is rare that this happens, but it has on occasion due to the subject matter. I do not work on material that I consider illegal, unethical, immoral, or dangerous.

Client Information. The client is fully responsible for submitting completely accurate personal information on the forms on each product page. This includes the correct name, email addresses, and phone number, and payment details via PayPal. If you provide inaccurate information, I have the right to refuse service. The client agrees to assume all responsibility for any issues, errors, and any problems or legal liability that results from the client entering false information on the form.

Scope of Services. Melissa Alvarez does not provide any type of publishing services including submitting the project to or contacting publishing houses or literary agents on your behalf. Offers of payment to connect you with publishers or agents will not be accepted.

Editor. Melissa Alvarez is the sole editor on all projects submitted through the website at MelissaA.com. No one else will ever see your material.

Confidentiality. Melissa Alvarez will not use, discuss, or disclose information about your manuscript or your confidential information other than as required to perform the Services under the Agreement(s) or as required by law. I will never sell, trade, or rent your contact information or any other aspect of your confidential information. You also agree not to use or disclose any of my confidential information without my written permission or as required by law. For the purposes of the Agreement(s), confidential information includes your submissions to Melissa Alvarez through MelissaA.com, your name and contact information, and all other information that either of us provides written notice to the other is confidential.

Communications. It is the responsibility of the author to respond promptly to emails and or calls from Melissa Alvarez. If the author disappears, or doesn’t respond in a timely manner, then this is considered a breach of the Agreement(s) by the author. A timely manner is responding within 24 -48 hours of the call, text, or email. If you’re going to be out of town or unavailable for any reason, please let me know beforehand. If I have questions and you do not respond, I will stop work on your project until I hear back from you and may begin work on another project while waiting on you. This can cause delays and missed deadlines so quick communication is essential.

Word Count: Most services offered by Melissa Alvarez are priced by word count or a set fee. The total word count of the manuscript is calculated using Microsoft Word’s Word Count tool. Upon receipt of your material, your document’s word count will be checked against the word count you entered in the form when submitting. If your word count is more than the number entered on the form you will receive an invoice for the difference, which must be paid prior to Melissa Alvarez beginning work on the project. If your word count is less than what was entered you will receive a refund for the difference.

Manuscript Formatting. The manuscript you upload to the website should be formatted in the following manner: double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font, standard 1” margins. Internal images should be embedded within the manuscript as jpeg files.

Manuscript Submission. The final version of the manuscript that you do not plan to make any additional changes too should be uploaded within the form prior to clicking submit. It is the client/author’s responsibility to upload the correct version of the manuscript you want me to read or edit. If you send me the wrong file, and I’ve already started editing, I will invoice you the additional fees incurred for the number of words I’ve already completed on the incorrect version. This fee must be paid in full prior to my beginning work on the correct version. If I have completed the work you will have to order the service again for the new version. Be careful when selecting the file. Melissa Alvarez is not responsible for any delays or missed deadlines that result from the client uploading the wrong file when ordering editing services. Delays caused by authors uploading the wrong file do not constitute a breach of the Editorial Agreement.

Return of Edited Files. Your edited project will be sent back to you using both email addresses you submitted on the form with both a delivery receipt and a read receipt request. I will also text the phone number you included on the form to let you know I’ve sent the documents. You will receive two files. One with tracked changes turned on so you can see all of the changes made and another with all track changes accepted. Upon receipt of the edited files you are required to respond via email (not texting) within 7 days to let me know that you received the documents. Once this email from you is received by Melissa Alvarez, all files related to the project will be deleted from her computer. If you do not respond within 14 days, and I have received a delivery receipt confirming delivery, I will delete the files from my computer without receiving your response.

Follow-Up Questions. After Melissa Alvarez returns the edited project to you, you may follow-up with any questions or comments, within reason, about the edits via email at no additional cost.

Document Retention. I only retain edited documents for 14 days to ensure you have received them. After this time frame, all documents I have edited will be deleted from my computer and I will be unable to send the work to you again because I will no longer have it. For this reason I strongly recommend that you back up the edited files in a minimum of three different places so that you can access them if one of your systems crashes and loses data.

Second Round Revisions. Upon conclusion of the original Service, if you revise the manuscript and want additional feedback, I offer a Second Round Editing package at 25% off the standard rate. This package can only be purchased if you have ordered the Comprehensive Editing Package from me and this rate is only applicable to the same title that I previously edited. To order, simply choose the package, complete a new Editorial Agreement form, upload the revised manuscript and then purchase the package.

Payment. All fees are required to be paid in full when you order the service through the website.

Intellectual Property. You will retain full ownership of the materials (including manuscripts and images) that you submitted to Melissa Alvarez for editing. The Agreement(s) does not provide you or Melissa Alvarez any licensing rights or other intellectual property rights of any kind, or to any work products or ideas that the other party has generated, except as otherwise specifically addressed herein.

Ownership Rights. The intellectual property generated by Melissa Alvarez including the editorial corrections, comments, notes, overviews, and any other work product as part of the service are deemed “works for hire” according to Title 17 of the United States Copyright Code. All text and information created by Melissa Alvarez under the Agreement(s) are deemed your confidential information and your exclusive property.

No Guarantee. While I make every effort to catch all the possible errors when editing or proofreading a book and am as accurate as possible when performing my services, I do not imply or state and I can’t guarantee that the work I return to you will be 100% completely error-free when it is returned. I’m human too and might miss something. I will not provide discounts or refunds due to missed errors in the edited manuscript that I return to you. I also cannot guarantee that you will publish your book, attain a literary agent, make sales, achieve monetary or commercial gain, or achieve any other objectives as a result of using my Services. I will not contact publishers, agents, or anyone else in the publishing industry on behalf of you or your book.

No Warranty. Melissa Alvarez does not make and expressly disclaims any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, merchantability, suitability, completeness, or results to be derived from the work. All services are provided and delivered on an “as-is” basis.

Limitation of Liability. In no event shall either party be liable for any damages whatsoever, except with respect to either party’s gross negligence or willful misconduct. The total liability of either party under the agreement(s) for any claim shall not exceed the total amount of fees actually paid by you to Melissa Alvarez. Melissa Alvarez does not accept any liability whatsoever for any financial or other losses resulting from the use of my services, website, or business.

Indemnification. Each party agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the other party from any and all claims, actions, damages, and liabilities including reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses arising through the other party’s willful misconduct or gross negligence or out of any claim that any portion of the materials or deliverables infringes upon or violates any proprietary rights of any third party, including but not limited to trade secret rights, copyrights, patents; or from a breach or alleged breach of any of term of this editorial agreement.

Client Representations. By entering into the Beta Reader Agreement or Editorial Agreement and submitting material for Services, you represent and warrant that you have the exclusive and absolute authority to enter into the Agreement(s) and to submit the material and your doing so does not violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party. You further represent and warrant that you alone have written, created, and exclusively own the manuscript, and that your submissions to Melissa Alvarez, along with your subsequent use of them, do not violate the rights of any third party.

Third Party Claims. As the Client represents that they are not violating the right of any third parties, should any third party claims arise regarding the material, it will be the sole responsibility of the Client to handle such claims. Melissa Alvarez, acting as an editor and independent contractor, has no authority in regards to third party claims arising against the Client and will not be involved in any way regarding such claims.

Independent Contractor. Melissa Alvarez is an independent contractor that you have hired for editing services. Nothing in the Agreement(s) is intended to create any other relationship between the parties, including but not limited to: employer-employee, co-authors, partners, agents, or joint venturers.

Assignment. Neither party may transfer any rights or obligations under the Agreement(s) without the other party’s prior written consent. The Agreement(s) shall be binding on any permitted successors and assigns.

Force Majeure. “Force majeure” means “unforeseen circumstance.” If a “force majeure” such as acts of terrorism, acts of God, war, severe illness, invasion, natural disaster, floods, fires, hurricanes, tornados, labor disputes, explosions, and acts of government or governmental agencies, or any other unforeseen circumstance occurs, neither party will be considered to have breached the Agreement(s), to the extent that the failure to comply was caused by the force majeure.

Numbers and Headings. The numbers, headings and bolded words in the Agreement(s) are for convenience and reference only and must not be used to interpret or construe the Agreement(s).

Modification and Waiver. Each and every modification, waiver, addition or amendment related to or intended to be made a part of the Agreement(s) must be in writing and signed by each party in order to be valid and enforceable. Any such purported modification, waiver, addition or amendment not so executed will be null and void.

Notices. Any notice required or permitted to be given under the Agreement(s) must be in writing and signed by the respected party.

Severability. If any provision of the Agreement(s) is held to be unenforceable or illegal by a court of law, such provision shall be modified to render it enforceable, or shall be removed from the Agreement(s), and all other provisions of the Agreement(s) shall remain in full force and effect.

Non-Exclusivity. The Agreement(s) are not an exclusive relationship between Melissa Alvarez and the Client. The client may seek services from other individuals or companies doing editing or book cover work and Melissa Alvarez is free to offer and perform editing and book cover design work to other individuals and companies.

Termination. The Agreement(s) will remain in effect until terminated in writing by either party pursuant to the Agreement(s). Upon termination, Melissa Alvarez will give all work completed up to the point of termination to the Client. You understand and agree that should you terminate the agreement the services may not be completed yet. Any fees that you have already paid to Melissa Alvarez will not be returned or refunded to you unless work has not yet begun on your project. A delay to a project’s deadline due to the Client’s failure to upload the correct version of their project shall not be considered breach of the Agreement(s)t or grounds for Termination. A delay when returning a project due to the Client’s failure to acknowledge receipt of the original files, shall not be considered breach of the Agreement(s) or grounds for Termination. The deletion of the files from Melissa Alvarez’s computer after the 14 day receipt acknowledgement period, whether or not the Client has responded or failed to respond, will not be considered breach of the Agreement(s) or grounds for Termination.

Entire Agreement. The Agreement(s) included on the forms on the MelissaA.com website constitutes the complete and exclusive agreement between Melissa Alvarez and the Client/Author with respect to this subject matter, and supersedes all oral or written proposals and all other communications, understandings, or agreements between us relating to this subject matter.

Governing Law. The Agreement(s), and any dispute arising under or related to it, will be governed by the laws of the State of Florida. Each party hereby agrees to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of the courts located in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Modifications of Terms of Service. These Terms of Service may be modified, reorganized, rewritten, amended, or revoked at any time, for any reason and without notice.

Last updated December 15, 2022.