Updated policies active as of July 1, 2023

​As of July 1, 2023, Sarah Hawkins Editorial Studio’s policies regarding rescheduling, cancellation,  refunds, and editing rounds have been updated.

Rescheduling policy

Should an author need to reschedule the start date for services, the author will notify Sarah Hawkins Editorial Studio at least one (1) month before the start date. To secure a new start date, the author shall pay a non-refundable rescheduling deposit of 20% of the remaining cost, up to $200. This deposit retains the author’s new start date on the editor’s schedule.

Cancellation policy

Should an author wish to terminate their agreement before the services are completed, the author will compensate Sarah Hawkins Editorial Studio for services rendered, plus a non-refundable cancellation fee of 20% of the remaining cost, up to $200.

Refund policy

While editing and proofreading will give you a greater chance of success, purchasing a service through Sarah Hawkins Editorial Studio is NOT a guarantee of publication, representation, favorable reviews, website traffic, manuscript requests, or book sales.

The goal of Sarah Hawkins Editorial Studio is to provide a satisfactory service for all clients; however, errors may remain in a manuscript after an edit, and accuracy declines when provided an error-riddled manuscript. The editor’s goal is to catch 80 percent of errors while keeping the authorial style and characters’ voices intact. (see Sources below for information regarding error rates in editing)

The editor recommends at least one (1) round of copyediting and proofreading by second trusted person to ensure the lowest number of errors prior to publication.

If an author determines the services provided did not fit their particular editing needs or were not performed up to the author’s standards, they shall notify the editor about their concerns within thirty (30) days of the author’s receipt of the manuscript delivery or final invoice payment. The editor will make every attempt to address any concerns or identified issues at no cost to the author, and the author will provide any additional information the editor may need to complete their review. The editor will only consider a partial refund of 20% of the total cost, up to $200, when those issues cannot be resolved.

Editing Rounds

After the author responds to suggested queries, the author may send the edited manuscript back to the editor for a second editing round. The author has two rounds available per Agreement, and a round consists of one (1) to three (3) editing passes.*

*This is a change from the previous policy of two rounds after the edited manuscript is initially delivered to the author.​

Where to find my policies​​

All of Sarah Hawkins Editorial’s Policies can be found on the Policies page, and they are also outlined in the Editing Agreement provided to potential authors. You may review a copy of the Editing Agreement here. I recommend any author considering collaboration review the Editing Agreement and complete a free 500-word editing sample before signing the Agreement.

Exceptions to these policies will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Sources

Sarah Hawkins Editorial Studio's goal of 80 percent accuracy rating was determined  through the review of the following sources:

According to The Copyeditor’s Handbook, “… 95 percent accuracy is the best a human can do. To pass the certification test administered by Editors Canada, an applicant must score approximately 80 percent or higher. And, as experienced editors know, accuracy declines in an error-riddled manuscript.”

In her blog post “6 Myths about Editing,” Crystal at Rabbit with a Red Pen reiterates that 80 percent accuracy of editors.

However, please note that on the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading's Website, they state: "Having said that copyeditors can’t make text perfect, it is important that they work to a high standard. Some people will assert that copyeditors should catch a certain percentage of errors, but we don’t believe this is helpful – because of the subjective nature of errors, and also because the copyeditor will be working within other constraints. Excellent work depends not only on the skill of the copyeditor but on the budget and schedule being adequate for the job.

Rather than using percentages to express an acceptable (or unacceptable) error rate, it’s better to think in terms of the copyeditor making the text fit for purpose within the limits of their brief. There should be consistency and clarity, and no barriers to the reader understanding the meaning of the text."