FAQ: How does payment work at Writer and the Wolf?

• Siobhan O'Brien Holmes

Editing and developing your craft can be super expensive investments. Trust me, I know! I’ve paid for more writing and editing courses than I can count, plus I’ve hired professional editors for my own work and none of them were cheap. So I get how important it is to understand upfront how and when you’re going to be expected to pay for a service. That’s why I wanted to give a bit of detail about the payment process I use. TL;DR? Skip to the bottom for a rundown!

What do you use to send invoices?

I use an online project management platform called Dubsado which I love. It stores all of my forms and automated workflows and makes things so much easier for me and for my clients. That means some of the links I send you will have ‘Dubsado’ in the URL but don’t be alarmed! Everything is private and secure and I’m the only person who will see your work. And because all payments go through secure third-party services (PayPal and Stripe), I will never have access to your payment or bank details. Your money will be transferred safely and quickly through those providers and into my bank account.

How and when will I receive an invoice?

When you book an editing service with me, I’ll send you a digital proposal via Dubsado which outlines all the details of that service and what to expect. Once you’ve confirmed you’re happy with all that, click ‘next’ and you’ll be taken through to a digital contract. That contains lots more detail and all the T&Cs to keep us both protected and happy while we work together. Once you’ve signed that (which is super simple and digital – no need for a printer or fax machine!), you’ll be taken instantly to your invoice. You can download all of these forms as PDFs and also access them in your client portal once you’ve signed your contract.

When do I pay my invoice?

I’ll ask you to pay a £100 deposit within two weeks of booking in order to secure your spot in my calendar. If you’re not able to pay within this time, don’t panic! It doesn’t mean we can’t work together – we just need to wait until you’re ready. If you don’t pay the deposit within those first two weeks, I’ll send you an email to chat about it. If you’re definitely not ready to pay yet, I’ll release the project date in my calendar so that somebody else can book and then we can chat about booking a new date for your manuscript.

I’ll ask for the remaining fee before I deliver the project. Two days before the project delivery date, you’ll receive an automated email from me with a link to your invoice and details on how much of your fee is remaining. If you haven’t paid this by the time I’m ready to send your project, I’ll send you another email with this same information and let you know your project is now ready.

You can always pay more than £100 when you book. Some people prefer to pay the entire amount upfront to get it out of the way. Some choose to pay half now, half later. Or you can pay in instalments as and when you’re ready. The online invoice allows you choose how much you pay and you can come back to the invoice any time and pay off some more. The invoice is saved in your client portal so it’s always accessible.

What payment methods are available?

When you pay your invoice, you’ll have the option to pay via:

1. • PayPal (you don’t need a PayPal account)
   • credit or debit card
   • e-check

Credit and debit cards are taken securely through Stripe, a third-party payment processor so I’ll never have access to your bank or card details. PayPal is also a secure third-party payment processor which handles all of your card or bank details without sharing them with me.

Through PayPal you can either register as a user and connect your bank account or cards or continue as a guest and simply use it as a card processor, similar to Stripe.

If you’re in the US, you can also pay via e-check which is handled by a third-party provider called Plaid. Here in the UK we don’t use e-checks (most businesses don’t accept paper cheques anymore here, either) so this isn’t a method I’m super familiar with but if you have any trouble, let me know and I’ll do what I can to help! This payment method isn’t available to authors outside the US.

I can’t accept payment via direct bank transfers, paper cheques or any other method not listed above. I only use secure payment methods and will never have access to your bank or card details.

I’m in a different country to you. How do I pay?

Although I’m based in London, I accept payments from authors all over the world! I list my prices in GBP British pounds sterling (£) but when you pay via PayPal or Stripe they will give you the balance in your local currency. It will be converted into GBP my end.

Do you charge VAT or tax?

Because my annual earnings are below the VAT threshold in the UK (currently £85,000) I cannot charge VAT. I do, however, pay taxes here to HMRC in the UK as a self-employed sole trader.

How do I know my payment has gone through?

You’ll receive an automated email when I receive your payment to let you know it’s come through, and I’ll email you personally once I’m at my desk!

What if I need to cancel my project?

If you need to cancel or pause the project before the start date, you’ll receive a full refund. If you cancel after the start date but before I deliver the project, I’ll charge you for the work I’ve done so far and send that to you.

What if I can’t afford my final payment?

It’s my policy not to send final edits to authors without full payment, but don’t panic! If I’ve finished working on your project but something’s come up and you can no longer afford to pay the remainder of your balance, I’ll hold onto your edit until you’re ready to pay. I won’t delete your project or charge interest – I’ll keep it safe in a folder in my computer and send it to you once payment has been made, however long it takes.