Season’s Givings

This season, I'll be giving back to the community by offering a 66% discount

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve been here, so first of all: I AM alive. I’ve just had a lot of stuff going on that took me away from content writing. This stuff is difficult to write about, though, so I’ll have to figure out a good way to do that before I go into detail. That said, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and soul searching, and it’s given me a new sense of direction for where I want to go, both with Five Muses Creative and my own creative projects.

So keep an eye out for announcements that will be forthcoming as I launch several new projects. BUT! The first announcement is today.

A Time to Give

Part of my soul searching focused on what I really want to achieve with 5MC. Much of what I’ve been doing until earlier this year focused on external expectations/measures for success, and the truth is…I really don’t care about any of that.

I care about making a difference. I care about doing the things I’m passionate about. I care about helping and contributing to a vibrant creative ecosystem despite all of the challenges we face as creatives.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to give back to the community, while also giving you guys a chance to “test drive” Five Muses Creative as a potential collaborator in your creative pursuits. I’m going to do that by offering a MASSIVE discount on all of the work I do.

A Limited Time Offer

For a limited time, I’ll be offering an average of 66% off on all of my services. These include, but aren’t limited to:

• Structural/Content Edits

• Line/Copy-Edits

• Proofreading

• Substantive Edits (in case of non-fiction)

• Writing Mentorship

• Layout and/or Cover Design

• Communications Planning

• Communications Content Creation

These are the main things I do for clients, but please do get in touch to ask for specifics, or to check whether I do something you need. Either way, I’m pricing all of my services during this promotion so that the cost comes to US$10 per hour.

Yes, that’s ridiculously low, but I can handle it, and like I said, those of you who jump on this offer will get a chance to try out the work I do at a much lower cost. That said, I’m cutting to the bone with these rates, where I will pretty much only break even for the amount of work I’m expected to do. So, to keep both you and me happy, we need to set some boundaries around how this will work.

Terms and Conditions

1) I’ll be taking discounted contracts until the total value of deposits reaches $2,000.

NOTE: There is no minimum order amount, but guys, this is an honor system. Please don’t book me for a short story and then try to make me edit a full novel. If you do, you forfeit your deposit.

2) Deposits are valid for one year. You can make a deposit now and book me to work on your project for any time in the next 12 months, subject to my availability.

NOTE: Bookings are taken on a first-come-first-serve basis, but can be done throughout the year. Changes to a booking due to delays can be determined with a minimum month-long notice in advance (depending on my availability). Failure to provide work on time without notice risks the forfeiture of your deposit. While I value the collaborative nature of working with someone and understand that unforeseen circumstances do happen, I have experienced issues over the past year with clients disappearing when they are expected to deliver work to me, but expecting me to still make a deadline we set at the risk of my mental and physical health. As such, I have a strict no tolerance policy on this behavior.

3) One editing pass or job per contract. (E.g. one round of structural edits, one round of copy-edits, the creation of a communications plan only, copy-writing of x number of articles, or designing one book.)

NOTE: Because this contract is already at the lowest rates I can afford, I will not accept any scope creep (extra work requests on top of what we agreed for this contract). If you feel the need to end a contract because of this, we will mutually terminate the contract and you forfeit your deposit.

4) Determining a deposit: You and I work together to estimate the value of work on a case-by-case basis. Once we have reached an agreement, you sign a contract and pay a 50% deposit to activate it.

Before I start working, we evaluate the difference between the estimate and the actual workload. If the work is less than anticipated, the deposit will be subtracted from the total cost. If the work is more than we estimated, you will be required to top up your deposit to 50% at the discounted rate before I start. If I can’t start because the deposit isn’t topped up on time, this constitutes a late start on a booking and you risk the forfeiture of your deposit (refer to rule #2).

5) Work will be charged at the discounted rate for the duration of contract.

Subsequent contracts (including more editing passes or repeat work after the initial contract work is complete) are not covered by this contract and fees will be determined at the usual rate unless you make use of another promotion (if it occurs).

Hourly work will be determined based on a finite project as determined between me and you; i.e. once I have completed a set project, the contract is complete and subsequent work will take place at non-discounted rates, unless you make use of another promotion, should it occur.

6) Hourly work is still subject to the estimate and 50% deposit, with hours charged at a 50% rate and/or offset against the deposit as required.

If the true amount of work hours exceed the number of hours covered by the deposit, a further deposit is required for work to continue. Assuming that the work hours would still fall under the same contract (i.e. the work hours were underestimated in the beginning and NOT added due to additional requests for work), the rates will remain discounted.

7) I edit almost all genres except for erotica or horror. I accept content with non-gratuitous sex and violence, but those genres are outside my areas of expertise.

NOTE: If you tell me that your project is in another genre and I discover that it’s erotica or horror, or the work contains gratuitous sex/violence of any sort, I will stop working and you forfeit your deposit. If you’re unsure about whether I would accept your work, please feel free to submit relevant samples for me to go over and confirm. This is VERY important in case of spicy romance or paranormal.

8) Non-fiction projects are to be determined on a project-by-project basis.

9) To make things fair, no preference will be given on promotion contracts. The first people to pay their deposits get the discount rates.

10) The method of determining the completion of work will be agreed with each client on a project-by-project basis, based on the client’s needs.

However, the following basic principles will apply:

a) If I did the work at the agreed level of detail, your disagreement with my suggestions do not negate the fact that I did the work in exchange for payment. (Especially important in case of work such as structural/content edits.)

b) Some projects might require a higher level of collaboration to get right. (E.g. communications strategy, content writing, cover or book design.) If you fail to respond in time to requests for support, I reserve the right to terminate the contract, at which point you forfeit your deposit. Any work I did up to that point will be charged pro rata if the value exceeds the deposit.

c) After the submission of work, I will respond to requests for clarification or small adjustments within reason. However, adjustments to allow scope creep, a client changing their mind, and/or to accommodate subjective personal taste will not be considered, and a pro-rata to full payment will still be due.

d) In the case of hourly work, there will be unlimited requests for refinement as long as we do not cross the boundaries set out in c above, but these requests constitute additional hourly work and will be charged. In the case of fixed rates being preferred, the number of requests will be limited, with the number being agreed during contract discussions.

Claim This Discount

If you want to claim your portion of the discount, get in touch with me at misha(AT)mishagerrick(DOT)com to set up a free consultation.

During our consult, I’ll answer any questions and listen to your needs before making a quotation that you can accept or decline. If you accept, I’ll send a contract and an invoice for the initial deposit amount. Sending back the signed contract and paying the deposit claims the discounted rate for your job.

To reiterate: the first clients to do this get first dibs on the discount, so move fast!

Also, please do feel free to send this to any friends you think can make use of this offer.

Other than that, I hope everyone has a wonderful Season!