By attending and participating in courses provided by The Celtic Muse, the participant affirms that they are over the age of 18, have consented to be contacted by The Celtic Muse, and that full responsibility for the learning outcomes lies with themselves.

While valuable, relevant, and professional materials for fiction writers are offered, The Celtic Muse is in no way responsible for the participants’ prospects as a writer and/or author. Writing and publishing fiction is often a long and sometimes discouraging journey, and while The Celtic Muse offers support through that journey, we cannot promise outcomes, as there are too many variables in the industry.

Places in the course are guaranteed when full payment is received.

A full refund (100%) will apply for cancellations up to seven (7) days before course commencement, less merchant and administration fees. A 50% cancellation fee will apply up to seven (7) days before course commencement. No refunds will apply from 24 hours before the course commencement. If you wish to defer to another course of the same type, there will be a charge of $100.00 for administration costs, and we will hold your non-refundable funds for when we offer the next group commencement date. Deferment requests received 48 hours or less before course commencement will incur a $200.00 Deferral fee.

There are no refunds or deferrals after course commencement. We apologise that we cannot accept responsibility for changes in personal circumstances or work commitments that impede the writer’s ability to attend and participate in the course. And we reserve the right to cancel or change class dates if necessary.

All participants who complete courses will attain a certificate of completion through The Celtic Muse. Please note, these are not accredited courses; however, the course experience will help enhance your creative writing practice.

Manuscript Assessment: Provides an overall report of the manuscript’s structure, character arcs, prose and genre recommendations, and what service is going to best serve your manuscript next. This will tell you what to change but a developmental and/or line edit will tell you how.

Developmental Editing: Provides big-picture editing suggestions, such as story structure, character arcs, thematic coherence, conflict and tension on a large structural level, big-picture plot holes, and big-picture point of view. This includes a report as well as tracking changes and comments throughout the manuscript.

Line Editing: Provides editing suggestions for prose, including narrative style and voice, paragraph and scene structure, show-not-tell and immersive description, conflict and tension on a scene level, active voice, scene plot holes, tenses, and scene point of view. This includes track changes, comments and suggested changes to the prose.

Copy Editing: Corrects errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style, and ensures the text is logically structured and easy to understand, without taking away from the author’s voice. Copy editors also verify facts, check for inconsistencies, and ensure the writing aligns with the intended audience and brand voice

Proofreading: Checks for spelling and grammar missed by the copy edit, or changed by the author’s acceptance of the copy editor’s edits. Proofreading also ensures any graphics/ illustrations are well-placed, captions are accurate, and that the finished internal layout of the book looks good. Typically, proofreading should be done after the final edit and layouts, and before printing. If you are taking your manuscript to a printer, or a print-on-demand service, you will be expected to proofread and approve the final copy before publication.

By engaging editing services provided by The Celtic Muse, the writer affirms that they are over the age of 18, and have consented to be contacted by The Celtic Muse. Writers who seek editing and proofreading services through The Celtic Muse are aware that our editors make suggestions to enhance the manuscript based on professional expertise; however, it is the author’s responsibility to accept or reject the suggested edits, and the final product of the manuscript lies with the author.

While we offer valuable professional editing and proofreading services for fiction writers, The Celtic Muse is in no way responsible for the participants’ prospects as a writer and/or author. Writing and publishing fiction is often a long and sometimes discouraging journey, and while we offer support through that journey, we do not promise outcomes, as there are too many variables in the industry.

Before we begin any editing work, we require a 50% deposit to be paid. If you cancel the order before editing or formatting work begins, then your deposit will be refunded minus a 20% fee to cover costs and potential loss of work for retaining this agreement. Work is deemed to have commenced once funds have cleared in our account. We will invoice at the midpoint for 25%, with the balance invoiced at the remaining 25% of the manuscript. Your completed manuscript edit will be returned once the final 25% has been edited and your final payment has cleared. It can take up to one week after the final payment to receive your edited manuscript. If we have begun work on your project, the deposit is non-refundable.

Before we begin services, we require that you have supplied all relevant information and files, including the manuscript, illustrations, and/or images if applicable. We also provide a free video chat to go over the author’s vision for their story, the core message, narrative style, and any unique features of the story, such as created languages and worlds. If we offer a formatting service, then we also require your print trim size and format for your publishing platform.

Our editing services are priced on industry-standard editing rates in each country. For example, for US customers we use the EFA editorial rates. The Celtic Muse offers competitive editorial services that are also ethical and professional.

In developmental and line editing, we encourage the writer’s learning journey as well as the final product for the book. For this purpose, editor notes can include learning principles as well as suggested changes. This approach is based on a strength-based model.

The Celtic Muse retains the right to accept or decline a manuscript depending on the complexity of the work involved in the editing process, and the working relationship between the editor and writer.

The Celtic Muse does not currently do ghostwriting.

By engaging Proofreading Services provided by The Celtic Muse, the writer affirms that they are over the age of 18, and have consented to be contacted by The Celtic Muse. Writers who seek editing and proofreading services through The Celtic Muse are aware that our editors make suggestions to enhance the manuscript based on professional expertise; however, it is the author’s responsibility to accept or reject the suggested edits, and the final product of the manuscript lies with the author.

Before we begin any editing or formatting work, we require a 50% deposit to be paid. If you cancel the order before editing or formatting work begins, then your deposit will be refunded minus a 20% fee to cover costs and potential loss of work for retaining this agreement. Work is deemed to have commenced once funds have cleared in our account. We will invoice at the midpoint for 25%, with the balance invoiced at the remaining 25% of the manuscript. Your completed manuscript edit will be returned once the final 25% has been edited and your final payment has cleared. It can take up to one week after the final payment to receive your edited manuscript. If we have begun work on your project, the deposit is non-refundable.

By engaging Formatting Services provided by The Celtic Muse, the writer affirms that they are over the age of 18, and have consented to be contacted by The Celtic Muse. Writers who seek formatting services through The Celtic Muse are aware that our formatters work with the final proofed copy of the manuscript. The Celtic Muse isn’t liable for any errors or losses that may arise through the publishing or printing of your book. You are fully responsible for the final approval of all files, which includes proofreading your final files to ensure accuracy. However, The Celtic Muse will conduct a mini-proofread to ensure that any graphics are correctly placed.

It is the author’s responsibility to approve the final formatted manuscript prior to sending to a printer, or uploading to a publishing platform. Once you have approved the final formatting files, you agree that you’re 100% satisfied with the work, which includes any errors/typos/defects found post-production.

We will send you the first formatting draft once the work on your first formatting draft is complete. We aim to complete the first draft within ten business days. Once the first draft is approved, we will create the final files. Final files can take anywhere from two (2) to seven (7) business days, depending on the complexity of the book.

We will complete the paperback formatting before moving on to e-book formatting, pending your approval, if both have been ordered. E-books are based on the pre-approved print files. Minor formatting and layout changes may be required to adjust between the two different formats.

Unless you have engaged us to do so, you, as the author, are responsible for uploading your final files to your desired self-publishing platform or printing services and ordering a proof copy of your completed manuscript.

Payment is required in full before we will deliver your completed files ready for uploading.

The Mentorship Program through The Celtic Muse provides ongoing professional support in the fiction writing process from an experienced published author, and can be accessed from the early stages of writing a fictional manuscript. The type of feedback that can be given to a writer accessing this service includes, but is not limited to, story outlining, story structure, scene structure, character development, world building, theme, and narrative style.

All mentorships are applied for as there are limited spaces, and the Celtic Muse reserves the right to accept and reject applications. Writers with a track record of committing to fiction projects will be prioritised. The mentorship program requires a signed commitment to a six-month agreement that is renewable after six months, and can see writers through their whole project. Paid time in the program includes a weekly contact hour, reading time of the manuscript, whether that is a scene or a chapter per session, and administration time. The Celtic Muse requires that mentees are respectful in their communications to mentors, and our mentors are committed to providing a respectful service with clear communication to mentees.

Payment of services: $50.00 per hour, which includes one hour of face-to-face time, plus one hour of reading and preparing feedback, and administration (two hours per weekly session in total).

The Mentorship Programme extends for six months and costs $2,600.00. The one hour per week of reading time includes analysis of up to 5000 words per session. Submissions of more than 5000 words will incur an extra charge.

The Mentorship Programme can be renewed after six months, depending on the project requirements.

For most services, 50% non-refundable deposit, with 25% due at the halfway point and the balance prior to receiving the edited manuscript

Mentorship – pay 10% non-refundable deposit to hold the place on the program, and then pay monthly prior to service. There is a $390.00 charge per month for the first six months, and $435.00 per month thereafter, to be invoiced on a month-by-month basis until the completion of the project.

The Celtic Muse, or its suppliers or contractors, is not liable for any of the following:

(i) any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of services provided by The Celtic Muse;

(ii) the cost of procurement for substitute products or services should the client not wish to continue to avail themselves of The Celtic Muse services;

(iii) for interruption of use or loss or corruption of data; or

(iv) for any amounts that exceed the fees paid by you to The Celtic Muse under this agreement during the twelve (12) month period before the incident.

The Celtic Muse shall have no liability for any failure or delay due to matters beyond their reasonable control.

The above statement does not negate your statutory rights.

Intellectual Property of The Celtic Muse, including website artwork, logos, course and workbook content and images, articles, blogs, podcasts, videos, and social media content.