Privacy Policy

At Softwood, one of our main priorities is the privacy of our visitors and clients. This Privacy Policy document contains the types of information that is collected and recorded by softwoodbooks.com and how we use it. If you have additional questions or require more information about our Privacy Policy, do not hesitate to contact us via email at hello@softwoodbooks.com.

The type of personal information we collect

We currently collect and process the following information:

Personal identifiers, contacts and characteristics (for example, name and contact details)
Login information for client websites or social media (only when requested by the client for marketing services)

How we get the personal information and why we have it

Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you for one of the following reasons:

To be able to reply to enquiries with quotes, advice, services, and invoices

[If applicable] We also receive personal information indirectly, from the following sources in the following scenarios:

When requesting quotes for services through our website.
When signing up to our newsletter.

We use the information that you have given us in order to reply to your requests as accurately as possible.

We may share this information with Softwood employees or freelancers employed by Softwood to carry out publishing services. No information is shared with any third party individuals or organisations.

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are:

(a) Your consent. You are able to remove your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting Maddy Glenn at hello@swspublishing.com

(b) We have a contractual obligation.

How we store your personal information

Your information is securely stored.

We keep your contact information for 24 months after completion of a project. Though we will keep physical copies of completed publishing projects indefinitely, we will securely keep any electronic files relating to publishing projects for 5 years before deleting them. If you are signed up to our membership or newsletter, you details will kept on file until such time as the membership is cancelled and/or you choose to be removed from our emailing list.

Your data protection rights

Under data protection law, you have rights including:

Your right of access - You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
Your right to rectification - You have the right to ask us to rectify personal information you think is inaccurate. You also have the right to ask us to complete information you think is incomplete.
Your right to erasure - You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to restriction of processing - You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to object to processing - You have the the right to object to the processing of your personal information in certain circumstances.
Your right to data portability - You have the right to ask that we transfer the personal information you gave us to another organisation, or to you, in certain circumstances.
You are not required to pay any charge for exercising your rights. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you.

Please contact us on hello@softwoodbooks.com if you wish to make a request.

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal information, you can make a complaint to us at Softwood Books, Office 2, Wharfside House, Stowmarket, Suffolk, IP14 1RD.

Equipment

Softwood uses fully encrypted business computers and mobile devices that are not used by anyone other than Softwood employees or freelancers (bound by confidentiality and working agreements) themselves. Emails and documents are password protected.

Manuscripts

We make it our duty to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between a Softwood editor and their client. The wording of which is expressed: "Softwood agrees not to reproduce, give, or show to anyone any material sent to them by the Author, unless the Author expressly states otherwise. The Editor agrees not to discuss the contents of the material sent to them with anyone other than the Author, unless the Author expressly states otherwise."

Upon the completion of a project between a client and Softwood, the manuscript will be held in an encrypted file for a period of 5 years before being destroyed. No physical copies of the manuscript will be made by Softwood at any point during the project.

Communication

Once a contract is signed, all communication should be directed privately through email between Softwood and the client. Social media should not be used to communicate any information pertaining to the details in the contract. Any conversations over Zoom are encrypted according to Zoom's own policies and we do not record or keep any part of the video call.

Web Log Files

softwoodbooks.com follows a standard procedure of using log files. These files log visitors when they visit websites. All hosting companies do this and it is a part of hosting services’ analytics. The information collected by log files include internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date and time stamp, referring/exit pages, and possibly the number of clicks. These are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable. The purpose of the information is for analysing trends, administering the site, tracking users’ movement on the website, and gathering demographic information.

Web Privacy Policies

You may consult this list to find the Privacy Policy for each of the advertising partners of softwoodbooks.com.

Third-party ad servers or ad networks use technologies like cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons that are used in their respective advertisements and links that appear on softwoodbooks.com, which are sent directly to users’ browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. These technologies are used to measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns and/or to personalise the advertising content that you see on websites that you visit.

Note that softwoodbooks.com has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.

Third Part Privacy Policies

softwoodbooks.com’s Privacy Policy does not apply to other advertisers or websites. Thus, we are advising you to consult the respective Privacy Policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information. It may include their practices and instructions about how to opt-out of certain options. You can choose to disable cookies through your individual browser options. To know more detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers, it can be found at the browsers’ respective websites.

Children’s Information

Another part of our priority is adding protection for children while using the internet. We encourage parents and guardians to observe, participate in, and/or monitor and guide their online activity.

softwoodbooks.com does not knowingly collect any Personal Identifiable Information from children under the age of 13. If you think that your child has provided this kind of information on our website, we encourage you to contact us immediately and we will do our best efforts to promptly remove such information from our records.

Consent

By using our website, and/or our services, you hereby consent to our Privacy Policy and agree to its Terms and Conditions.

Updated 10/07/2024

Terms and Conditions for Newsletter Sign-Up

Effective Date: 11/07/2024

By signing up for our newsletter, you agree to comply with and be bound by the following Terms and Conditions. Please read them carefully before subscribing.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By subscribing to our newsletter, you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not subscribe.

2. Subscription

Eligibility: You must be at least 18 years old to subscribe to our newsletter.
Subscription Process: To subscribe, you must provide a valid email address. By subscribing, you consent to receive emails from us.

3. Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. All personal information provided by you will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We will not share, sell, or rent your personal information to third parties without your consent.

4. Content

Our newsletter may include updates, articles, promotions, and other content related to our publications. The content is for informational purposes only.

5. Unsubscribing

You may unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of any newsletter email. Upon unsubscribing, you will be removed from our mailing list within a reasonable timeframe.

6. Changes to Terms and Conditions

We reserve the right to modify these Terms and Conditions at any time. Any changes will be effective immediately upon posting the revised terms on our website. Your continued subscription to the newsletter constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms.

7. Limitation of Liability

We shall not be liable for any damages arising out of or in connection with your subscription to or use of our newsletter. This includes, without limitation, direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, and punitive damages.

8. Governing Law

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United Kingdom, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.