Privacy Policy
Effective Date: July 27, 2020
Author Solutions, LLC, together with its parent, subsidiary and affiliated entities (collectively referred to as "ASL"), doing business under the imprint name WestBow Press, respects your privacy and values the relationship that ASL has with you. WestBow Press is a trademark licensed by ASL from HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information ASL may collect from you, how ASL uses the information, with whom ASL may share it, and the choices available to you regarding ASL's use of the information. This Privacy Policy also describes the measures ASL takes to protect the security of the information and how users of this website and ASL's customers can contact ASL about its privacy practices. This Privacy Policy applies to www.westbowpress.com and all other ASL websites, landing pages, applications, online services, and other features or downloads that include a link to this Privacy Policy, whether accessed via computer, mobile device or other means (collective referred to as the "Sites").
Click on one of the links below to jump to the listed section:
Information ASL Collects About You
- Information You Provide
- Information ASL Collects through Automated Means
- Cookies
- Third Party Web Analytics Services
- Targeted Advertising
- Do Not Track Notice
- Public Forums
Notice to Non-US Users: Consent to Transfer Data
Changes to This Privacy Policy
California Consumer Privacy Act
By using the Sites, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Sites. ASL reserves the right to modify or amend the terms of its Privacy Policy from time to time, without prior notice. Your continued use of the Sites following the posting of changes to these terms will mean that you accept those changes.
Information ASL Collects about You
Information You Provide. You may choose to provide to ASL certain personal information, whether over the telephone, on the Sites, via email, or at a live events. The types of "Personal Information" that you may provide to ASL include:
- Contact information, such as name, postal address, email address, and phone number (collectively referred to as "Personally Identifiable Information" or "PII");
- Payment and tax information, such as your credit card number, expiration date, delivery address and billing address, banking account, and tax-related information (collectively referred to as "Financial Information");
- Demographic information, including characteristics of protected classifications, such as your age, gender or ethnicity;
- Transaction information, such as products and services purchased;
- Information that you provide when you enter a contest or promotion sponsored by ASL or its affiliates;
- Your responses to surveys that ASL may ask you to complete for training or research purposes;
- Audio, electronic, visual, or similar information, such as recordings of customer service calls;
- Any other personal information that you voluntarily provide, including information you provide when you create an account, purchase ASL's products or services or contact ASL;
- Information provided to ASL by social networks when you log in to the Sites using your social network credentials; and
- Inferences drawn from any of the above, such as your preferences or interests.
Information ASL Collects through Automatic Means. In addition to the Personal Information that you provide, ASL and its third party service providers may use various technologies that automatically or passively collect information such as your usage, browsing activity, device, and geolocations data (collectively referred to as "Usage Information") when you visit or interact with the Sites, ASL's emails or ASL's online advertisements As set forth in more details below, ASL may also collect Usage Information using various web-based technologies.
The technologies that ASL may use for this automatic data collection may include:
- Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of
your computer
or tablet, mobile or other device when you visit the Sites or access ASL's online content. Cookies may be used for
many purposes, including, but not limited to: (1) to recognize you and to remember your preferences; (2) to track
your visits to the Sites; (3) to facilitate online purchases; (4) to enable and support ASL's security features; (5)
to help ASL detect malicious activity; (6) to show you relevant advertising; and (7) to track action taken in
response to advertisements.
You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating or adjusting the appropriate privacy settings on your browser or device. However, if you choose to disable cookies or adjust your privacy settings, you may be unable to use all of the features of the Sites. - Web Server Logs. In conjunction with obtaining information through cookies, ASL's web servers may log details such as your operating system type, browser type, domain, and other system settings, as well as the language your system uses and the country and time zone in which your device is located. The web server logs also may record information such as the address of the web page that linked you to the Sites and the IP address of the device you use to connect to the Internet.
- Web Beacons. Pages of the Sites and ASL's emails to you may contain small electronic files known as "web beacons" (also referred to as clear gifs. pixel tags and single-pixel gifs). Web beacons or similar technologies may be used for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to: (1) to count users to the Sites or specific pages on the Sites; (2) to monitor how users navigate the Sites; (3) to count how many people opened an email or clicked on a link; (4) to track other website statistics, such as the popularity of certain website content; and (5) to verify system and server integrity and security.
Third Party Web Analytics Services
ASL may use third party web analytics services on the Sites, such as Google Analytics. The service providers that administer these services use technologies such as cookies, web server logs, web beacons and similar technologies to help ASL analyze how visitors use the Sites, its emails and its online advertisements. The information collected through these means is disclosed to these service providers.
Targeted Advertising
ASL also may allow third-party advertising services and networks to use cookies, web server logs, web beacons and similar technologies on the Sites and its emails, third party websites and emails and its advertising placed on third party websites. They use this information to provide advertisements about ASL's services that may be of interest to you. You may see these advertisements on other websites. ASL does not control these third party technologies, and they are not subject to this Privacy Policy. ASL does not authorize these third parties to use this technology to collect Personal Information about you, and they do not have access to your Personal Information that you provided to ASL. They may, however, track your Internet usage anonymously (that is, without being able to identify you personally) over time and across other websites beyond the Sites. To learn more about the use of this information or to opt out of having this information used by ASL's third party network advertisers, please visit the Network Advertising Initiative by visiting: http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp.
Do Not Track Notice or Signals
Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" feature that allows you automatically transmit a "Do Not Track" signal to websites and online services that you do not want to have your online activities tracked. ASL does not respond to these "Do Not Track" signals. At this time, ASL does not track information about your online activities over time and across third party websites. ASL also does not authorize third parties to collect any Personal Information from you on the Sites for these purposes.
Public Forums
This Privacy Policy does not apply to any information that you choose to post, submit or share in public forums, such as reviews, comments, critiques, editorials, testimonials, or blog discussions. Information or other content that you choose to make available in a public forum may be viewed, collected and used by others. ASL encourages you to use caution when posting personal information in a public forum.
How ASL Uses Your Information
ASL uses Personal Information that you provide to ASL and Usage Information that ASL collects through automated means to:
- Perform services, including maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, processing or fulfilling orders and transactions, verifying customer information, processing payments, making royalty payments, if applicable, providing advertising or marketing services, providing analytics services, or providing similar services;
- Send communications and contact you about ASL's assisted self-publishing services and related products and services, including promotional materials and other information about the assisted self-publishing services of ASL's various imprints;
- Administer your participation in special events, contests, sweepstakes, surveys and other promotions;
- Perform audits regarding a current interaction with you and concurrent transactions, including, but not limited to, counting ad impressions to unique visitors, verifying positioning and quality of ad impressions, and auditing compliance;
- Short-term, transient use, including, but not limited to, the contextual customization of ads shown as part of the same interaction;
- Detect security incidents, protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity;
- Debug to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality;
- Operate, optimize and improve ASL's products, services and operations, including, but not limited to, developing new services, managing communications, performing data analytics, and performing training, accounting, auditing and other internal functions;
- Comply with applicable legal requirements, relevant industry standards and ASL's internal policies and procedures;
- Detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may violate ASL's policies; and
- Use the information in other ways that ASL describes when you provide the information, or for any other purpose with your express consent.
Information ASL Shares
ASL does not rent, sell or otherwise disclose Personal Information that it collects about you, individually or as part of a list, except as described below. ASL may share your Personal Information with:
- ASL's contractors, service providers and other third parties that ASL uses to support its business and to fulfill services requested or purchased by you, including, but not limited to, credit card processing companies, marketing services providers and consultants, public relations firms, editorial service providers, printers, distributors, and retailers;
- To any subsequent owner, co-owner or successor-in-interest; or in connection with a merger, consolidation, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of ASL's assets, ownership interest or both, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by ASL about the Sites' users is among the assets transferred. Under such circumstances, ASL would, to the extent possible, require the acquiring party to follow the practices described in this Privacy Policy, as it may be amended from time to time. Nevertheless, ASL cannot ensure that an acquiring company or the merged company will have the same privacy practices or treat your information the same as described in this Privacy Policy; and
- To other third parties, with your express consent.
ASL may also disclose your personal information:
- To comply with any court order, applicable law or legal process;
- To respond to law enforcement or other governmental authorities;
- To enforce ASL's agreements with you, including for billing and collection purposes; and
- If ASL believes disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent or illegal activity. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of data protection and security, fraud prevention and risk reduction.
Your Rights and Choices
ASL strives to provide you with choices regarding the Personal Information you provide to it. ASL has created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:
- Email Opt-Out. You can at any time tell ASL not to send you marketing communications by sending an email to: unsubscribe@westbowpress.com. This opt-out does not apply to communications that ASL sends to you regarding your business or financial transactions with ASL.
- Google Analytics Display Advertising. ASL utilizes Google Analytics Display Advertising to remarket to you by displaying ASL's ads to you on third party websites. You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads by clicking Ads Settings.
- Reviewing, Updating and Modifying Personal Information. Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to request access to and receive details about you and update and correct inaccuracies in your Personal Information. However, please note that only you can change or delete tax information, including your TIN, previously provided to ASL, through your Author Center on the WestBow Press website. ASL may not accommodate a request to change information if it believes the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect.
- Do Not Call. If you do not want to receive marketing or sales calls from ASL, you may request to have your name placed on ASL's Do Not Call List. ASL will process your request and remove your name from its active list within ten (10) business days. You can make this request by sending an email to: donotcall@westbowpress.com or via mail addressed to: WestBow Press, Attn: Do Not Call List, 1663 Liberty Drive, Bloomington, IN 47403. When submitting a request, you must include all the relevant information that you want added to ASL's Do Not Call List, including your full name, street address and telephone number(s). Subsequent sign-ups or inquiries to ASL may lead to the creation of new records; these actions by you may result in inadvertent contact. If that is the case, please contact ASL to reiterate the Do Not Call requests. If your information changes, please notify ASL of your new name, address, and telephone number(s) so that you will remain on the Do Not Call List.
Children under the Age of 13
The Sites are not directed to and should not be used by children under the age of thirteen (13). ASL does not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of thirteen (13) on the Sites.
Data Security
ASL takes commercially reasonable steps to help protect and secure your Personal Information from accidental loss and unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. However, please remember that no data storage or data transmission over the Internet, or by other means, can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Thus, while ASL strives to protect your Personal Information, ASL cannot and does not ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to ASL. Therefore, you understand, acknowledge and agree that you transmit your Personal Information to ASL at your own risk.
The safety and security of your Personal Information also depends on you. You should never submit bank account, payment card or tax information to ASL via email. Where you have chosen a password for access to certain parts of the Sites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. ASL asks you not to share your password with anyone.
Links to Other Websites
The Sites may provide links to other websites for your convenience and information. These websites may operate independently from ASL. Linked websites may have their own privacy notices or policies, which ASL strongly suggests that you review. To the extent any linked websites you visit are not owned or controlled by ASL, ASL is not responsible for those websites' content, any use of the websites, or the privacy practices of the websites.
Governing Law
The Sites are published in the United States. ASL attempts to protect the Personal Information of all users of the Sites and to comply with local data protection and consumer rights laws, to the extent such laws may apply to ASL's products and services. However, the Sites are located in and operated from the United States, and ASL's policies are directed at compliance with the laws of the United States. If you are uncertain whether this Privacy Policy conflicts with the applicable local privacy laws where you are located, you should not submit your Personal Information to ASL.
Notice to Non-US Users: Consent to Transfer Data
ASL is a company organized under the laws of the United States, and it operates the Sites from the United States. If you are located in Canada, the European Union or elsewhere outside of the United States of America, please be aware that your Personal Information, including Personally Identifiable Information, will be transferred to and processed in the United States or other jurisdictions, the laws of which may be deemed to have inadequate data protection by your country of residence. If you are located in a country outside the United States and voluntarily submit Personally Identifiable Information to ASL, in any manner whatsoever, you thereby consent to the general use of such information as provided in this Privacy Policy, as well as to the transfer of that information to, and/or storage of that information in, the United States or other jurisdictions.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
ASL may update this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice to you. Any changes will be effective upon posting on the Sites, unless otherwise indicated. Your continued use of the Sites or other interaction with ASL after the effective date of the revised Privacy Policy will constitute consent to those changes. If ASL makes a material change to the way it treats or uses your Personal Information, ASL will provide prominent notice of the change on the Sites. If you do not consent to such changes, you may opt out in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
California Consumer Privacy Act
California residents may click here for additional information.
Contact Information
To ask questions or comment about this Privacy Policy and ASL's privacy practices, contact ASL by mail or email sent to:
AUTHOR SOLUTIONS LLC
ATTENTION: GENERAL COUNSEL
1663 LIBERTY DRIVE
BLOOMINGTON, IN 47403 (USA)
legal@authorsolutions.com