Privacy Policy

This privacy policy sets out how Creative Writing Consultancy uses and protects any personal information, documents and data that you provide when you use this website and when you enquire about or engage my services. Creative Writing Consultancy is the business name of David Smith and Annette Green. David Smith is the sole controller and processor of data as defined by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Please read this short policy to make sure you are happy with how we treat your information. If you have any questions about privacy of your information or data protection, please contact us.

TLDR short version: I only ask for what I need, for as long as I need it, and I do what I can to make sure it’s safe while I have it.

GENERAL

I may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You can check this page at any time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

I am committed to ensuring that your privacy and data are protected. Should I ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified then you can be assured that I will only ask for what I need to conduct business with you and will use your information only in accordance with this policy. I take rigorous steps to protect your data while in my possession (see Data protection below).

I will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless I have your permission or am required by law to do so.

WHAT INFORMATION I COLLECT

I may collect the following information:

Personal information that you provide by filling in the contact form on this website or by sending an email, including your name, your contact details, including postal and email addresses, and other information relevant to your enquiry (eg details of your book or project).
Copies of our correspondence and telephone conversations.
Copies of any documents you supply in order to request a quote or fulfil a contract between us (eg the draft of your text or book).
Job-specific information such as agreed fees, hours worked, feedback and supplementary information you provide to enable me to complete projects.
Anonymous information about your use of this website, including pages viewed and the resources that you access. Such information includes traffic data, location data, browser usage, operating system and other communication data. Such information will not identify you personally but helps me judge how my website is performing.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

I do not collect any financial information via this website. If you engage my services I do accept direct payment by bank transfer but I do not retain your financial information.

WHAT I DO WITH YOUR INFORMATION

I will use this information to:

respond to your enquiry
provide you with professional services
let you know about my availability or new services if we have an ongoing business relationship
keep business and tax records
analyse my business strategy and improve my products and services.

I may keep project information and documents indefinitely unless you ask me to delete them. If you send me a sample text for a quote and we do not proceed to a project, I will delete the sample text once I have provided the quote. I may be required to keep some information for a specified time, for example details of our business transactions for tax purposes. I may archive project documents and correspondence on completion but retain anything necessary to provide a reference for future projects with you (eg the style sheet I have agreed with you and a record of our contract for services) or to maintain my business records.

DATA PROTECTION

I take rigorous steps to ensure that your information is held securely while in my possession:

I use reputable providers for web hosting, password protection and cloud storage.
All work is done on password-protected computers that only I control, including local storage of working documents and emails.
Documents and emails are backed up regularly to secure, password-protected cloud storage.
Documents and emails are backed up regularly to external hard drives, which are then stored in a locked location.
I periodically archive documents and emails for completed projects in a password-protected location.
I ensure that all data is irretrievably wiped from old devices before I dispose of them.
Should a breach occur (eg my computer is stolen), I will inform you as soon as possible if I think your information may be vulnerable.
Where possible, it is my business practice to exchange documents by email but if you prefer to use a secured service such as Dropbox, WeTransfer or Google Drive, I am happy to do so. The nature of the internet means that there is some small risk that information sent by unsecured email can be intercepted.

CONTROLLING YOUR INFORMATION

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

You may request details of personal data (as defined under the GDPR) that I hold about you. A small fee may be payable to process this request.
If you believe that any information I am holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email me as soon as possible. I will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.
You may ask me to delete personal data, information and copies of any documents you send me after a project is completed, except what I am required to keep by law or for tax purposes (eg your name and address on invoices and a record of our business contract).
You may tell me that you do not want me to use your information for marketing my business, such as displaying feedback or testimonials or to tell you about my availability or new services.
If you have previously agreed to me using your personal information for such marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time.

This website is made using wix.com, which places some cookies (small, harmless text files) on your computer while you are using this site, mainly to improve your browsing experience and to help me analyse site use. Cookies are widely used to make websites work, or work more efficiently, as well as to provide basic information to the owners of websites.

This website mostly uses session cookies, which means they are only used while you are viewing the website and are deleted when you close your web browser. If you come back another time, a new cookie will be placed in your web browser and again deleted when you leave. You can find more information at wix.com.

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies via the browser settings. You can choose to block the cookies placed by this website, but if you do so parts of the site may not work efficiently.

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

My website contains links to enable you to visit other websites of interest easily. However, once you have used these links to leave my site, you should note that I do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, I cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information that you provide whilst visiting such sites, and such sites are not governed by this privacy policy. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.