Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

Updated 27th October 2020.

It is Madeline Dyer’s policy to respect your privacy regarding any information we may collect from you or which you may provide to us, in the circumstances set out below. Accordingly, we have developed this privacy policy in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate, disclose, safeguard and otherwise make use of your personally identifiable information (“Personal Data”).

We will only collect and use your Personal Data where:

  • we have lawful grounds to do so, including to comply with our legal obligations;
  • we are performing a contract with you for our services; and
  • we have legitimate interests in using your Personal Data and your interests and fundamental 
rights do not override those interests. 
For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”), we, Madeline Dyer, are the “data controller”. If you have any questions about this policy or about how we use your Personal Data, please contact us via our contact details at the end of this policy. 
This policy is effective as of 24 May 2018. We review our privacy practices on an ongoing basis, and as such we may change this privacy policy from time to time. Please check this page frequently to ensure you are familiar with its current content.

  1. Personal Data we collect via our website [http://www.MadelineDyer.co.uk] (the “Website”) 

Personal Data that you provide to us 

We only collect Personal Data where you choose to interact with us on the Website in the following ways:

  • Signing up to Madeline Dyer’s newsletter to receive updates, information, and offers

Types of data we collect: email address, first name, last name. Our mailing list provider, MailerLite, also allows us to see whether you’ve opened specific newsletters and other details such as your country location, and type of Internet browser and operating system. Occasionally, we carry out research through our newsletter, such as to find out about the types of books, plots, genres, and characters you enjoy, and your age and gender; in these cases, we collect this data only if you choose to provide it by responding to the research call. (You may unsubscribe from our newsletter/mailing list at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of any newsletter/email we send or writing to us to request removal from the list).

  • Signing up to Madeline Dyer’s ARC Review Team to receive free advance copies or review copies

Types of data we collect: email address, first name, last name, link to a previous review of one of Madeline Dyer’s books, info on preferred genres. Our mailing list provider, MailerLite, also allows us to see whether you’ve opened specific newsletters and other details such as your country location, and type of Internet browser and operating system. (You may unsubscribe from our ARC Review Team mailing list at any time by clicking the link at the bottom of any newsletter/email we send or writing to us to request removal from the list).

  • Buying Signed Copies from Madeline Dyer

Types of data we collect: email address, first name, last name, mailing address, payment method choice (payment details are held by our payment processor, not us). Information submitted this way is not used for marketing purposes.

  • Using the Contact Form or other form on the website or emailing us directly

Types of data we collect: email address, name, subject, any personal data you provide us in the free text box on the form or the body of the email. Information submitted this way is not used for marketing purposes.

  • Enquiring about/using Madeline’s critiquing/proofing/editing services

Types of data we collect: email address, first name, last name, info relating to the manuscript and/or sample chapter sent by the client. If editing goes ahead, we also collect: the full manuscript to be edited, mailing address, PayPal email address (payment details are held by our payment processor, not us). A contract containing some of this information, as well as completion dates, payment dates and amounts, editing type, and terms and conditions, is created. Information submitted this way is not used for marketing purposes.

  • Leaving comments on the website

Types of data we collect: the data shown in the comments form (typically name and email), and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection. Information submitted this way is not used for marketing purposes.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

  • Social Media 

We are on social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Any personal information you give us there, such as if you’re ordering a book and contact us via Facebook messenger, will be kept securely, but records of such personal data you provide us may remain in our social media accounts.

  • Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Data that we collect automatically 

We automatically collect certain information when you visit our Website – such as the type of browser and operating system you are using, the domain name of your Internet service provider, and geographic location/country. We do not link this information with any Personal Data.

We may also collect data automatically through our use of cookies on the Website. If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year. Please see our cookie policy to find out about the types of cookies we set and why, and how you can adjust your settings to disable cookies.

MailerLite also tells us when our newsletters are opened, which links you’ve clicked on within the newsletter, and the country you are in.

  1. Use of your Personal Data 

We will only use your Personal Data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we use your Personal Data to:

  • process and manage your use of our website;
  • respond to your questions, comments, and requests;
  • where you have opted-in to receive marketing/newsletters/emails/updates/offers from us, deliver communications that are relevant to your preferences / may be of interest to you; these emails may use geographic information to tailor the updates to your location, such as if we’re talking about a book signing in a specific country;
  • where you have responded to newsletters answering research questions, we may create a document containing the results of the research which will be used for market research for our work as an author. The results of such research (such as finding out the favorite genre of our readers or the types of books you want to read) will not be shared with others in any way that could personally identify you and we will never share your email address or name in such results of research;
  • where you have enquired about or are using our editing/proofing/critiquing services, we use the data you have provided to carry out these services and draw up contracts for such services;
  • Process and manage our accounts, records, and administration;
  • process and manage invoices and payments for services such as editing/critiquing/proofing as well as book orders, and to keep subsequent records and accounts needed for such business (such as for tax records);
  • improve our services and Website through analysis of information.

 

  1. Sharing of your Personal Data 

We take your privacy seriously and will not share with, rent, sell, or give away your Personal Data to third-party marketers or other individuals.

We only share Personal Data as necessary with third parties who provide services or functions on our
behalf (such as MailerLite, the platform we use to store and process data in order to send newsletters/emails, PayPal, for creating and sending invoices, UpdraftPlus, who backup our website database, Google Drive, where we store the website database backups, Hostgator, our website server, and our email providers, Outlook Email, G-Mail, and Yahoo Mail which we use for any email correspondence; contact form enquiries are also directed through out email providers) and who require the information to provide those specific services to us. These accounts are all either password-protected or are only accessible via logging in to this WordPress site’s admin platform. Please note that we have appropriate data privacy safeguards in place with third parties with whom we share Personal Data as described above and who are providing services or functions on our behalf.

  1. Keeping your Personal Data secure 

We have implemented security policies and technical measures to safeguard the Personal Data we collect. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with applicable law, including the GDPR, to safeguard Personal Data from accidental loss, destruction or damage and unauthorised access, use and disclosure.

We use a password-protected MailerLite account for our Marketing Automation platform for Madeline Dyer’s Mailing List/Author Newsletter and a password-protected Mailchimp account for our ARC Review Team.

Personal Data (such as email addresses, names, and addresses where provided) may also be stored on password-protected email accounts; for example, if you have emailed us for any reason (for example, to order a signed book or enquire about editing or just say hello) or used the contact form on our site, a record of your enquiry or order may be recorded in our email account. We use Outlook Email, G-Mail, and Yahoo Mail.

Our website database (which may include personal information entered on the website, such as if you leave a comment) is backed up by UpdraftPlus, a WordPress plug-in. This can only be performed by website admins and is password protected. The backup files for the database are stored in a password protected Google Drive account and on the server we use for this website at Hostgator.com. (Although Hostgator provides us with stats for our website, none of your personal data is included in these stats; we see visitor numbers, popular pages, visitor countries, time spent on the website, etc.)

All social media accounts are password protected; if you contact us via social media and give us personal data through a social media site, this data may remain in our social media accounts.

Contracts (that contain personal data) for editing/critiquing/proofing work will be stored securely on a password-protected laptop or computer and may also be accessible through password-protected email accounts. These contracts do not contain payment details (such as credit card details) as these are held by our payment processor, not us.

Invoices and payments are managed through PayPal and as such personal data such as email addresses, payment amounts, and names will be stored within our password-protected PayPal account on these invoices. (Payment details are held by our payment processor, not us.)

Any physical print-outs of data (such as mailing addresses for sending books to) will be kept securely or destroyed after use.

  1. Retention periods for use of your Personal Data 

We will use and store your Personal Data only for as long as necessary, bearing in mind the uses of your Personal Data as described in this privacy policy and otherwise as communicated to you. We review the Personal Data we hold at regular intervals and delete permanently or anonymise any Personal Data which is no longer necessary.

Some data may need to be kept for longer, such as when it applies to staff admin, accounts, and invoices and records needed for tax purposes.

Edited/proofed/critiqued manuscripts and sample chapters will be held on password-protected laptops and computers for a maximum of two years after completion dates, unless otherwise agreed with the client. They may still be accessible after this time through email records (via password-protected email accounts). Editing/proofreading/critiquing contracts and invoices will be retained for as long as necessary for accounts and tax purposes.

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

  1. Children 

This Website and our services are aimed at adults, and we do not knowingly collect any Personal Data relating to children aged under 15 years old. If you are under the age of 15, please do not provide us with any of your Personal Data, including your email address.

  1. Access to and control over your Personal Data 

You have legal rights under applicable law in relation to your Personal Data. You can ask the following questions, or take the following actions, at any time by contacting us via email Madeline [at] MadelineDyer.co.uk

  • see what Personal Data we hold about you (if any), including why we are holding it and who it could be disclosed to;
  • ask us to change/correct your Personal Data;
  • ask us to delete your Personal Data;
  • object to the processing of your Personal Data;
  • ask us to restrict the processing of your Personal Data;
  • withdraw any consents you have given us to the processing of your Personal Data; and
  • express any concerns you have about third parties’ use of your Personal Data.

Please note: data needed for tax purposes, such as invoices and payment amounts, may need to be retained.

  1. Change of purpose 

We will only use your Personal Data for the purposes for which we collected it, unless we reasonably consider that we need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to have an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact us.
If we need to use your Personal Data for an unrelated purpose, we will notify you and we will explain the legal basis which allows us to do so.

  1. Contact Us 

Our full details are: Madeline Dyer, Green Lane Farm, Beaworthy, EX20 1TQ, United Kingdom [address updated 7 April 2019]

Email for Privacy Questions: Madeline [at] MadelineDyer.co.uk