Privacy Policy

Who we are

Self Publishing Excellence is an independent publishing-services provider. We offer writing, editing, design, formatting, publishing-support, marketing and promotion services to authors, and operate this website to describe those services and receive inquiries. Our mailing address is Fine Arts Building, 811 W. 7th St., Suite 1149, Los Angeles, CA 90017.

You can contact us by phone on +1 332 203 7727, or by email at [email protected].

Not affiliated with Amazon. Self Publishing Excellence is an independent publishing-services provider. We are not owned by, endorsed by, or officially affiliated with Amazon, Kindle Direct Publishing, or any of their subsidiaries. Amazon and Kindle are trademarks of their respective owners. Authors can publish on Amazon KDP directly and free of charge; we charge only for the optional services they choose.

Information we collect

We collect the following categories of information.

• Information you give us: your name, email address and phone number (required on our forms), and, if you choose to provide them, the service you are interested in, your book title, manuscript status and a description of your project. Our forms require you to tick the privacy-and-terms acknowledgement checkbox before you submit. If you use live chat, we also receive the messages and contact details you type into the chat. If you call us, we receive what you tell us.
• Campaign and page details attached to your inquiry: the page you submitted the form from, the website that referred you, and advertising-campaign parameters in the page address (such as utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign and click identifiers such as gclid, gbraid or wbraid). The website keeps these in your browser's session storage while the tab is open so they can be attached to your inquiry.
• Technical information: your IP address and browser details are processed by our web server and hosting provider when you load pages or submit a form. We use a one-way (hashed) form of your IP address and timestamps to limit repeated form submissions and prevent spam. The live chat provider also collects technical and usage information, as described below.

We do not collect payment card numbers or government identifiers through this website, and we ask that you do not send them in a form or chat message.

How we use information

We use the information described above to:

• respond to your inquiry, answer questions and prepare quotes or proposals;
• provide and administer services you request;
• understand which pages and campaigns lead to inquiries, so we can describe and promote our services more accurately;
• keep the website secure, prevent spam and abuse, and troubleshoot problems; and
• comply with legal obligations and protect our rights.

We do not use the information for automated decision-making that has legal or similarly significant effects.

Email, telephone and text messages

Our forms ask for your name, email address and phone number so that we can respond to your inquiry, and they include a checkbox, which you must tick to submit, acknowledging this Privacy Policy and our Terms and that we may contact you about your inquiry. We may respond by email or by phone call, and we use your phone number only to follow up on your inquiry.

The website does not currently collect consent to send text (SMS) messages, and its forms do not treat a phone number as consent to marketing texts. If we ever begin to send text messages, we will first obtain your separate, express consent that explains the type and frequency of messages, notes that message and data rates may apply, and tells you how to opt out (for example by replying STOP).

You can ask us to stop contacting you at any time by emailing [email protected] or telling us during a call.

Cookies and similar technologies

The website itself does not set advertising or analytics cookies. It uses your browser's session storage to hold campaign parameters until you close the tab (see above).

The live chat widget on this website is provided by LiveChat (LiveChat Software). When it loads, it may set cookies or use local storage to recognise your browser, keep a chat conversation going and record visit details such as pages viewed, approximate location, device and browser information. Its use of your information is described in the provider's own privacy policy.

Page fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, so your browser sends a request, including your IP address, to Google to download them.

You can block or delete cookies and local storage in your browser settings. Blocking them may stop the chat widget from working correctly.

Advertising and analytics

As of the date at the top of this page, this website does not use Microsoft Advertising (UET) tags, Google Analytics, Google Ads conversion tags, Meta Pixel or any other analytics or advertising pixel.

We may advertise our services through online ad platforms. When you click one of our ads, the platform may add campaign parameters to the page address. We record those parameters with your inquiry (see above) so we can tell which campaign led to it.

Before we install any advertising or analytics tag, we will update this policy to name the tool, explain what it is used for and what cookies or similar technologies it uses, and describe the choices available to you.

How we share information

We share personal information only as needed to run the website and provide our services:

• Website hosting and infrastructure providers, which store and serve the website and process server logs.
• Email service providers, which transmit and store the inquiry emails we send and receive (we send inquiry notifications through our business email account).
• LiveChat, which provides the chat widget and stores chat conversations.
• Google, which serves the website's fonts.
• The editors, designers, writers or other specialists who work on a project you ask us to deliver, to the extent needed to perform that work.
• Professional advisers, authorities or a successor business, where required by law or in connection with a business transfer.

We do not sell personal information collected through this website, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

How long we keep information

We keep inquiry information (including the inquiry email) for as long as needed to respond to you and, if you become a client, to deliver and document the services. We then keep it for a reasonable period for business records before it is deleted, unless we are required to keep it longer by law. You can ask us to delete your inquiry information earlier (see "Your privacy rights and choices").

Chat transcripts are retained under the chat provider's own retention settings. Anti-spam records (hashed IP and timestamps) are used only for short-term rate limiting.

Your privacy rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask us to tell you what personal information we hold about you, to correct it, to delete it, to receive a copy of it, and to object to or limit certain uses. To make a request, email [email protected] with the subject "Privacy Request", or call +1 332 203 7727.

We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request, for example by asking you to reply from the email address you used to contact us. We will respond within the time required by applicable law. You will not be treated unfairly for exercising your rights.

California residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you may have the right to know what personal information we collect, use, disclose and sell or share; to request deletion or correction; to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information; and to be free from discrimination for exercising these rights.

In the last twelve months we have collected the categories of personal information described in "Information we collect" (identifiers such as name, email address, phone number and IP address; information you provide about your project; and internet or network activity such as pages viewed and referral details) for the purposes described in "How we use information".

We do not sell personal information collected through this website. Because the website does not currently use advertising or analytics tags, we do not currently "share" personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. If that changes, we will update this policy before the change. To make a request, or to opt out of any sale or sharing, email [email protected] with the subject "Do Not Share" or "Privacy Request", or call +1 332 203 7727. You may also use an authorised agent to submit a request on your behalf.

Residents of other states

Residents of some other U.S. states have similar privacy rights. You may use the contact methods above to make a request, and we will handle it in line with the law that applies to you.

Children's privacy

Our services and this website are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect information, including encrypted (HTTPS) connections for the website, encrypted connections to our email service, spam and rate-limit controls on forms, and limiting access to inquiry information to people who need it. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Third-party websites and services

The website may link to third-party websites and platforms, including publishing platforms. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. Please read their policies.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our practices or the law change, for example before we add an analytics or advertising tool. The "Last Updated" date at the top shows when it was last revised.

Contact us

Self Publishing Excellence. Phone: +1 332 203 7727. Email: [email protected]. Our mailing address is Fine Arts Building, 811 W. 7th St., Suite 1149, Los Angeles, CA 90017.