As the creator and operator of the Writer’s Database, I am personally committed to ethical behavior and common courtesy. It would be neither ethical nor courteous to steal your private data (stories uploaded to the site, market listings defined as private, etc.) and use it for any purpose without your consent. The same goes for selling your contact information, or sending you lots of unsolicited commercial e-mail, or doing anything else to make your life miserable. Therefore, I don’t do those things.
If/when I involve other people in the operation of the Writer’s Database, they will be expected to uphold the same simple principles.
When you register on the Writer’s Database site, you are asked for your name and e-mail address. When you use the site, you may enter data relevant to your writing and writerly business, including: the titles of your manuscripts, the markets to which you submit, and the details of your each individual submission. Additional features may give you the option to submit additional data, including manuscript uploads or data about writing productivity (e.g., word counts produced).
The list above may be incomplete—or may someday become so, due to the addition of new features. But obviously, whenever you type data into the site, you will most likely be aware that you are doing so. I’m not aware of any documented cases of computer use while asleep.
The Writer’s Database may also collect and analyze certain information regarding the use of the site and services available therein. Information collected may include but is not limited to web site traffic volume, frequency of visits, type and time of transactions, type of browser and operating system, etc.
We may use personal information to provide the services you’ve requested, including market and submission tracking. Some features on the site allow you the option of sharing selected information (e.g., market listings) with other users. If you exercise this option, then your information will be shared in the manner you indicate. We may also use personal information for auditing, research, and analysis to operate and improve the site.
We may contact you via e-mail with notices that we believe to be of extreme importance. More routine notices will be made available on the site, and/or via an RSS feed to which you will have the option of subscribing. Any other purposes for which we might send e-mail will be considered optional, and you will be considered to have opted out by default. You will need to explicitly opt in to a given category of routine communication before you will be able to receive it.
The information we collect is not shared with or sold to other organizations for commercial purposes, except to provide products or services you’ve requested, when we have your permission, or under the following circumstances:
A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier, that is sent to your browser from a web site’s computers and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies are required to use the Writer’s Database site. We use cookies to assist in delivering the service and to provide a personalized user experience. Our cookies are used to identify unique visitors to our site and to provide you with easy access to your data. If you have your browser set to reject cookies, your usage of the service is likely to be interrupted.
The Writer’s Database has implemented processes intended to protect user information and maintain security of data. Each account holder is asked to select a unique username and password, which is required to access their account. It is each user’s responsibility to protect the security of their login information.
These safeguards help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of data, but no guarantee can be made that your information and data will be secure from intrusions and unauthorized release to third parties.
The Writer’s Database may periodically update this policy. We will notify you about significant changes in the way we treat personal information by posting a prominent notice on the site and possibly sending a notice to the e-mail address specified in your account. We do not intend to reduce your rights under this Policy without your consent, and we expect most such changes will be minor. Each version of this Policy will be identified at the bottom of the page by its effective date.
Any questions about this Privacy Policy should be sent via the contact information on our Help page.
