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Info for Authors – Author Privacy Policy

Hachette Book Group’s Author Privacy Policy

Last Updated January 18, 2023

In connection with providing publishing services to our authors (“you”), Hachette Book Group, Inc. (“Hachette”) collects a variety of personal information from you, as further described below. We understand that you care about how we collect, use, and share that information, and we value the trust you place in us. This Author Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains:

  • the types of information we collect from you
  • how we use and protect that information
  • the types of information we may share with others and under what circumstances
  • the choices you have regarding our collection, use, and sharing practices
  • details regarding our use of third-party cookies and other tracking technologies

We also include specific disclosures for residents of California.

Please note that your interactions with our public-facing websites, social media sites and handles, email newsletters and communications, and other online services (“Services”) are governed by Hachette’s general privacy policy. This Policy does not apply to non-Hachette websites and mobile applications that may be linked to or from any communications or other interactions we have with you. Please review the privacy policies on those websites and applications directly to understand their privacy practices.

Information We Collect

Information you give us

We collect and store any personal information you or your authorized representatives provide to us. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Contact information.
  • Payment information, including tax payer identification number, bank account information, and related information necessary to process payments to you or such person(s) authorized by you or your authorized representatives.
  • Information submitted through the Author Portal, including information you provide when you complete our forms (i.e., author questionnaire).
  • Information you provide when you complete a survey administered by us or a service provider acting on our behalf.
  • Any other information you provide to us, including drafts of your manuscripts and records of your correspondence with us.

Information We Collect Automatically

When you interact with our websites, our social media pages and any other online services managed by us (“Services”), certain information about your use of those Services is collected automatically. Much of this information is collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies, as well as through your web browser or device. For more information, please review Hachette’s general privacy policy, which covers this topic in greater detail.

Information Collected from Third Parties

We may collect information about you if another person provides it to us, such as your agent or authorized representative, another publisher (i.e., if you were previously published by another publisher), or any other person.

How We Use and Protect Your Information

We may use the information we collect from you for the following purposes:

  • To provide you with our publishing services, including to take steps to enter into a contract with you, process payments, market your book and send you communications.
  • To understand how our services are being used by you, track their performance, and make improvements.
  • To respond to subpoenas and in connection with any dispute regarding your books or the provision of our publishing services, and to respond to requests for information from governmental entities, industry associations or other groups regarding our business.
  • To detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may violate our policies or be fraudulent or illegal, and to comply with applicable laws and regulations.

How We Secure the Information We Collect From or About You

We use a combination of physical, technical, and administrative safeguards to protect the information we collect from you and through our Services. While we use these precautions to safeguard your information, we cannot guarantee the security of the networks, systems, servers, devices, and databases we operate or that are operated on our behalf.

How We Share Your Information

  • Service Providers: We engage the following types of vendors to perform functions on our behalf such as billing and collection providers; auditing and accounting firms; professional services consultants; providers of analytics services; security vendors; and IT vendors.
  • Customers and Business Partners: We may share your information with our customers and other third parties with whom we do business in connection with providing our services and measuring their performance.
  • Affiliates: We may share your information with our affiliates in connection with providing our services and measuring their performance.
  • Social Media Platforms: If you choose to interact with us through social media, your interaction with these programs typically allows the social media company to collect some information about you through digital cookies they place on your device and other tracking mechanisms they place on your device. In some cases, the social media company may recognize you through its digital cookies even when you do not interact with their application. Please visit the social media companies’ respective privacy policies to better understand their data collection practices and the controls they make available to you.
  • We may also share your information if legally required or requested for informational or reporting purposes.

Additional Information About our Data Collection and Sharing Practices

Sharing of Aggregated Data
We may share aggregated or de-identified data at our discretion.

Combination of Information
We may combine information you provide to us together and with other information we obtain from our business records or through third party sources.

Change of Ownership or Corporate Organization
We may transfer to another entity or its affiliates or service providers some or all information about you in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, acquisition, sale of assets or any line of business, change in ownership control, or financing transaction. We cannot promise that an acquiring party or the merged entity will have the same privacy practices or treat your information the same as described in this Policy.

Cross-border Transfer of Data
If you use our Services outside of the United States, you understand that we may collect, process, and store your information in the United States and other countries. The laws in the U.S. regarding information may be different from the laws of your state or country. Any such transfers will comply with safeguards as required by relevant law. By publishing with us, you consent to the collection, international transfer, storage, and processing of your data.

Our Practices Regarding Information Belonging to Children
The Services are intended for users age thirteen and older. Hachette does not knowingly collect information from children. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected information from anyone younger than the age of 13, we will delete that information.

Your California Privacy Rights

Persons with disabilities may obtain this notice in alternative format upon request by contacting us at privacy@hbgusa.com or calling 1-800-890-0625.

CCPA

The California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) provides California residents with rights to receive certain disclosures regarding the collection, use, and sharing of “Personal Information,” as well as rights to know/access, delete, and limit sharing of Personal Information. The CCPA defines “Personal Information” as “information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household.” Certain information we collect may be exempt from the CCPA because it is considered public information (i.e., it is made available by a government entity) or covered by a specific federal privacy law, such as the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

To the extent that we collect Personal Information that is subject to the CCPA, that information, our practices, and your rights are described below.

Right to Notice at Collection Regarding the Categories of Personal Information Collected

You have the right to receive notice of the categories of Personal Information we collect, and the purposes for which those categories of Personal Information will be used. This notice should be provided at or before the time of collection. The categories we use to describe the information are those enumerated in the CCPA.

  • Personal Identifiers:
    • We collect your name, phone number, and email address and contact address. We use this information to provide our publishing services to you.
    • We collect your social media handle and basic account information when you interact with our Services through social media. We may also manage certain social media handles on your behalf.
    • We collect a unique numerical identifier, assigned to you by a first-party cookie, automatically when you use our Services in order to identify you, provide the Services, keep you logged in to the Services, and prevent fraud provide you with targeted information and offers.
    • We collect your Social Security number or other tax payer identification number. We or our service providers may collect your Driver’s License number or Passport number if required for any author events requiring identification for travel.
    • We do not collect any medical information or health information about you.
    • We collect your IP address automatically when you use our Services. We use this information to identify you, gauge online activity on our website, measure the effectiveness of online services, applications, and tools.
    • We do not collect your Device ID automatically when you use our services.
  • Protected Classifications: We may collect information about your age, race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity if you provide that information to us. We use this information to market your books, nominate you for awards, internal analysis, and reporting.
  • Commercial Information: When you engage in transactions with us, we create records of goods or services purchased or considered, as well as purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies. We use this information to measure the effectiveness of our Services and, if you are a consumer of our books, with targeted information, advertisements and offers.
  • Biometric Information: We do not collect information about your physiological, biological, or behavioral characteristics.
  • Internet or Other Electronic Network Activity Information: We collect information about your browsing history, search history, and interactions with websites, and/or applications automatically when you utilize our Services. We use this information to gauge online activity on our website, measure the effectiveness of online services, applications, and tools, and to serve targeted advertisements based on your online activities. We do not collect information about your information regarding your interaction with advertisements automatically when you utilize our Services.
  • Geolocation Data: We collect your IP address automatically when you use our Services. We may be able to determine your general location based on the IP address. We do not collect your precise location (e.g., your GPS coordinates).
  • Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information: We collect and store any pictures, videos, audio recordings or similar information you provide to us. We use that information to provide our publishing services, including marketing your book.
  • Professional or employment-related information: We collect information about your current employer or your employment history. We may use that information to market your book.
  • Education information: We collect information about the institutions you have attended or the level of education you have attained. We may use that information to market your book.
  • Inferences drawn to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumer’s preferences or characteristics: When you interact with our Services as a consumer, we collect your author, title and genre interests and similar information you provide to us. We use this information to analyze your actual or likely preferences to provide you with targeted information, advertisements and offers.

We may use any of the categories of information listed above for other business or operational purposes compatible with the context in which the Personal Information was collected.

We may share any of the above-listed information with service providers, which are companies that we engage for business purposes to conduct activities on our behalf. Service providers are restricted from using Personal Information for any purpose that is not related to our engagement.

Right to Know/Access Information

You have the right to request access to Personal Information collected about you and information regarding the source of that information, the purposes for which we collect it, and the third parties and service providers with whom we share it. You may submit such a request by following the instructions provided in Hachette’s general privacy policy, as described in the section “Right to Know/Access Information.”

Right to Request Deletion of Information

You have the right in certain circumstances to request that we delete Personal Information that we have collected directly from you. You may submit such a request by following the instructions provided in Hachette’s general privacy policy, as described in the section “Right to Request Deletion of Information.” Please note that the information we collect from you is used to provide our publishing services to you, including processing payments, and your right to request deletion of your Personal Information may not apply to most of the categories of Personal Information we have collected from our about you. If you have any questions, please contact privacy@hbgusa.com.

Right to Opt Out of Sale of Personal Information to Third Parties

You have the right to opt out of any sale of your Personal Information by Hachette to third parties.

We sell certain information to third parties. To “sell” information means to disclose it to a company for monetary or other benefit. A company may be considered a third party either because the purpose of sharing is not an enumerated business purpose under California law, or because our contract does not restrict them from using Personal Information for other purposes. At this time, Hachette does not sell your Personal Information to third parties.

Please note that your right to opt out does not apply to our sharing of Personal Information with service providers, who are parties we engage to perform a function on our behalf and are contractually obligated to use the Personal Information only for that function.

We may also disclose information to other entities who are not listed here when required by law or to protect our Company or other persons, as described in this Policy.

Changes to This Policy

We may make changes to this Policy from time to time. We will post any changes here, and such changes will become effective when they are posted. Your continued use of our publishing services following the posting of any changes will mean you accept those changes.

For questions about our privacy practices, contact us at:

Hachette Book Group, Inc.
53 State Street
Boston, MA 02109
ATTN: Customer Service, Privacy
Email: privacy@hbgusa.com