Privacy Policy

Effective Date: April 14, 2026

Last Updated: October 11, 2026

Columbia Publishing LLC ("we," "us," or "our") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your information when you use our professional publishing services or visit our website.

This policy applies to all users of our services, including authors from the European Union, United Kingdom, California, and worldwide. We comply with applicable privacy laws including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

What Information Do We Collect?

We collect your contact details, project information, communication records, and service preferences when you engage with us. Our website also gathers analytics, advertising measurement and technical data automatically through Google Analytics, Google Ads and Microsoft Clarity. Importantly, we never store your payment card information. All transactions are processed securely through trusted third-party providers such as Airwallex, Payoneer and Stripe.

Information You Provide to Us

• Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, and mailing address when you inquire about or purchase our services
• Project Information: Book title, genre, manuscript files, author preferences, and project specifications
• Communication Records: Messages you send us through our contact forms, website chat assistant, email, or phone calls
• Service Preferences: Your choices regarding our services, communication preferences, and marketing consent

Information We Collect Automatically

• Website Analytics: We use Google Analytics to collect anonymized information about how visitors use our website, including pages visited, time spent, and general location (city/country level only)
• Advertising Measurement: We use Google Ads to measure whether our ads lead to enquiries and to show our ads to people who have visited our website (remarketing)
• Session Recording: We use Microsoft Clarity to see how pages are used, as described in Session Recording and Analytics below
• Technical Information: IP address, browser type, device information, and referring website (collected automatically when you visit our site)

Payment Information

We do not collect or store your payment card information. All payment processing is handled securely by third-party payment processors including Airwallex, Payoneer and Stripe. These processors collect payment information directly from you according to their own privacy policies.

How Do We Use Your Information?

We use your personal information for the following purposes:

• Service Delivery: To provide our professional editing, design, formatting, and distribution setup services
• Communication: To respond to your inquiries, provide project updates, and deliver completed work
• Payment Processing: To process payments through our third-party payment processors
• Customer Support: To assist you with questions about our services and resolve any issues
• Legal Compliance: To comply with applicable laws and regulations
• Marketing (with consent only): To send you information about our services, but only if you explicitly opt in to receive marketing communications

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR): We process your personal information based on:

• Contract performance (to deliver the services you purchased)
• Legitimate interests (to operate our business and improve our services)
• Consent (for marketing communications and non-essential cookies)
• Legal obligation (to comply with tax and business laws)

How Do We Share Your Information?

We do not sell your personal information to anyone. We only share your information in the following limited circumstances:

Service Providers

• Payment Processors: Airwallex, Payoneer, Stripe and other payment services to process transactions
• Distribution Partners: Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, and other platforms when setting up your book distribution (only the information necessary for account setup)
• Technology Providers: Google (Google Analytics, Google Ads and Google Tag Manager), Microsoft (Clarity), our website chat service, and essential website hosting services

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government regulation, or to protect our rights, property, or safety.

Business Transfers

If Columbia Publishing LLC is acquired by or merged with another company, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. You will be notified of any such change in ownership.

How Long Do We Retain Your Data?

We retain your personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy:

• Project Files: We keep manuscript files, design files, and project communications for 2 years after project completion to provide ongoing support
• Contact Information: We retain contact details for 3 years after your last interaction with us
• Financial Records: We keep payment and tax records for 7 years as required by law
• Marketing Lists: We keep marketing consent records until you withdraw consent or 3 years of inactivity

You can request earlier deletion of your information by contacting us at support@columbiapublication.com.

What Are Your Privacy Rights?

Depending on your location, you have the following rights regarding your personal information:

All Users

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we have about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate personal information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time

GDPR Rights (EU/UK Residents)

• Data Portability: Receive your personal information in a portable format
• Restrict Processing: Request that we limit how we use your information
• Object to Processing: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for marketing or non-essential cookies
• Lodge Complaints: File complaints with your local data protection authority

CCPA Rights (California Residents)

• Know: Request information about what personal information we collect and how it's used
• Delete: Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt-out of Sale or Sharing: We do not sell personal information. Google Ads remarketing cookies may count as "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising under California law; you can opt out using the cookie controls below or by emailing us
• Non-discrimination: We won't discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights

To exercise your rights: Email us at support@columbiapublication.com with your request. We will respond within 30 days for most requests (45 days for complex CCPA requests). We may need to verify your identity before processing certain requests.

What Cookies and Tracking Do We Use?

Our website uses minimal cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Required for website functionality (contact forms, security)
• Analytics Cookies: Google Analytics with anonymized data collection (you can opt out at any time)
• Session Recording Cookies: Microsoft Clarity (_clck, _clsk) to understand how visitors interact with our website (see Session Recording and Analytics below)
• Advertising Cookies: Google Ads conversion and remarketing cookies, which measure whether our ads lead to enquiries and may show our ads to past visitors on other websites. You can turn off personalized ads at adssettings.google.com

Visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland see a cookie banner, and analytics and advertising cookies stay off until they accept. You can change your choice at any time from the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of every page.

We do not use social media tracking pixels.

You can control cookies through your browser settings or opt out of Google Analytics at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Session Recording and Analytics

We use Microsoft Clarity to understand how visitors use our website. Clarity records how pages are viewed and used, including mouse movement, clicks, scrolling, and which parts of a page hold attention. This helps us identify where the site is confusing or difficult to use.

Text you type into forms is masked and is not recorded. We use this information to improve the website, and it is not used to identify you personally or for advertising.

Microsoft may use this data in accordance with its own privacy practices. You can read more in the Microsoft Privacy Statement at https://privacy.microsoft.com/privacystatement

We also use Google Tag Manager to manage the analytics and measurement tools described in this policy.

How Do We Secure Your Data?

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:

• Secure data transmission using SSL encryption
• Limited access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• Regular security updates and monitoring
• Secure file storage with access controls

However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

How Do We Handle International Data Transfers?

Columbia Publishing LLC is located in Virginia, USA. If you are located outside the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for international transfers, including:

• Compliance with applicable data protection laws
• Contractual protections with service providers
• Adherence to recognized international frameworks

How Do We Protect Children's Privacy?

Our services are not directed to children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 16, please contact us immediately.

How Do We Handle Changes to This Policy?

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. We will notify you of material changes by:

• Posting the updated policy on our website
• Sending email notification to active customers
• Updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy

Continued use of our services after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

How Can You Contact Us?

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us:

Columbia Publishing LLC
1550 Wilson Blvd
Arlington, VA 22209
United States

Email: support@columbiapublication.com

Phone: +1 (703) 997-9787

We will respond to your privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.