Orpen Press and Orpen Self-Publishing respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal data when you visit our website, contact us, submit an enquiry or upload a manuscript through our website.
For the purposes of applicable data protection law, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018, Orpen Press / Orpen Self-Publishing is the data controller for the personal information described in this Policy.
1. Information We May Collect
Depending on how you use our website, we may collect information including:
Your name
Email address
Telephone number
Book title
Approximate word count, where provided
Selected book size or publication preferences
Information about your publishing requirements
Messages submitted through our Contact Form
Information entered in our manuscript submission form
Manuscripts, documents, images or other files you choose to upload
Submission reference number
Date and time of submission
Email verification status
Communications between you and Orpen Press or Orpen Self-Publishing
Please only provide information that is relevant to your publishing enquiry.
2. Contact Form
When you submit our Contact Form, we use the information you provide to:
Respond to your enquiry
Contact you about the matter you have raised
Provide information about our publishing services
Prepare a quotation or discuss a potential publishing project
Maintain appropriate records of our correspondence
Submitting a Contact Form does not automatically subscribe you to marketing communications.
We will not use your contact details for unrelated marketing unless you have separately agreed to receive such communications.
3. Manuscript Submission Form
Our website provides a manuscript submission service for prospective authors.
The form may request:
Name
Email address
Telephone number
Book title
Approximate word count
Book or publication information
Special requirements or comments
Manuscript files and supporting documents
You may upload supported document and image formats including PDF, DOC, DOCX, ODT, RTF, JPG, JPEG and PNG.
We use this information solely for purposes connected with your publishing enquiry, including reviewing your submission, communicating with you and determining the publishing services that may be appropriate for your project.
4. Email Verification
To reduce incorrect, fraudulent or unauthorised submissions, we may ask you to verify your email address using a temporary verification code generated by Orpen Self-Publishing.
The verification code:
Is generated solely to confirm ownership of the email address entered in the form
Expires automatically after a short period
Is not your Google, Gmail or other third-party authentication code
Is not a password
We will never ask you to provide your Gmail password, Google verification code or the password to any other account.
Verification information is retained only for the limited period necessary to complete the verification process.
5. Your Manuscript and Intellectual Property
Uploading a manuscript to Orpen Press or Orpen Self-Publishing does not transfer ownership of your manuscript or intellectual property to us.
Your manuscript remains your work.
Submitting a manuscript gives us permission only to access, review, store and process the material as reasonably necessary to:
Assess your publishing enquiry
Discuss your proposed publication
Prepare quotations or recommendations
Provide publishing services where subsequently agreed
We do not acquire copyright ownership merely because a manuscript has been submitted to us.
You should only upload material that you own, are authorised to provide, or otherwise have the legal right to submit.
6. Google Apps Script and Google Drive
Our manuscript submission system uses Google services, including Google Apps Script, Google Drive and related Google services.
When you submit your manuscript:
Submitting a manuscript gives us permission only to access, review, store and process the material as reasonably necessary to:
Your information is transmitted through our manuscript submission application.
Uploaded files are stored within a private Google Drive location controlled by Orpen.
Submission information may be recorded in a private manuscript register for administrative and recovery purposes.
Email notifications may be generated to confirm receipt of your submission.
Manuscript folders and administrative records are not intentionally made publicly accessible.
Google states that files stored in Google Drive are encrypted in transit and at rest and remain private unless the account holder chooses to share them.
7. Temporary Browser Draft Saving
To prevent you from losing your work if you accidentally leave, refresh or close the manuscript submission page, the form may temporarily save unfinished form information in your browser.
This may include:
Contact information entered into the form
Book information
Special requirements
Files you have selected for upload
This temporary information is stored locally within your browser/device and may remain available for up to 7 days.
It is not submitted to Orpen merely because it has been temporarily saved in your browser.
The temporary browser copy is cleared following a successful submission or expires automatically.
You may also clear it by clearing the relevant browser/site data.
8. How We Use Your Information
We may process personal information to:
Respond to enquiries
Review manuscript submissions
Communicate with prospective authors
Provide quotations
Discuss publishing requirements
Provide publishing and related services
Manage ongoing publishing projects
Maintain administrative records
Prevent misuse, spam or fraudulent submissions
Protect our website and systems
Comply with legal, regulatory, accounting or contractual obligations
We will not sell your personal information.
9. Our Legal Basis for Processing
Depending on the circumstances, we process personal information because:
You have asked us to respond to an enquiry or contact you
Processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract
Processing is necessary to perform a contract with you
We have legitimate business interests in responding to genuine enquiries, administering publishing projects and protecting our services
You have provided consent where consent is specifically requested
We are required to retain certain information to comply with legal obligations
Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.
Withdrawal does not affect processing that was lawfully carried out before your consent was withdrawn.
10. How Long We Keep Information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected.
As a general guideline:
Contact enquiries
Where an enquiry does not progress into a publishing project, correspondence may normally be retained for up to 24 months after the last meaningful contact.
Manuscript submissions
Where a manuscript submission does not progress into a publishing project, submitted information and manuscript files may normally be retained for up to 12 months following the last meaningful contact, unless there is a legitimate reason to retain them longer or you request earlier deletion.
Publishing clients
Where you become a client, relevant project, contractual, invoicing and business records may be retained for the period required for project administration and applicable legal, tax or accounting requirements.
Verification information
Temporary email verification information expires automatically after the verification period.
Browser drafts
Temporary browser drafts may remain on your device for up to 7 days.
We periodically review the information we retain and delete or anonymise information that is no longer required.
11. Who May Have Access to Your Information
Access is limited to persons and service providers who reasonably require it for the purposes described in this Policy.
This may include:
Orpen Press / Orpen Self-Publishing personnel
Publishing professionals involved in an agreed project
Website and technical service providers
Google services used for file storage, automation and email processing
Professional advisers where necessary
Authorities where disclosure is required by law
We do not publicly share submitted manuscripts.
Where third-party professionals need access to a manuscript as part of an agreed publishing project, appropriate access should be limited to what is reasonably necessary.
12. International Data Processing
Some technology providers used by our website or business may operate infrastructure in multiple countries.
Where personal information is transferred outside the European Economic Area, we seek to rely on appropriate safeguards or other lawful transfer mechanisms required under applicable data protection law.
13. Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information and manuscripts against:
Unauthorised access
Accidental disclosure
Loss
Misuse
Alteration
Unauthorised deletion
Measures may include:
Private file storage
Restricted access
Email verification
File-type validation
File-size controls
Secure HTTPS transmission
Administrative access controls
Submission reference numbers
Backup administrative records
No internet-based service can provide an absolute guarantee of security, but we take reasonable steps appropriate to the nature of the information being processed.
14. Your Data Protection Rights
Subject to applicable law and any relevant exemptions, you may have the right to:
Be informed about how your personal information is used
Request access to your personal information
Request correction of inaccurate information
Request deletion of your information
Request restriction of processing
Object to certain processing
Request data portability where applicable
Withdraw consent where processing relies on consent
Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority
To exercise one of these rights, contact Orpen using the contact details below.
We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests.
15. Marketing Communications
Submitting a Contact Form or manuscript does not automatically enrol you in a marketing mailing list.
We may communicate with you about the enquiry or publishing project you initiated.
Where separate consent is required for promotional marketing, we will request it separately.
You may unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time.
16. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies necessary for website functionality, security, preferences and, where enabled, analytics.
Where consent is legally required for non-essential cookies, such cookies should not be activated until the required consent has been obtained.
Please refer to our Cookie Policy for further information.
17. Third-Party Websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy policy of any external service before providing personal information.
18. Children
Our publishing services are principally intended for adults.
If a person under the applicable age of digital consent wishes to submit personal information or a manuscript, appropriate consent from a parent or guardian may be required.
19. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in:
Our services
Technology
Legal requirements
Data-processing practices
The latest version will be published on this website with the date of the most recent update.
20. Contact Us
For questions about this Privacy Policy, your personal information or a manuscript you have submitted, please contact:
