Privacy Policy
We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors and clients. This policy explains how we collect, use and protect your personal information, in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
In Short
We only collect the personal information we need to respond to your enquiry, receive and review manuscripts, and deliver our publishing services.
We don’t sell or share your data.
You can ask to see, change, or delete your information at any time.
Read on for the full legal details.
1. Who We Are
SpiffingCovers.com Ltd (“SC”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) processes personal information in accordance with this notice and all relevant data-protection laws.
Registered office
1 Brewery House, Brook Street, Colchester, Essex CO7 9AZ
Company number 08435486 (England and Wales)
Email enquiries@spiffingpublishing.com
Tel 01206 585200
Post 6 Jolliffe’s Court, 51–57 High Street, Wivenhoe, Colchester CO7 9AZ
2. Information That We Collect
We collect only the information that’s relevant to the work we’re doing for you. This may include:
Name
Home or business address
Email address
Telephone or mobile number
Bank details (used temporarily to set up Amazon or other seller accounts – not stored after use)
The web page you visited when you got in touch
Photos (for author bio pages or web design)
Manuscripts, illustrations and accompanying documents you upload through our enquiry forms
Any supporting information you voluntarily provide in emails or calls
We collect data through email, telephone, post, online forms, and digital documents (Word, Excel, PDF etc.).
3. How We Use Your Personal Data (Lawful Basis for Processing)
We only use your personal data when legally permitted. Our main lawful bases are legitimate interests, contract, and legal obligation.
To reply to your enquiry, provide quotations, review submitted manuscripts, and discuss possible publishing projects (legitimate interest).
To fulfil our contract with you once you become a client.
To meet legal and tax obligations.
To send marketing emails only if you have opted in or if we reasonably believe it is in your legitimate interest to hear from us.
We never sell or share your data, and we retain it only as long as necessary.
Enquiry Management and Follow-Up
When you send us an enquiry or upload a manuscript through our website, your details and files are stored within our secure WordPress system and recorded in our internal Airtable database.
This allows us to respond, review your submission, and keep track of follow-up conversations.
We rely on legitimate interest as the lawful basis for this processing, as you would reasonably expect us to handle your information in order to review your work and respond.
If you become a client, this information forms part of your client record and is retained in line with our contractual and accounting obligations.
If you do not proceed, your enquiry and any related files are securely deleted after two years.
Contact Form Enquiries
When you fill in a form on our website, we use your details only to reply to your message and follow up on your enquiry.
The lawful basis is legitimate interest – we need the information to respond.
Your data is stored securely in Airtable and deleted when it’s no longer required for that purpose.
4. Your Rights
You have the right to:
Access the data we hold about you
Correct or update inaccurate information
Request deletion of your personal data
Restrict or object to certain types of processing
Withdraw consent to marketing at any time
Request data portability (a copy of your data)
We may ask you to verify your identity before acting on any request to keep your information secure.
5. Sharing and Disclosing Your Personal Information
We will not share your information except where necessary to deliver our services or where required by law.
Any third-party providers acting on our behalf (e.g. printers, couriers, or IT services) process your data only in accordance with our instructions and follow strict confidentiality and security standards.
6. Safeguarding Measures
We use multiple layers of security to protect your data, including:
Encryption of portable devices
Regular staff training
Antivirus and firewall protection
Limited data retention
Work towards government Cyber Essentials certification
7. Transfers Outside the UK or EEA
We use Airtable and other service providers based in the United States. These providers are certified under the UK–US Data Bridge, which extends the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and provides an approved safeguard for transferring UK personal data.
Where other international transfers occur, we ensure they are protected by equivalent legal mechanisms such as Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.
8. Consequences of Not Providing Your Data
If you choose not to provide certain information, we may be unable to offer or complete our services (for example, reviewing a manuscript or setting up publishing accounts).
9. Legitimate Interests
We rely on legitimate interests for activities such as:
Responding to enquiries and communicating with clients
Reviewing and considering manuscript submissions
Sending relevant updates to authors and partners in the publishing community
Inviting contributors to participate in collaborative projects
Processing job applications
Organising meetings or events
Whenever we rely on legitimate interest, we balance our need to process your data against your rights and expectations.
10. Data Retention
We retain enquiry and submission information for up to two years after our last interaction unless you become a client, in which case your data is kept for the duration of our working relationship and for as long as required by law (normally six years for tax and accounting purposes).
All data is stored securely in our WordPress system and internal Airtable database, both protected by appropriate technical and organisational safeguards. Airtable is hosted in the United States under the protections of the UK–US Data Bridge.
11. Special Category Data
We rarely process sensitive personal data (for example, dietary requirements for an event). Where we do, it’s minimal, securely stored, and based on explicit consent or another lawful basis.
12. Marketing Communications
We may occasionally send marketing emails about self-publishing services, offers, or news. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in our emails or contacting us at enquiries@spiffingpublishing.com.
If you’ve ticked the optional box on our website to receive updates, that’s taken as your consent for these messages.
13. Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, please contact us at:
Data Protection Officer
SpiffingCovers.com Ltd
6 Jolliffe’s Court, 51–57 High Street, Colchester CO7 9AZ
Tel: 01206 585200
Email: enquiries@spiffingpublishing.com
If you remain unsatisfied, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF
Tel: 0303 123 1113
Website: www.ico.org.uk
14. Cookies
Our website uses cookies to improve user experience and enable key site features. Cookies remember things like pages visited, preferences, and login options.
You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings, but some features may not function properly without them.
For more information, visit aboutcookies.org.
15. Website Functionality and Third-Party Tools
Our website is built on WordPress and may use plugins or modules that handle limited technical data to improve performance and usability.
Embedded content: Pages may include videos, maps or other content embedded from third-party platforms (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Google Maps). These providers may collect your IP address or set cookies when their content loads.
Complianz Privacy Suite: We use this plugin to record your cookie-consent preferences. Your IP address is anonymised and stored locally; no personal data is shared with the provider.
Beaver Builder: Some visual modules (such as maps or videos) may load content from external services that have their own privacy policies.
LiteSpeed Cache: Our site uses caching to improve speed. Temporary copies of web pages may be stored on our server but contain no personal information and are automatically cleared on a schedule.
Last updated: October 2025
