Privacy policy.
This Privacy Notice explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal data. Please read it carefully to understand our practices and your rights.
Data Controller
For the purpose of the Data Protection Laws, Lancia E. Smith is the Data Controller.
If you have any questions in relation to this Privacy Notice or wish to exercise your rights relating to it, please contact us at info@cultivatingoakspress.com.
Personal Data We Collect From You
We collect personal data when you provide it directly, for example when you subscribe to the Cultivating a Writer’s Life Substack or send an enquiry. This may include:
Your full name
Your email address
Information you provide through correspondence when dealing with any enquiries or requests
Information about your device’s browser (such as IP address, browser type, and access time) when you visit our website
We may also process other data which is not personal data. These details help us improve the website and respond to your requests.
What Personal Data About You Do We Obtain From Others?
We do not routinely obtain Personal Data about you from others. If you provide us with Personal Data about someone else, you are responsible for ensuring that you comply with any and all obligations, particularly any consent obligations under the Data Protection Laws, in relation to such disclosure.
Security and Where We Store Your Data
We use trusted security measures to protect your information from unauthorised access or misuse. However, internet transmission and storage systems are never completely secure. Once we receive your data, we handle it with appropriate safeguards. Some data may be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA) when using cloud or email services.
By sharing your data, you consent to these transfers.
Uses Made of Your Personal Data
We, or service providers acting on our behalf, may use the information collected from and about you to:
Send you our newsletter, updates about new publications, and information about events
Respond to enquiries from you
Administer and improve our website for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, and statistical purposes
Keep our website safe and secure
Provide you with marketing information about books, webinars, events, and other content which we feel you might find useful. You have the opportunity to opt out of receiving this information at any time
Comply with and enforce applicable legal requirements and contractual obligations
Legal Bases for Processing
The legal bases for the processing of your personal data are:
Your consent for the processing of one or more specified purposes, such as receiving our newsletter
Legitimate interests which we pursue, such as communicating with you about our work and publications, where such interests are not overridden by your interests or fundamental rights
Retention of Your Personal Data
We retain your Personal Data for as long as necessary to provide you with our newsletter and communications service, and to comply with our legal obligations. If you no longer want us to use your Personal Data, you can request that we erase your personal data by contacting us at info@cultivatingoakspress.com.
Please note that if you request the erasure of your Personal Data:
We may retain some of your Personal Data as necessary for our legitimate business interests
We may retain and use your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations
Residual copies of your Personal Data may not be removed from our backup systems for a limited period of time
We will retain your data for no longer than reasonably necessary. You can unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us at info@cultivatingoakspress.com.
Automated Decision Making
You will not be subject to decisions that will have a significant impact on you based solely on automated decision-making.
Links to Other Sites
Our website may occasionally contain links to and from other websites. If you follow a link to any of those websites, please note that those websites have their own privacy notices and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for those policies. Please check those policies before you submit any Personal Data to those websites.
Social Networks
We maintain active social network accounts. We may embed widgets from these networks to provide follow buttons or content embeds. This may result in these networks setting cookies when you use our site. You may choose to set your web browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent.
Who Do We Share This Information With?
We do not sell, trade, or rent Personal Data to third parties.
We may share your Personal Data with:
Service providers who provide us with services, including email hosting providers (such as those managing our newsletter service)
Third parties where we are under a duty to disclose or share your information in order to comply with any legal obligation, or to protect our rights, property, or safety
Do We Transfer Your Personal Data Outside the European Union or the European Economic Area?
We may utilise services provided by third parties for the delivery of our newsletter and website services, which may require the transfer of personal data outside the UK and the EU/EEA. Where personal data needs to be transferred or processed outside the EU/EEA, we choose providers who process Personal Data on the basis of:
Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC)
An Adequacy Decision by the European Commission
Your explicit consent
To find out more about transfers by us of your Personal Data outside the European Union and the countries concerned, please contact us at info@cultivatingoakspress.com.
Your Rights
As an individual, under EU law, you have certain rights to request that we provide information or amend how we process your Personal Data. These rights include:
The right to access Personal Data relating to you
The right to rectify/correct Personal Data relating to you
The right to object to the processing of Personal Data relating to you
The right to restrict the processing of Personal Data relating to you
The right to erase/delete Personal Data relating to you
The right to ‘port’ certain Personal Data relating to you from one organisation to another
The right to require us not to send you marketing communications
The right to withdraw consent where our processing of your personal data is based on your consent
These rights are not absolute and only apply in certain circumstances. You may exercise any of the above rights by contacting us at info@cultivatingoakspress.com.
The exercise of your rights requires the unequivocal identification of the person submitting such a request. Hence, we may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
Can I Opt Out of Receiving Emails and Other Communications?
If you no longer wish to receive our newsletter or marketing emails, please use the unsubscribe link in any of our communications, or contact us at info@cultivatingoakspress.com to request to “opt out” of marketing.
Changes to This Notice
We reserve the right to change this Notice from time to time. If we make any changes, we will post them here so you can see what information we gather, how we might use it, and in what circumstances we may disclose it.
This Notice is effective from May 2026 and was last updated in May 2026.
Contact Us
Questions, comments, requests, and complaints regarding this Notice and the personal data we hold are welcome and should be addressed to:
Data Controller / Contact Person: Lancia E. Smith
Email: info@cultivatingoakspress.com
Postal Address: Not publicly available. For postal correspondence, please use the contact email to request guidance.
All requests will be dealt with promptly and efficiently.
Right to Complain
You have the right to make a complaint regarding the processing of your personal data to:
In the UK: The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — www.ico.org.uk
In the EU/EEA: Your local Data Protection Authority
We hope you will give us the chance to listen to and address your concerns before you approach the relevant authority. Should you have any concerns or questions regarding the processing of your personal data, please let us know by contacting us at info@cultivatingoakspress.com.