Author Services LLC ("Author Services," "we," "us," or "our") operates authorservices.com and the imprint websites for Morningstar Press, Mill City Press, and Liberty Hill Publishing (collectively, the "Site"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information when you visit the Site, contact us, request information, submit a manuscript, enter a promotion, or otherwise interact with our services (the "Services").
By using the Site or Services, you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.
I. Information We Collect
Information you give us
When you fill out a form on the Site, we collect information you choose to provide, including:
- Identity information: first name, last name
- Contact information: email address, phone number, mailing address (street, city, state, ZIP code)
- Project information: book title, genre, writing status, intended imprint, and free-text descriptions about your project
- Manuscript content: when you choose to upload manuscript files or share excerpts, we receive the content of those files
- Communications: messages you send us by phone, email, or web form
- Promotion entries: information you submit to enter a contest, sweepstakes, or giveaway, which may include the items above plus additional details specific to the promotion
Information collected automatically
When you visit the Site, we and our service providers automatically collect:
- Device and browser information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen size, language preferences
- Usage information: pages viewed, time on page, links clicked, scroll depth, referring URL, search terms used to reach the Site
- Session recordings: through our analytics provider PostHog, we record anonymized session replays showing pages visited and on-page interactions. Form input fields are masked by default.
- Cookies and similar technologies: see Section IV below
- Server logs: standard request logs maintained by our hosting provider (Vercel)
Information from third parties
We do not currently purchase personal information from data brokers or marketing lists. If you are referred to us by another author, partner, or affiliate, we may receive your name and contact information from that referrer. If you log in via a third-party identity provider in the future, we may receive profile information from that provider as authorized by you.
II. How We Use Information
We use personal information to:
- Respond to your inquiries and consultation requests
- Provide publishing services, including editorial review, design, production, and distribution
- Match you with the appropriate imprint (Morningstar Press, Mill City Press, or Liberty Hill Publishing)
- Send you publishing guides, scheduled communications, and follow-up messages you have requested
- Administer promotions, contests, and giveaways and notify winners
- Process payments where applicable, through third-party payment processors
- Operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site and Services
- Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents
- Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service
- Conduct research and analytics about how the Site is used
III. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies, local storage, pixels, and similar technologies to operate the Site and to understand how it is used. The categories below describe what we use:
- Strictly necessary — required for the Site to function, such as remembering your preferences during a session
- Analytics and product — provided by PostHog (posthog.com), which captures anonymized usage data, page views, click events, and session replays. PostHog cookies and local-storage entries persist for up to one year.
- Functional — remember choices you have made on the Site
You can disable cookies in your browser settings. Disabling strictly-necessary cookies may cause parts of the Site not to function. Most modern browsers honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal; if you send a GPC signal, we will treat it as a "do not sell or share" request under applicable state law.
IV. How We Share Information
We do not sell your personal information for monetary consideration. We share information only in the categories below:
Service providers (data processors)
We use the following processors who handle data on our behalf:
- Vercel Inc. — website hosting and serverless infrastructure
- MongoDB, Inc. — secure database storage (MongoDB Atlas) where lead and consultation records are kept
- PostHog Inc. — product analytics and session replay
- Email and communication providers — to send transactional emails and account notifications
- Payment processors — when applicable, to charge fees for Services. We do not store full payment card numbers on our servers.
These providers are contractually limited to using personal information only to provide their service to us.
Imprints and editorial teams
Author Services LLC owns and operates Morningstar Press, Mill City Press, and Liberty Hill Publishing. Information you submit on an imprint page or that you provide to one of our Author Success Coaches may be shared internally between Author Services and the imprint that best fits your project, including the editorial, production, and distribution teams within that imprint.
Legal, safety, and protection
We may disclose information if we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to:
- Comply with applicable law, regulation, court order, subpoena, or other legal process
- Cooperate with law enforcement or a regulatory authority
- Enforce our Terms of Service or investigate potential violations
- Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues
- Protect the rights, property, or safety of Author Services, our authors, or the public
Business transfers
If Author Services is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or part of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any change in ownership or use of your personal information.
With your consent
We may share information for purposes other than those listed when you have given consent.
V. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as needed to provide the Services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Specific retention periods:
- Lead and consultation records — retained for up to seven (7) years after last activity, to support customer service, recurring relationships, and tax/audit obligations
- Manuscript files — retained while a project is active; archived or deleted within twelve (12) months after a project concludes or is declined, unless a published author instructs us to retain master files
- Analytics and session recordings — retained according to the analytics provider's policy, currently up to thirteen (13) months
- Server logs — typically retained for thirty (30) days
You may request earlier deletion as described in Section VII below. Some information may be retained in backup systems for a limited period after deletion from active systems.
VI. Data Security
We use commercially reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information, including encryption in transit (TLS), encrypted storage at rest, access-controlled databases, role-based internal access, and regular security review. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a security incident affecting your personal information, we will notify you and applicable authorities as required by law.
VII. Your Privacy Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to request that we:
- Confirm whether we process personal information about you
- Provide access to a copy of the personal information we hold
- Correct inaccurate personal information
- Delete personal information, subject to legal exceptions
- Receive a portable copy of your information in a structured, machine-readable format
- Opt out of "sales" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising (we do not sell personal information for money; we may use third-party analytics that under certain state laws is treated as "sharing")
- Limit the use of sensitive personal information
- Withdraw consent for processing based on consent
- Appeal our decision regarding a privacy request
- Be free from discrimination for exercising these rights
To make a request, email us at contact@authorservices.com with the subject "Privacy Request." We will verify your identity before responding and will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law (typically 45 days, extendable once by an additional 45 days for complex requests).
Authorized agents
You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. We will require written authorization signed by you and may verify your identity directly.
VIII. State-Specific Disclosures
California residents (CCPA / CPRA)
California residents have the rights described in Section VII above, plus the right to know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the categories of sources, the business purposes for collecting, and the categories of third parties to which we disclose. We do not sell personal information for monetary consideration. We may "share" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as defined under the CCPA — to opt out, email us as described above or activate the Global Privacy Control in your browser.
We do not knowingly collect or sell the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age.
Virginia residents (VCDPA)
Virginia residents have the rights to confirm processing, access, correct, delete, obtain a portable copy, and opt out of targeted advertising, sale of personal data, and certain profiling. Submit requests as described in Section VII. We will respond within 45 days. You may appeal a denial by replying to our response email; the Virginia Attorney General's office may be contacted at oag.state.va.us.
Colorado residents (CPA), Connecticut residents (CTDPA), Utah residents (UCPA), and other states
Residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and other states with comprehensive privacy laws have similar rights as those described above, including the right to opt out of targeted advertising and sale of personal data. Submit requests as described in Section VII. Where state law differs, we will apply the more protective standard.
Other US states
We extend the substantive rights above (access, correction, deletion, portability, opt-out of targeted advertising) to residents of all US states regardless of whether your state has enacted a comprehensive privacy law.
IX. Children's Privacy
The Site is intended for users 16 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and we do not direct content to children under 16. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us at contact@authorservices.com and we will promptly delete the information.
X. Communications and Marketing
By providing your email address, you agree to receive transactional and service-related communications. We may also send you promotional messages about Author Services, our imprints, the Journal, contests, and related offerings; you may opt out of promotional emails at any time using the unsubscribe link in any such message or by emailing us. Transactional messages necessary for the Services will continue regardless of marketing opt-out.
By providing your phone number on a Site form, you consent to receive calls and text messages from Author Services and our authorized agents at the number provided, including via automated telephone dialing system or prerecorded message, for purposes of confirming your consultation request, providing related Services, and (where you have separately opted in) receiving promotional messages. Consent to marketing calls is not required as a condition of any purchase. Standard message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe from text messages.
XI. Visitors Outside the United States
Author Services operates from the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, you understand that your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. By using the Site, you consent to that transfer and processing. If you are a resident of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction with specific data-transfer protections, contact us to discuss your rights.
XII. Do Not Track
Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. We do not currently respond to DNT signals. We do honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as described in Section III.
XIII. Third-Party Links
The Site may contain links to third-party websites and resources, including news articles, partner pages, and external author resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. Review their privacy policies before sharing personal information with them.
XIV. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the date of the most recent revision. If we make material changes, we will notify you by posting a prominent notice on the Site or, where required, by email. Continued use of the Site after a change becomes effective indicates acceptance.
XV. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise a privacy right, or believe your personal information has been mishandled, contact us:
Author Services LLC
Attention: Privacy
Email: contact@authorservices.com
Phone: 866-302-4807
Author Services LLC is organized under the laws of the State of South Carolina with offices in Florida.