Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 1, 2026

Last Updated: July 1, 2026

House of the Broken Bread, LLC (“HBB,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect information when you visit our website, communicate with us, submit information through our forms, create or use an account, submit a manuscript or other materials for review, purchase or inquire about books or services, subscribe to communications, or otherwise interact with us.

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through our website, online forms, author and prospect workflows, email communications, submission systems, and other services that link to this Privacy Policy. It does not replace or modify any separate written publishing agreement, author agreement, service agreement, distribution agreement, or other contract signed by HBB and another party.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information in several ways, depending on how you interact with us.

A. Information You Provide to Us

You may provide information directly to us when you:

contact us;
subscribe to updates or newsletters;
submit an inquiry;
submit a manuscript, proposal, sample chapter, book description, author biography, author photo, cover materials, or related publishing materials;
create or use an account;
communicate with us about publishing, books, orders, events, services, or business matters;
purchase books or services directly from us, if direct purchases are available;
sign, request, negotiate, or perform under an agreement with us.

The information you provide may include:

name;
email address;
phone number;
mailing address;
business name or organization;
account login information;
author name, pen name, biography, photograph, and public-facing author information;
manuscript files, book proposals, descriptions, excerpts, summaries, cover files, images, illustrations, and other submitted materials;
communications with us;
payment, order, tax, royalty, or accounting-related information, where applicable;
any other information you choose to provide.

B. Information Collected Automatically

When you use our website or online services, certain information may be collected automatically. This may include:

IP address;
browser type;
device type;
operating system;
referring pages;
pages viewed;
date and time of visits;
interaction with website features;
cookie or similar tracking information;
general location information inferred from technical data;
security, diagnostic, and error logs.

We may use cookies, analytics tools, server logs, and similar technologies to operate the website, improve performance, understand usage, detect errors, prevent abuse, and maintain security.

C. Information From Third Parties

We may receive information from third parties when necessary to operate our business. These may include:

payment processors;
book retailers, distributors, or publishing platforms;
website hosting and infrastructure providers;
email and communication providers;
analytics providers;
security, malware-scanning, or file-processing providers;
professional advisors;
public sources;
people who refer authors, readers, customers, or business contacts to us.

2. How We Use Information

We use information for legitimate business, operational, legal, contractual, and communication purposes, including to:

operate, maintain, secure, and improve our website and services;
receive, store, review, and manage manuscript submissions and related materials;
evaluate potential publishing relationships;
communicate with prospective authors, authors, customers, readers, vendors, and business contacts;
create and manage accounts;
provide notices, updates, confirmations, and support;
process orders, payments, royalties, tax information, refunds, or accounting records, where applicable;
prepare, negotiate, perform, or enforce agreements;
manage publishing workflows, author records, catalog information, and production processes;
send newsletters, announcements, marketing communications, or other updates, where permitted;
detect, prevent, investigate, or respond to fraud, abuse, security incidents, technical issues, unauthorized access, or policy violations;
comply with legal, tax, accounting, regulatory, or contractual obligations;
protect the rights, property, safety, and interests of HBB, our authors, readers, customers, service providers, and others.

3. Manuscript Submissions and Author Materials

If you submit a manuscript, proposal, description, sample, author biography, author photo, cover concept, or other publishing-related material, we may collect, store, copy, transmit, review, evaluate, and internally process those materials for submission review, editorial evaluation, technical processing, communication, recordkeeping, and business operations.

Submitting materials to HBB does not create a publishing agreement, author relationship, confidentiality agreement, fiduciary relationship, agency relationship, partnership, joint venture, employment relationship, or obligation to publish, review, respond, compensate, or provide feedback unless expressly stated in a separate written agreement signed by HBB.

You should not submit materials that you do not have the legal right to submit. You are responsible for ensuring that your submission does not violate the rights of another person or entity.

4. Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

HBB may use software tools, automated systems, security scanners, formatting tools, editorial tools, file-processing tools, analytics tools, or other technology to help operate the website, manage submissions, detect malware, process files, improve workflows, or support publishing-related services.

HBB does not claim ownership of your manuscript merely because you submit it to us. HBB does not intend to use submitted manuscripts to train public artificial intelligence models. If a particular publishing service, editorial workflow, or third-party tool would involve additional use of submitted content beyond ordinary review, processing, storage, security, or business operations, that use should be addressed in the applicable agreement or disclosure.

5. How We Share Information

We may share information when reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.

A. Service Providers

We may share information with service providers that help us operate our business, including providers of:

website hosting;
cloud storage;
database services;
email delivery;
communications;
analytics;
payment processing;
accounting;
tax reporting;
document signing;
file scanning;
malware detection;
security monitoring;
publishing workflow tools;
book printing, publishing, distribution, fulfillment, or retail services.

These service providers may process information on our behalf or according to their own terms and privacy policies, depending on the nature of the service.

B. Publishing and Distribution Partners

If you become an HBB author, or if we work with you under a separate agreement, we may share information as necessary with publishing platforms, printers, distributors, retailers, fulfillment providers, metadata services, tax/payment providers, and other publishing-related partners.

C. Professional Advisors

We may share information with attorneys, accountants, tax professionals, insurers, consultants, and other professional advisors when reasonably necessary for business, legal, financial, accounting, tax, insurance, or compliance purposes.

D. Legal, Safety, and Compliance Reasons

We may disclose information if we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to:

comply with law, court orders, subpoenas, legal process, or government requests;
enforce our Terms of Use, agreements, policies, or rights;
protect the safety, rights, property, or security of HBB, our authors, customers, readers, users, service providers, or others;
investigate or respond to fraud, abuse, security incidents, unauthorized access, or technical issues.

E. Business Transfers

If HBB is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, reorganization, financing, bankruptcy, or similar business transaction, information may be transferred or disclosed as part of that transaction, subject to applicable law and appropriate protections.

6. We Do Not Sell Personal Information

HBB does not sell personal information in the ordinary meaning of that phrase. We do not sell manuscript submissions, author contact information, reader information, or customer information to data brokers.

Certain privacy laws define “sale,” “sharing,” or “targeted advertising” broadly. If HBB later uses advertising, analytics, cookies, pixels, or similar technologies that may be considered a “sale,” “sharing,” or targeted advertising under applicable privacy law, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide any required rights or notices.

7. Cookies and Analytics

We may use cookies, pixels, analytics tools, and similar technologies to operate the website, remember preferences, understand website traffic, diagnose problems, improve performance, secure the website, and evaluate the effectiveness of communications or marketing.

You may be able to control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect website functionality.

If we use third-party analytics tools, those providers may collect information about your use of the website and other websites over time, subject to their own terms and privacy policies.

8. Email Communications

If you subscribe to emails, request information, submit a form, create an account, or communicate with us, we may use your email address to respond, provide requested information, send administrative notices, deliver account-related messages, provide submission updates, send publishing-related communications, or send marketing communications where permitted.

You may unsubscribe from marketing emails by using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us. Even if you unsubscribe from marketing communications, we may still send non-marketing messages related to accounts, submissions, transactions, agreements, legal notices, security, or business operations.

9. Data Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to operate our business, manage submissions, communicate with you, maintain records, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, support tax and accounting requirements, prevent abuse, and protect our rights.

If HBB declines a submission, HBB may retain the submitted materials and related records for up to six months after the decline decision for recordkeeping, follow-up, reconsideration, abuse prevention, legal protection, and business purposes, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law, needed to resolve a dispute, or agreed to in writing.

After that period, HBB may delete declined submission materials according to its internal retention practices. HBB is not required to return submitted files or maintain copies for the submitter.

10. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect information from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure.

No website, email system, database, or internet transmission is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for keeping your account credentials confidential and for notifying us promptly if you believe your account or information has been compromised.

11. Children and Minors

HBB’s website and services are not directed to children under 13.

HBB does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without legally required parental consent, we will take appropriate steps to delete the information or obtain appropriate consent.

HBB does not knowingly accept manuscript submissions, publishing inquiries, or account registrations from anyone under 18 without involvement and consent from a parent or legal guardian. At this time, HBB generally prefers not to receive manuscript submissions from minors. If HBB later creates a process for minor submissions, that process may require parent or legal guardian participation, additional verification, and separate written consent.

12. Your Choices and Rights

Depending on where you live and the laws that apply, you may have rights to request access to, correction of, deletion of, or a copy of certain personal information. You may also have the right to object to or limit certain processing, opt out of certain communications, or withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

To make a privacy request, contact us using the information listed below. We may need to verify your identity before responding. We may deny or limit requests where permitted by law, including where information is needed for legal, security, accounting, contractual, dispute-resolution, or legitimate business purposes.

13. State and International Privacy Rights

HBB is based in Missouri, United States. Some state, national, or international privacy laws may provide additional rights depending on your location, the nature of the information, and whether those laws apply to HBB.

If a law applies to your information and requires additional rights or disclosures, HBB will respond as required by applicable law.

HBB does not currently represent that it is subject to every state, national, or international privacy law. If HBB’s operations, audience, revenue, data volume, services, or legal obligations change, this Privacy Policy may be updated.

14. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our website, emails, books, author pages, or communications may link to third-party websites, platforms, retailers, payment processors, social media services, distributors, or other services. HBB does not control the privacy practices of third parties.

When you interact with a third-party service, that service’s own terms and privacy policy apply.

15. Public Information

If you provide information intended for public display, such as an author name, pen name, biography, author photo, book description, endorsement, testimonial, interview response, event information, or public-facing catalog information, we may use and display that information for publishing, promotional, catalog, author, and business purposes, subject to any applicable agreement.

Do not submit information for public display unless you are comfortable with it being made public.

16. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The updated version will be posted with a new “Last Updated” date. Changes are effective when posted unless otherwise stated.

Your continued use of our website or services after an updated Privacy Policy is posted means you acknowledge the updated policy.

17. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to make a privacy request, contact us at:

House of the Broken Bread, LLC

600 West Woodbine Road

Ash Grove, MO 65604

United States

Email: privacy@houseofthebrokenbread.com

Website: https://houseofthebrokenbread.com