Privacy Policy

Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Hearts Through History Romance Writers (HHRW) are very aware of the critical need for security and privacy for our users and members. To that end the following document describes how RWA and HHRW control private information on www.rwa.org, www.myrwa.org and heartsthroughhistory.com. In our privacy statement we will outline:

1. What personally identifiable information RWA/HHRW collects.
2. What personally identifiable information third parties collect through the Web site.
3. What organization collects the information.
4. How RWA/HHRW uses the information.
5. With whom RWA/HHRW may share user information.
6. What choices are available to users regarding collection, use and distribution of the information.
7. What types of security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information under Socious control.
8. How users can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Please read the following document carefully, and if you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact support@rwa.org.

1. Information Collection
   RWA is the sole owner of the information collected on www.rwa.org and www.myrwa.org. HHRW is the sole owner of the information collected on www.heartsthroughhistory.com. RWA and HHRW collect information from our users at several different points on our Web site.
   • External marketing pages
     No secure information is requested or gathered on RWA’s/HHRW’s external (public) marketing pages.
   • Registration
     In order to use the RWA Web site, a user must first complete the registration form. During registration a user is required to give contact information (such as name and email address). We use this information to contact the user about services on our site for which s/he has expressed interest. It is optional for the user to provide demographic and profile information, but it is encouraged so we can provide a more personalized experience on our site.
   • User and Group Information
     Other members of RWA may view information you provide about yourself and your organization. This information includes such items as Email Address and other information you provide. At any time you may opt out of allowing other users to view this information. By removing the information from the system, other users will not be able to see it. RWA/HHRW does not store this information after you remove it — in order to enable it again you must re-enter the information. Organization pages include basic demographic information including mailing address, contact phone number, and primary contact person. Individuals can opt out of some of these pieces of information (contact phone number, contact person) by not providing the information.
   • Vendors/Corporate Users
     Vendors and corporate users are never given access to user pages, but are able to view organization pages.
   • Forums/Communities
     During your use of this Web site, you may wish to participate in our Forum Communities by asking questions or responding to other users’ questions. Any information you provide within this area may be viewed by other members of the private community in which you are participating but not by any other RWA members who are not given access to the community. It is encouraged that you never provide any sensitive or private information in this area. When these items are displayed for others to see, the RWA website will display your name, your message and your signature file (should you create one).  If no signature file is created, your name will appear by default.
   • File Libraries
     During your use of this Web site, you may wish to take advantage of our File Libraries by downloading or providing files for other users. Any information you provide within this area may be viewed by other members as allowed by private credentials. It is encouraged that you never provide any sensitive or private information.
   • Blogs and News
     During your use of this Web site, you may wish to participate in our blogs and/or news items.  Any information you provide within this area may be viewed by other members having compatible credentials within the community.  It is encouraged that you never provide any sensitive or private information in this area.
2. Information Use
   • Profile
     We store information that we collect through cookies, and log files and users to create a profile of our users. A profile is stored information that we keep on individual users that details their viewing preferences. Consequently, collected information is tied to the users personally identifiable information to implement the content of the site for the user. This profile is used to tailor a user’s visit to the RWA/HHRW Web site. Your profile will only be shared as part of an aggregate form with no personal or identifiable information.
   • Cookies
     A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable information while on our site. We only use session ID cookies. For the session ID cookie, once users close the browser, the cookie simply terminates.
   • Log Files
     Like most standard Web site servers we use log files. This includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses, etc. are not linked to personally identifiable information, and are never given to third parties. Aggregate information may be used by the RWA/HHRW in order to provide vendor partners with more detailed information on our clients usage, and for the RWA/HHRW to enhance our services.
3. Communications from the Site
   • Community Correspondence
     One of the primary missions of RWA/HHRW is to provide networking to our members. To that end, www.rwa.org, www.myrwa.org and www.heartsthroughhistory.com provide a variety of platforms for private and public communitications within the membership. You as a user have a right to opt out of receiving these emails, and may do so by updating your subscription preferences online. If you have any questions regarding the use of subscriptions, please refer to the “help” files for contact support@rwa.org / webmaster@heartsthroughhistory.com.
   • Special Offers and Updates
     We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established members will also receive information from the RWA/HHRW and an electronic newsletter.  Your private email address is used for all correspondence sent from RWA/HHRW. Members may update their email preferences by visiting My Profile.
   • Service Announcements
     On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.
   • Customer Service
     We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regards to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone, in accordance with the users wishes.
4. Sharing
   • Legal Disclaimer
     Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our Web site.
   • Third Party Intermediaries
     On occasion, we use an outside shipping company to ship orders. These companies do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.
   • Links
     This Web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we, the RWA/HHRW, are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every Web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.
5. Security
   This Web site takes every precaution to protect our users’ information. When users submit sensitive information via the Web site, their information is protected both online and off-line.

   This website does not collect sensitive or financial information or (such as a credit card number and/or social security number).  While on a secure page, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome or Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or open, when users are just “surfing”. While we currently do not collect any of this type of information, it is possible we will provide services requiring this need in the future.

   While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also do everything in our power to protect user-information off-line. All of our users’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, our billing clerk or a customer service representative) are granted access to personally identifiable information. Furthermore, the servers that store personally identifiable information are in a secure environment,.

   If users have any questions about the security at our Web site, users can send an email to support@rwa.org.

6. Correcting/Updating/Deleting/Deactivating Personal Information
   If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as zip code, phone, email or postal address), or if a user no longer desires our service, we provide a way to correct, update or delete/deactivate users’ personally identifiable information. This can usually be done on your profile or by emailing RWA’s Member Support at support@rwa.org. Or, contact us via contact information listed below.
7. Notification of Changes
   If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, the homepage, and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.

   If, however, we are going to use users’ personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify users via email. Users will have a choice as to whether or not we use their information in this different manner. However, if users have opted out of all communication with the site, or deleted/deactivated their account, then they will not be contacted, nor will their personal information be used in this new manner. In addition, if we make any material changes in our privacy practices that do not affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our Web site notifying users of the change. In some cases where we post a notice we will also email users, who have opted to receive communications from us, notifying them of the changes in our privacy practices.

8. Contact Information

   If users have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us at:

   Email: webmaster@heartsthroughhistory.com