Privacy Policy
Effective date: October 27, 2026
This policy explains what information Anorak Group, LLC ("Anorak Group," "we" or "us"), the publisher of the Words Were Chosen books, collects through www.wordswerechosen.com (the "Site"), how we use it, and the choices you have. Questions go to permissions@wordswerechosen.com.
The short version. We collect what you type into the story and reader-review forms, plus the basic technical information every website receives. For workplace-story submissions, we use your name and email only to handle your submission and to reply to you; they never appear in a book, video or post. For reader reviews, your chosen name, rating, title and review are public on the Site after approval and your agreement to the Reader Review Terms. Your review email stays private and is used only to handle your review and related requests. We don't sell your information, use it for targeted advertising or send you marketing email. You can ask us to see, correct or delete it at any time.
1. What we collect
- When you submit a story: your name, your email address, the profession or book your story fits, your story and anything else you type into the form. We also record that you agreed to the Story Submission Terms, which version you agreed to, and the date and time you submitted. Our form service may record your IP address with the submission to help stop spam.
- When you leave a reader review: the book, your chosen public name, private email address, star rating, optional title and review text. We record the review consent wording, terms and consent versions, and the date and time of agreement. We use a protected, temporary rate-limit key derived from your IP address to help stop spam; we don't store your IP address in the review record. Amazon entries on the Site contain owner-added links to individual reviews, rather than copied Amazon reviewer names, text or ratings.
- When you email us: your email address and whatever you write.
- When you visit the Site: your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit, the site that sent you, and the date and time of your visit. Our website host records this in standard server logs.
- About other people: stories sometimes describe other people. The Story Submission Terms ask you to leave out names and anything that could identify someone, and we remove any identifying details we find.
We don't ask for sensitive information, such as health information, financial account numbers or government ID numbers, so please leave it out. If a story contains sensitive details about you or anyone else, we delete those details or the whole story.
2. How we use it
- To read your story and consider it for the Words Were Chosen books, the Site, our social media and our videos. Any story we use is rewritten and combined with other material, and it never carries your name or email address.
- To contact you about your submission, if we need to.
- To moderate and publish reader reviews under the public name you provide, show an average of approved site ratings for each book, and handle review-related requests. Amazon review links appear in the same list but aren't included in that average. Reviews posted here are not sent to Amazon.
- To answer your questions and requests.
- To keep a record that you agreed to the Story Submission Terms, so we can show we had permission to use your story.
- To keep a record that you agreed to the Reader Review Terms and the public display of your name, rating and review.
- To run and protect the Site, including stopping spam and abuse.
- To comply with the law and enforce our terms.
We don't send marketing email. If we ever start a newsletter, it will be opt-in only, and we'll update this policy first. We don't make automated decisions about you based on your information.
3. Legal bases for visitors in the EU and UK
We handle workplace-story submissions under the Story Submission Terms and reader reviews under the Reader Review Terms to carry out our agreement with you. We publish a reader review and its chosen public name only after your explicit agreement on the review form. We run and protect the Site, and keep the record of your agreement, based on our legitimate interest in operating the Site and showing we have permission to use stories or display reviews. Where a law requires us to keep or disclose information, we rely on that legal obligation.
Sending us a story or review is voluntary. We can't accept one without an email address, because we need a way to reach you and to match any later request to your submission. You may ask us to remove your public review and name by emailing permissions@wordswerechosen.com.
4. Who we share it with
We share personal information only with:
- Site visitors: your chosen name, rating, optional title and review text, if you agree to publish a reader review and it is approved. Review emails, consent records and moderation notes aren't public. Visitors may copy public material, and we can't control copies made outside the Site.
- Service providers that host the Site, receive and store form submissions, and handle our email. They may use it only to provide those services to us.
- Authorities, when the law requires it, or when needed to protect our rights or someone's safety.
- A buyer or successor, if Anorak Group or the Words Were Chosen series is sold or transferred. This policy would continue to apply to information collected under it.
We don't sell personal information, we don't share it for targeted advertising, and we don't give it to anyone for their own marketing.
5. How long we keep it
- Stories we don't use: deleted within 24 months after we receive them.
- Stories we use: your submission and the record of your agreement are kept as long as any book, video or post that uses the story is available, plus 3 years, so we can show we had permission.
- Reader reviews: pending or rejected reviews are deleted within 24 months. Approved reviews and the related contact and consent records are kept while the review is published. When a review is removed, we delete its public name, text, rating and private email; a minimal record of the removal and terms version may be kept for security and recordkeeping.
- Emails with us: deleted within 24 months after our last exchange, unless they're about a story we used.
- Server logs: kept by our website host under its standard settings.
When we delete a submission, we also delete it from our form service. If you ask us to delete your information after your story is already in use, we'll delete your name and email address. We may keep the story text with no link to you, plus a minimal record of the date and terms version you agreed to.
6. Your choices and rights
You can ask us to:
- tell you what personal information we have about you and give you a copy;
- correct it;
- delete it; or
- stop using it for a particular purpose.
Depending on where you live, you may have more rights, such as the right to complain to your local data protection authority. To make a request, email permissions@wordswerechosen.com. We'll confirm it's you, usually by replying to the email address you submitted from, and respond within 30 days. If you disagree with our answer, reply and ask us to reconsider, and we'll respond to that within 30 days too. We won't treat you differently for using these rights.
7. Cookies and tracking
The Site doesn't use advertising cookies or anything that tracks you across other websites. Our website host and the story form's spam protection may use cookies or similar technology that the Site needs to load and work securely. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, though parts of the Site, such as the story form, may not work without them.
We don't use analytics cookies. If we measure traffic, we use tools that count visits without cookies and without identifying you.
Pages may load fonts or other files from outside providers, which receive your IP address when your browser requests them.
Because we don't sell or share personal information for targeted advertising, there's nothing for a "Do Not Track" or Global Privacy Control signal to switch off, so the Site doesn't change its behavior when it receives one.
8. Security
We use reasonable safeguards, such as encrypted (HTTPS) connections and limiting access to submissions to the people who review them. No website is completely secure, which is one more reason to leave confidential details out of your story.
9. Children
The Site is for adults, and you must be 18 or older to submit a story or reader review. We don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18; if we learn we have, we delete it. Contact us if you think a child has sent us information.
10. Where your information is stored
Anorak Group is based in Texas, in the United States. Our service providers may store and process information in the U.S. and other countries. If you submit from outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to the U.S., where privacy laws may differ from those where you live.
11. Links to other sites
The Site links to Amazon and other sites where you can buy the books or follow the series. Those sites have their own privacy practices, so check their policies.
12. Changes to this policy
We'll post any update on this page with a new effective date. If a change materially affects how we use information you've already given us, we'll post a notice on the Site, and email you where we can, before it takes effect.
13. Contact
Anorak Group, LLC
Texas, USA