Updated April 1st, 2023: There is now another press using a similar name. It is a totally separate press and this is not a review of that press. This is a review of a now defunct imprint.
Updated March 26, 2021 : Their website is still operating but they have not published a new book in almost a year, I would not recommend submitting to them.
Next Chapter Press is an imprint of Blue Moon Publishers. Next Chapter focuses on publishing memoirs, guidebooks, guided journals and quote collections that help readers through life’s transitions. The topics they publish range from care-giving to grief and loss.
Blue Moon Publishers is a boutique Canadian Press open to international submissions. They have been around for at least five years, but it is hard to find out that much about them, except that they are open to international submissions, the founding editor has self-published a few of her works with Blue Moon under a pen name, and they are based in Toronto.
Next Chapter also doesn’t really have distribution. They work with Ingram which means that their work can be ordered by bookstores, but it isn’t in stock at bookstores, unless it’s placed through consignment. That said, some of their books have sold well on Amazon.
It’s hard to get a good feel for Next Chapter because they’ve only published one collection of books by one author. All of these books focus on caregiving.
Next Chapter is the sort of small press that relies a lot on author self-promotion, but it helps them create a better end product.
They ask all authors to submit two sample chapters and a proposal. All submissions must be made following the instructions on Blue Moon’s site, just make sure to make it clear in your query letter that your work is for the Next Chapter Imprint.
To learn more or to submit go here.
Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, The 2019 Guide to Manuscript Publishers, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The Authors Publish Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Publishing.
She occasionally teaches a course on manuscript publishing, as well as a course on publishing in literary journals.
