Understanding books you own, books you manage, and books you are part of
Most of the time on Next Chapters, you do not need to think about roles. If you are writing a book by yourself, you control the project from start to finish.
Roles mainly matter for community books, where multiple writers contribute to a shared project and coordination is required to keep the book moving forward.
Choosing a book type during setup
When you create a new book, you choose the type of book during the first step of the setup process. This choice determines how the book works, who can participate, and what permissions apply.
The available options depend on your subscription status.
All users can create a community book. Community books are collaborative by design and allow multiple contributors to participate under shared guidelines.
Users with a paid subscription can also create group books and private books. Group books allow invited contributors to work together in a controlled setting, while private books are intended for solo writing.
Once a book is created, its type cannot be changed. This ensures that expectations around access, management, and collaboration remain consistent for everyone involved.
Private books
Private books are written by a single author. If you create a private book, you are the only person working on it and the only person with access.
Because no other contributors are involved, there is no shared management. You write, edit, and control the book entirely on your own.
Next Chapters does not claim any ownership or intellectual property rights over private books. Anything you write in a private book remains fully yours.
Community books and shared projects
Community books are written by multiple contributors. Because more than one person is involved, the platform distinguishes between who created the book, who manages it, and who contributes content.
In most cases, the person who creates a community book also manages it. The manager is responsible for reviewing chapter submissions, approving or declining content, and keeping the book moving forward.
If a community book is actively in progress and the owner becomes unresponsive for a reasonable amount of time, management responsibilities may be reassigned so the project does not stall. This only happens after multiple notifications and attempts to re-engage the owner.
In most cases, management is temporarily handled by Next Chapters to maintain continuity. In some situations, management can be assigned to another engaged contributor.
Being part of a book
If you are part of a community book but do not manage it, your role is focused on contribution. Depending on the book’s structure, this may include writing and submitting chapters, reading approved chapters, and participating in discussions.
Decisions about approvals, revisions, and overall direction are handled by the book’s manager.
Ownership and monetization
Next Chapters does not claim intellectual property rights over anything written on the platform, whether the book is private, group-based, or a community project.
Community books are not automatically published or sold. Monetization only happens if the writers involved choose to move forward and ask Next Chapters to assist.
If a community book is monetized, contributors are paid according to the Author Payment Policy. The same publishing and monetization services are also available for group and private books if authors want that support.
Your dashboard groups books based on your relationship to them so you can easily tell which projects you control, which you help guide, and which you are contributing to. You can view these same groupings at any time by selecting My Books from the main navigation.