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Terms of Service

Last updated: October 24, 2025

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS OF SERVICE CAREFULLY. THESE TERMS CONTAIN A BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER THAT IMPACT YOUR RIGHTS ABOUT HOW TO RESOLVE DISPUTES. IF YOU LIVE IN THE UNITED STATES, PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.

BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES OR REGISTERING AN ACCOUNT WITH US, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS OF SERVICE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS OR OUR POLICIES AND PRACTICES, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE THE SERVICES.

Terms of Service

  1. Acceptance of Terms of Service; Next Chapter Stories LLC (“Next Chapters,” “we,” or “us”) operates the nextchapters.com website and related services (collectively, the “Services”). By accessing or using our Services, or by creating an account, you agree to these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you’re using the Services on behalf of a business or organization, you confirm that you have the authority to accept these Terms on its behalf. Some parts of the Services—such as purchases or subscription plans—may have additional terms. If there’s a conflict between these Terms and the additional terms, the additional terms apply to those specific features. We may update or change these Terms at any time. Updated versions will be posted on our website, and continued use of the Services after changes are posted means you accept the revised Terms. We may also modify, suspend, or discontinue parts of the Services at our discretion.

  2. Your Account Creating an account to use the Services is free. However, certain features offered on or through the Services may require you to register an account (including a username and password). You are responsible for taking all steps to ensure that no unauthorized person shall have access to your account or password. It is your sole responsibility to:
    * Control the dissemination and use of your account and password;
    * Promptly inform us of any need to deactivate an account or password. We are not liable for any activity through your account (whether or not authorized by you), any harm related to the theft of passwords, or your disclosure of passwords.
    * You shall immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your account or password.
    * You are solely responsible for any damages resulting from the use of your account and username.
    * You may not use your account or password to breach the security of another account or cause any disruption to the Services.
    * Our Services are intended for adults. If you are under 18 years of age, you may use the Site or Services only with the permission of a parent or guardian.
    * We reserve the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, remove or edit content, or cancel orders in our sole discretion.

  3. License You Grant to Us The Site allows you to create your own writing project or participate in a community project by contributing a “chapter” or other written portion (collectively, “User Submissions”). You retain the copyright to everything you write on Next Chapters, but the rights we each hold depend on the type of project. 
    * Private Books If you create a book on your own or with invited collaborators, you and your collaborators retain full ownership of all intellectual property in that project. Next Chapters does not claim any ownership interest in your private work. You may use, publish, or remove your private material at any time, including publishing it elsewhere outside of the Next Chapters platform. 
    * Community or Crowdsourced Books If you participate in a community book — an open collaboration where multiple subscribers (often strangers) contribute — you retain ownership of the material you write, but by submitting it to a community book, you grant Next Chapters an exclusive worldwide license to market, sell, publish, and distribute the completed collaborative work and any derivative editions of that work. This ensures the project remains unified, professionally managed, and fairly compensated for all contributors. You may not independently republish or commercially distribute your community book submissions outside of Next Chapters without our written consent. This license is nonexclusive for private books and exclusive for community books with respect to the publication and sale of the finished collaborative work. If we later enter into a separate commercial agreement (for example, a standalone publication or adaptation), that agreement will detail any additional payment and rights between you and us.

  4. License We Grant to You Subject to your compliance with these Terms and payment of any applicable fees, we grant you a revocable, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Site for personal and non-commercial use. This license does not include any resale or commercial use of the Service or its contents, any collection and use of any product listings, descriptions, prices, or any derivative use of the Service or its contents, any downloading or copying of account information for the benefit of another merchant, or any use of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools. All rights not expressly granted to you in these Terms or any ancillary terms related to the Services are reserved and retained by us or our licensors, licensees, suppliers, publishers, rights holders, or other content providers.

  5. User Submissions User Submissions include any text, images, or other creative material you upload or write on the Site. These may appear in one of two project types. You acknowledge and agree that Next Chapters is not obligated to offer you compensation, privacy, or confidentiality with respect to any User Submission unless otherwise specified in a separate written agreement. 
    Private Books Private Books are closed writing projects visible only to the creator and any invited collaborators. You and your collaborators retain full ownership of all material within these projects. You may edit, remove, or delete your Private Book content at any time. Next Chapters does not claim ownership or publishing rights to your Private Books, and you may publish them elsewhere without restriction. 
    Community or Crowdsourced Books Community Books are open collaboration projects where multiple subscribers contribute to a shared story. You retain ownership of your individual written contributions, but by submitting to a Community Book, you grant Next Chapters an exclusive worldwide license to compile, edit, publish, market, distribute, and sell the completed collaborative work and any related derivative editions. This exclusivity applies only to the collaborative work as a whole and ensures that each project remains unified, properly credited, and fairly managed. You may not republish or commercially distribute your Community Book submissions outside of Next Chapters without our written consent. We may refuse or remove User Submissions that violate these Terms, including plagiarized or inappropriate content. You represent and warrant that all User Submissions are your original work and that you have the right to grant us the licenses described in Section 3.

  6. Intellectual Property Rights Related to Services All of our text, graphics, user and visual interfaces, photographs, logos, sounds, music, artwork, applications, computer code, button icons, images, books, digital downloads, and data compilations, and other content available on or through the Services (collectively “Our Content”), including but not limited to the design, structure, arrangement and “look and feel” of the Services, is owned by or licensed to us and is protected by copyright, trademark and other intellectual property rights and laws. No part of the Services and none of Our Content may be copied, reproduced, sold, republished, transmitted, displayed, reposted or otherwise distributed for public or commercial purposes without express written permission from us. Our name, our logo and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans are our trademarks and are registered in certain jurisdictions. You may not use such marks without our prior written permission. All other names, logos, symbols, brands and marks are used for identification purposes only and may be the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. No affiliation, connection, or sponsorship with any third party trademarks, services marks, brands, logos, symbols, is implied. Subject to the restrictions in this section, you may create a hyperlink to the home page of nextchapters.com so long as the link does not portray us, the Site or Services in a false, misleading, derogatory, or otherwise offensive matter. This determination shall be at our discretion. We reserve the right to remove or disable access to any materials posted to or otherwise displayed through the Site or Service, including any content that you submit which violates or otherwise allegedly infringes on the copyright or other intellectual property, proprietary, or other rights of any person, company or other entity. We will not be liable for the removal of or disabling of access to any content which may violate intellectual property rights.

  7. Your Use of the Services Your use of the Services is subject to all applicable laws and regulations, which may vary depending on your jurisdiction of residence and from where you access or use the Services. In addition to the agreeing to these Terms, by accessing the Site or using the Services you are agreeing to not:
    * Use any automatic device, program, algorithm, methodology, or any manual process to access, acquire, copy or monitor any portion of the Services or any of Our Content or obtain or attempt to obtain any materials, documents or information through any means not purposely made available through the Services.
    *Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Services or any of Our Content, or any systems or networks connected to the Services, by hacking, password “mining” or any other illegitimate means.
    *Use the Services to violate the legal rights (including the rights of intellectual property, publicity and privacy) of others or to violate the laws of any jurisdiction.
    * Upload to or transmit via the Services any defamatory, indecent, obscene, harassing, violent or otherwise objectionable material (as determined in our discretion), or any material that is, or may be, protected by copyright or trademark laws, without permission from the copyright or trademark owner.
    * Frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any trademark, logo, or other proprietary information (including images, text, page layout, or form) without express written consent.
    * Use meta tags or any other “hidden text” utilizing our name or trademarks without our express written permission.

  8. Outside Content We may permit visitors to post reviews, comments, photos, send messages, submit suggestions, ideas, comments, questions, or other information using the Service (collectively referred to as “Outside Content”). Any Outside Content provided by third parties and made available on our Site or through our Services are those of the respective author(s) and not the us. We do not guarantee the validity, accuracy, truthfulness, completeness, reliability or usefulness of any Outside Content. Under no circumstance will we be liable for any loss or damage caused, directly or indirectly, by your reliance on any such Outside Content.

  1. Privacy Our Privacy Policy applies to the use of the Services, and your use of the Services constitutes your acceptance of our Privacy Policy and consent to its terms. The Privacy Policy is incorporated in and made part of these Terms. You can view our Privacy Policy here.

  2. Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability THE SITE, SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, OUR CONTENT, ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENTNESS, FREEDOM FROM INTERRUPTION, VIRUSES OR OTHER DEFECT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT YOUR ACCESS TO THE SITE, SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, OUR CONTENT, WILL BE SECURE, UN-INTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOUR SOLE REMEDY AGAINST US FOR DISSATISFACTION WITH THE SITE, SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, OUR CONTENT, IS TO STOP USING THE SERVICES. IN NO EVENT SHALL WE OR OUR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS OR CONTENT PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SITE, SERVICES OR ANY CONTENT, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, OUR CONTENT, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE, OR ANY PARTICIPATE ENTITY, ARE ADVISED ON THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. ANY CAUSE OF ACTION YOU MAY HAVE WITH RESPECT TO THE SITE, SERVICES OR CONTENT MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION ARISES OR ELSE SUCH CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION SHALL BE BARRED. CERTAIN STATE LAWS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES. IF THESE LAWS APPLY TO YOU, SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE DISCLAIMERS, EXCLUSIONS, OR LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU, AND YOU MIGHT HAVE ADDITIONAL RIGHTS.

  3. Termination and Indemnity You agree that we may, at any time, and at our sole discretion, terminate your account or suspend or prohibit your access to the Services without prior notice to you for violating any of the Terms or for any other reason whatsoever. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold us harmless from and against any demands, loss, liability, claims or expenses (including attorneys’ fees) made against us due to or arising out of your use of the Services, Site or any content on the Services. In the event that we terminate your account or prohibit your access to the Services, any refunds of fees paid to us or purchases made through the Site will be at our sole discretion.

  4. Digital Millennium Copyright Act If you believe in good faith that content or materials available on the Site or the Services infringe your copyright, you may request removal of (or access to) that content or material by providing the copyright agent below with a written notice pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. § 512, containing the following:
    * A physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright that is allegedly infringed;
    * A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
    * A description (such as the URL) of where the material that is claimed to be infringed is located on the Site or the Services;
    * Your name, address, telephone number and email address;
    * A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law;
    * A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
    Our designated agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement is:
    Copyright Agent
    Next Chapters Stories LLC
    Legal Department
    2700 West 21st Street, Suite 30
    Erie, PA 16506
    phone: (814) 240-2400
    e-mail: copyright@nextchatpers.com

    NOTE: THE ABOVE CONTACT INFORMATION IS PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY FOR NOTIFYING NEXT CHAPTERS THAT YOUR COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL MAY HAVE BEEN INFRINGED. ALL OTHER INQUIRIES, (E.G., REQUESTS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OR CUSTOMER SERVICE, REPORTS OF EMAIL ABUSE, AND PIRACY REPORTS), WILL NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE GROUP VIA EMAIL TO OR BY PHONE TO (814) 240-2400.

  1. Notices Any notice that we may send you with respect to the Services will be delivered by email message to the email address listed in your account, or by posting on the Site. Any notices will be deemed delivered to the party receiving such communication as of the date of transmittal if sent via email or on the date we post the notice to the Site.

  2. Dispute Resolution Any dispute or claim relating in any way to your use of the Site or Services will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that you may assert claims in small claims court if your claims qualify. The Federal Arbitration Act and federal arbitration law apply to these Terms. We each agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated or representative action. If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration we each waive any right to a jury trial. We also both agree that you or we may bring suit in court to enjoin infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights. The American Arbitration Association (AAA) will administer the arbitration under its Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes. The arbitration will be held in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The AAA rules will govern payment of all arbitration fees. You may opt out of this agreement to arbitrate. To do so, you must notify us in writing within 30 days of the date that you first became subject to this arbitration provision. You must use this address to opt out:
    Next Chapters Stories LLC
    Legal Department
    2700 West 21st Street, Suite 30
    Erie, PA 16506
    You must include your name, residence address, the email address you use for your account on the Site, and a clear statement that you want to opt out of this arbitration agreement.

  3. Governing Law and International Use The Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States of America, without regard to its conflicts of law provisions. You agree to the personal jurisdiction by and venue in the state and federal courts in Pennsylvania and waive any objection to such jurisdiction or venue. In any action to enforce the Terms, the prevailing party shall be entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs. We are headquartered in the United States and the Services are operated out of the United States. Although the Services may be accessible worldwide, we make no representation that materials on the Services are appropriate or available for use in locations outside the United States, and accessing the Services, Site and any content, including, without limitation, Our Content, from locations where its use is illegal is prohibited. Some software from the Services may be subject to export controls imposed by the United States and may not be downloaded or otherwise exported or re-exported: (a) into (or to a national or resident of) any country to which the United States has placed an embargo; or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List or the U.S. Commerce Department’s Table of Deny Orders. If you download or use the Site or software, you are, in effect, confirming to us that you are not located in, are not under the control of, and are not a national or resident of any such country, and that you are not on any such list. You may not use or export the materials from the Services in violation of U.S. export laws and regulations.

  4. Entire Agreement These Terms represent the entire agreement between you and us with respect to the subject matter addressed in the Terms and supersede all prior or contemporaneous agreements or understandings, written or oral with respect to their subject matter. The Terms shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of you and us and our respective successors and lawful assigns. If any provision of these Terms is unlawful, void or unenforceable, it will not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.

  5. Waiver Any failure by us to enforce or exercise any provisions of the Terms shall not constitute a continuing or future waiver of that right or any other provision. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our rights to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches.

  6. Contact Us If you have any questions regarding our Terms, you may contact us at the following address:
    Next Chapter Stories, LLC
    2700 West 21st Street, Suite 30
    Erie, PA 16506
    Email: support@nextchapters.com