On the Shelf · for self-published authors
Share your first three chapters
We’re making an advent calendar of self-published books. Each door is one author’s first three chapters, free for anyone to read, with a link to buy the book. Yours could be one of them.
It costs you nothing. No fee, no package, no “optional” upgrade, and you don't have to buy anything from us or from Wild Hearts Publishing to be considered. This is about showing your writing to new readers.
What you get
- A door of your own on a named date, with your cover, your one-line hook, your short bio and your first three chapters.
- A link to buy the book, and a link to your own newsletter or website for readers who want more.
- Your own door link to post on the day. We'll be telling readers about the calendar on TikTok and our own pages, but we can't promise how many people will open your door.
What you keep, and how we look after your words
- You keep every right. This is a non-exclusive permission to show three chapters on your door, in the page, and nowhere else. You can sell, publish and share the book however you like.
- It ends on 31 January 2027. After that the chapters come down and your door shows only your bio and your links. Want them down sooner? Email us and we'll remove them within two working days.
- No downloads, no printing. The chapters appear in the page only, are hidden from search engines, and carry your copyright line. We can't stop someone taking a screenshot, and we won't pretend we can.
- Never used to train AI. Your chapters are never put into any AI tool, and never used to train any model, by us or anyone we work with.
- Readers email you, not us. We don't collect readers' email addresses for authors. If they want to hear from you they go to your own page.
What we ask of you
- The book can't be in KDP Select or Kindle Unlimited (or any other exclusive deal) while your door is open. Amazon makes an enrolled book exclusive to Amazon in digital form, and we won't put your enrolment at risk. KDP Select runs in 90-day periods that renew by themselves unless you switch renewal off, and the book stays exclusive until the current period ends. So if it's enrolled now, switch renewal off and check that the period ends before your door opens (the date is in your KDP bookshelf). If it has to stay in, the book can't be in this calendar, but another of yours can, and so can you next year.
- The words are yours. You wrote the chapters and you hold the rights to share them. We can't show text written by generative AI, and we show your own answer about how AI was or wasn't used on your door.
- Tell readers what's in it. Content notes go on your door. Explicit or graphic chapters go behind an 18+ check.
- Three chapters, up to 12,000 words. The book should already be published. We're not looking for a particular genre, only for books people will want to keep reading.
How it works
- Tue 17 NovemberApplications close
- Fri 20 NovemberWe write back to everyone, yes or no
- Wed 25 NovemberChosen authors send their chapters
- DecemberDoors open, one a day
A person reads every application. Applying doesn't guarantee a door, and we'll choose a mix of genres so readers meet something new each day. Please don't send your chapters with the application: we ask for them only if you're chosen.
First Chapters is made by Tadavite, from Wild Hearts Publishing. Wild Hearts also offers a separate, paid manuscript review service. It has nothing to do with who is chosen here. Book not out yet? Apply for Coming Soon instead. · Privacy · Terms