Call for Submissions
A Kiss is Still a Kiss
Next Step Books is now accepting submissions for A Kiss is Still a Kiss*, an anthology of short romance fiction. The collection is scheduled for a November, 2015 release.
The deadline has been extended until April 5, 2015 for mystery, historical romance, and humor submissions.
Each submission will include a romantic element as the central focus of the story, and will contain at least one kiss. Please keep in mind that this is a collection of romance stories, therefore the kiss must be a romantic kiss, not a friendly peck on the cheek between friends.
The word length may not exceed 7,000 words.
Reprints will not be accepted. If your story has appeared anywhere accessible by the general reading public, including your own website or blog, please do not submit it.
Do not submit any manuscript for which you do not hold all rights.
Simultaneous submissions (stories simultaneously submitted to another publishing venue, including self-publishing) will not be considered.
You may submit multiple manuscripts in any combination of genres.
While submissions do not necessarily need to target a Christian audience, the content may not be in any way offensive or contrary to basic Christian principles. The definition of “offensive” or “contrary to basic Christian principles” will be determined and applied by the editors. In general, do not submit any manuscript that includes excessive violence, offensive language, inappropriate references, sensuality, or graphic descriptions that will give squeamish editors nightmares.
Please ensure that your manuscript is free of typographical and grammatical errors.
Only electronic manuscripts in Microsoft Word (or compatible) will be accepted. The formatting of each submission should conform to standard manuscript formatting guidelines:
• 1” margins on all sides
• Double spaced. (Do not double space between paragraphs.)
• Times New Roman 12 point font
• The page header should include the author’s legal name and email address on the left side and a page number on the right.
• On the first page of the manuscript, place the title of the story about a third of the way down the page, followed by the author’s name as it will appear in the published book
• Indent each paragraph by 0.5”. Please use Word’s indentation setting instead of pressing the Tab key.
• Use three asterisks (* * *) to indicate the placement of a blank line inside a manuscript (a scene break, for example)
• If a new page is required, insert a hard page break (CTRL-ENTER). Do not press Enter several times in order to align the pages
At the bottom of the manuscript, include a brief bio. Please limit the length of your bio to 100 words.
Submit your manuscript as an email attachment to
The subject line of the email should read: Kiss Anthology Submission. In the body of the email, please include the story title, your pen name (if applicable), your full name and mailing address, your email address, your website (if you have one), and a contact phone number. Please also include a statement verifying that the story has never been published, is not being considered elsewhere, and will not be submitted elsewhere until it is released from consideration by Next Step Books.
If accepted for inclusion in A Kiss is Still a Kiss*, Next Step Books will purchase first rights and non-exclusive electronic rights. Stories will appear in print (utilizing print-on-demand technology) and electronic versions. Authors must agree not to republish their stories, either in print or electronically, for six months from the date of publication.
Payment will be $50 per story, plus two print copies of the book to each author.
Next Step Books is an independent publisher of well-written fiction and non-fiction that entertains, inspires, and delights readers. We invite you to browse our online catalogue and our general submission guidelines before submitting your story.
* Please note that the title may change at the publisher’s discretion.