Vocal, I Need You!

Hey, Vocal! As you may have guessed from the title, I need your help!

I feel a tad guilty for asking this. But hopefully, after reading this article, you'll understand.

You see, for the past few months I have been working in secret on a new book. Vocal is a very lovely platform for me to be on, I admit, because it allows for me to write freely, but the problem with writing freely on here is that I don't write short stories. I write books. Or chapters, at least. This book took me a surprisingly long time compared to my others.

I usually write books on my own, not posting the chapters on Vocal, because I want to keep them a secret. I don't want to expose my ideas to the world while they're still really in progress. I almost did that with my two last self-published books (proud self-published author!), but restrained myself from doing so when I realized that I'd only be spoiling the books before they were out for sale physically. I have not wanted to spoil them for a very long while now.

But this is my one exception.

Vocal, I have learned over the past year that you have a very reliable, extremely talented community. All sorts of creators come here to express themselves and their thoughts and wisdom and give advice to others. Everyone on Vocal is so supportive, and I very much appreciate it! Writers coming together to share the talent that we have in common is a wonderful thing.

Being a self-published author, I have only one editor: me. For my last two books I had another friend to read them over, but currently I'm all alone in the editing process. I have no one but myself to edit.

I need your help, Vocal. I know from what I've seen that the Vocal creators and contributors are well-read and well-written people, and I need all of your help. I am open to any and all suggestions, criticisms, and anything else that you might have to say. But I can only accomplish this if you Vocal members (or as the name goes, Vocalites) help me on the way!

So, can you help me, Vocal? Are you up to it? Are you willing to face the Challenge of reviewing the chapters of my book?

If you aren't, that's OK. I only ask because being a self-editor isn't easy for me. And there's more than just one community member out there in Vocal, so I know that if everyone (or just a few people!) worked together, we could accomplish this. We could do this. I know we could.

However, this also depends on what genre is your specialty.

Book Specifications:

The book's genre is sci-fi (science fiction). It takes place far in the future. The story's main setting is a place known as the [Operator] Society, which is a small area of land surrounded by a wall and filled with in-construction buildings. A tiny portion of the novel takes place out on the ocean and at the shoreline.

As of right now, it's only 80 pages long. Being written on Google Docs with the built-in page size, I think it might hover between 80 or 90 pages depending on what's added or subtracted from it. To make it able for everyone to read the chapters, I will add them to the Vocal website in order of chapter numbers, instead of spending the painstaking time to share the book to anyone and everyone. (This also keeps my document safe.)

The chapters range from anywhere to 7-10 pages. This counts half-pages. As of now, the book has not been set up in proper form. Word count is 42,406 for the whole book condensed. It is not a very long story.

The novel is meant to emphasize the importance of family. Is it emphasized enough? I think so, but I am only one person, and I can't be entirely sure just yet.

The book's name is Kin. (Subject to change.)

I know that some of the Vocal creators have written books of their own, and I trust that those of you who have may be able to help me. Your opinions matter. If you have anything to say at all, please let me know!

So, are you willing to help me, Vocal? Do you want to know about my small idea? I need you, Vocal, if you can help me!