[ SECRET POST #3300 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3300 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 076 secrets from Secret Submission Post #472.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

How did you find your beta?

[(Anonymous)]

When was it? How long did it take? Do you like them? Do you have more than one beta? I'm mostly talking about fanfiction, but you can speak about your experiences with original fic too.

Re: How did you find your beta?

[(Anonymous)]

Each time by submitting to sites that required them. Years and years ago I also found one on PerfectImagination. I really miss that site, although my initial beta just disappeared on me with no explanation.

I like the idea of them; the problem is that if you have to use them to submit to a website, and your beta bails, you're screwed. It's not even always their fault, one beta was actually a friend of mine and some things going on in her life took over... everything. I get that, and I don't fault her, but at the same time it left me in a lurch. Fortunately a mutual friend who was also a beta stepped in, but what if that hadn't been optional?

The other problem is that some betas are either too nice, or aren't very good writers themselves. I have so many older fics that were terrible, and I'll never be sure whether the beta just didn't know how to tell me how much editing I needed to do, or if they didn't realize it was bad writing. I know everyone thinks their old stuff was bad, but seriously, this was bad. I only realized that when I got a new beta who was honest with me.

I should reiterate that I always made it clear I wanted honesty. I wanted my fics to be good. Instead the only WIP I ever completed is pure shit. :/

Re: How did you find your beta?

[(Anonymous)]

nayrt - Yeah, it's a problem. A lot of people believe they can beta well, but unfortunately most of those people are wrong. It's one thing to be a good copy editor, but in depth editing is a rare skill.

Re: How did you find your beta?

[(Anonymous)]

I asked my friends to be my betas and it didn't go so well. I love my friends and they're all awesome people, but they were really hesitant to give me criticism. Even after I told them to be as honest as possible and I wouldn't get mad if they got mean, they were still very reluctant to tell me about grammar issues and plot holes.

Re: How did you find your beta?

[(Anonymous)]

Well, there are a few reasons why. It's not always a good idea to ask your friends to beta just because they're your friends. The potential for ugly disagreements to ruin a friendship will make people a lot more cautious, for starters. Plus "friendship" isn't a necessary quality in a good beta, they're two different things.

Secondly, a lot of writers will swear they're cool with honesty and just want their betas to be blunt about problems... and then they'll lose their shit if they get any real criticism. It's hard to know who will do that and who won't until they lose their shit. This makes most betas (especially the honest ones) really wary.

Re: How did you find your beta?

[shortysc22]

I started writing for a fandom and I sent emails to two of the commenters who also hung out on the same forum. They both responded and I just clicked with one better (she was also way better about responding and editing) and I used her for the rest of that fandom. I loved her to death.

Re: How did you find your beta?

[(Anonymous)]

I put up a request on a "Find a Beta" thread (on a fan site that's inactive now, alas). Within a couple of hours I had five offers to beta--I used them all and was glad I did, because each one of them gave me good advice.