fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2393 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2393 ⌋

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

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Notes:

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wondering because i've had fic on the brain: when you use a beta reader, what are you looking for out of them? a general "yeah, this looks good"? spelling/grammar critique? characterization checking? or a more in-depth, "this paragraph would be better over here and also your themes are getting muddled, fix this and this and this" situation?

also, do you always use a beta, only sometimes, or never? do you have one or a few people you always go back to, or does it change?

I don't, but that has more to do with the fact I don't have anyone I trust enough to do it better than I would [both the 'This goes there' and the 'This seems a little ooc...'].

As for what I'd look for...I'd mostly want some one to do the gammar/spelling bit, though a general heads up on 'WOW, this is really ooc' would be nice too.

someone who is enthusiastic about my work as I am

because just being able to talk to someone about my ideas is what keeps me going

and they can give me ideas sometimes or be able to say "Hey that seems INCONSISTENT why don't you do it this way", and even if I don't go with their idea exactly I can look at the weak spots and re-work them

and also notice typos/grammatical errors/tense changes which I know for a fact run rampant in my writing

my betas tend to be whatever friend I'm talking to at the moment, if they are interested in what I'm doing

I would love to have a beta who's familiar with my fandom (Law & Order franchise), so they can point out anything that's OOC or doesn't mesh with canon.

Someone from f!s was kind enough to beta one of my fics for grammar and mechanics, which was very nice of them since they weren't even involved with my fandom at all. It's the only time I've ever actually had a beta; my fandom is tiny and I don't really know where to look for one.

Someone who will tell me if I'm rambling or not making sense.

...Actually, I always ask that in conversations. Huh.

Praise and SPAG checking, mostly. I don't have characterization problems for the most part, and my plots are solid (according to previous betas across several fandoms.) At this point, just tell me what things I got technically wrong and send me on my way. I would appreciate some fact checking too, where relevant.

I always use a beta, though, because I miss typos a lot.

What I want in a beta: The world. Someone to tell me which passages work and which don't, what flows and what doesn't, how to make the plot gripping, how to make the characters pop, how to make the language engaging. Someone to tell me how to make everything better.

What I usually get: A quick SPaG review; maybe the occasional question about a few word choices.

Back when I had time to do beta work, I was always careful to ask what the writer wanted from me, because I tend to focus pretty hard on language flow (and try to focus on characterization and voice), and not all writers want to hear that.

I used to be hardcore about always having a beta, but it got depressing that I couldn't seem to get the kind of feedback I wanted, so I've gone commando a few times.

What I look for in a beta is (a) catching the very occasional typo that slips into my writing, (b) making sure I don't accidentally have more than twice the number of hands as people in sex scenes/forget where the objects my characters were carrying went because I wrote different paragraphs in the same scene several days apart, and (c) making sure that I don't drift too far into fanon characterization or bending characterization for the sake of plot. Also, helping me work through scenes that are giving me trouble or choreograph fight scenes is highly appreciated.

I use a beta for longer pieces or fic that will be part of an exchange/fest/Big Bang, or as I feel it needed. Most of the stuff I post to kinkmemes doesn't get betaed.

My partner betas my stuff XD He's been the best beta I've ever had - he catches all my SPaG errors, as well as pointing out any confusing or unclear parts and catching canon and characterization inconsistencies (as they apply, anyway). I write original fic, too, and he's really more my editor than "just" a beta, and that just bleeds over into fanfic. So...yeah.

Before him, mostly what I wanted from a beta was primarily SPaG checking, but also somebody I could bounce ideas off of. Generally speaking, the more involved the work, the more effort I wanted from a beta. A one-shot PWP, I'd just need SPaG and limb-count checking. A multi-chaptered, plotty fic, I'd need SPaG, plot, dialogue, consistency, etc etc etc... I wouldn't always get it, but that's what I'd be looking for.

What I want: Primarily, a continuity checker, both for the internal continuity of the fic (wait, you said P. was waiting in the car, how is he suddenly in the club?) and for continuity with the canon (wait, didn't P. say in episode 11 that he was raised by his grandparents, why is he calling his mom?). Secondarily, someone to check for SPAG, pacing, and general wordflow. Tertiarily, someone to call out characterization issues, although so far I think a beta has done that for me exactly twice and once it was simply a matter of word choice. I've never had a beta bring up theme or plot arc (other than the occasional continuity blooper) in one of my fics, and I'm not sure what I'd do if they did.

What I usually get: Someone who checks for SPAG first, pacing and wordflow second, and continuity when I'm lucky. I won't complain; it helps, especially when they have a good ear for dialogue (I tend to write compound-complex sentences, and some characters simply wouldn't speak that way).

When do I use one: When I can find one/have to use one. Pretty much everything I write that's over 10,000 words and for a challenge or ficathon gets beta'd; pretty much everything that's shorter doesn't, because I don't have any regular betas, and I have two longfics that are also self-edited because they weren't intended for a Big Bang. If I had a regular beta, I'd have more of my stuff beta-read, but as it stands I have to bug other ficcers in the same fandoms to give my stuff a lookover. Since my fandoms are both small and old, most of us have jobs, many have families, and the authors' free time tends to be spent writing. Right now, I have two fics that will need betas by the rules of the Big Bangs they're written for, and I have no idea who I can ask to do that job.

[ SECRET POST #2393 ]

what do you want out of a beta?

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