oiran | (no subject) (Reply)

When you ask someone to beta read, what do you expect from them? In recent weeks, I have heard various things from friends about their beta experiences and I've been a little shocked at what some writers expect from a beta. People apparently will send out story files that are devoid of capitalization, any reasonable semblance of punctuation, or even paragraph breaks. Perhaps even more disturbing, there do exist authors who expect the beta to help craft major plot arcs without a co-author credit. In my elitist opinion, if you want to be a writer, you really do need to actually write the story yourself.

Personally, I have had very good experiences being a beta reader in terms of the quality of the files I have received to work on. There is no one I have betaed for to this point that I wouldn’t happily beta for again, although I get the impression that quite a few of the writers I have read for were less than happy with the experience. For this reason, I'd be interested to know what people want from a beta in order to improve my skills, as I would definitely welcome the opportunity to read for more people, especially now that I'm becoming more involved in anime fandoms. However, as things are right now, there are a few writers I nearly always read for, and who also read for me.

I am an impatient, whiny diva when it comes to sending out and getting back a beta file, but I also understand that other people do not have the same sense of urgency that I do when it comes to my story. Someone being unable to finish a beta job on my schedule is my problem, not theirs. Typically, I tell people that I am going to have to post by X date/time, and if they're not done, I'll just go ahead without their input, though I certainly would like to have it, if at all possible. When I do have to post (due to deadlines or my own impatience) without all the opinions I had solicited, I am kicking myself, not the betas, for not allowing enough time to be able to take all input into account. So, despite being a self-absorbed baby-diva type person, I think I'm a fairly well-adjusted beta subject.

It can be easy to misunderstand someone else's time requirements, however. If someone tells me, "Take your time, I'm in no rush," I believe them, and sometimes it turns out that people are just being nice and trying not to pressure me. Sometimes they are, in fact, kind of in a hurry. Really, if you are in a rush, TELL YOUR BETAS. To be legitimate, a rush doesn't have to be someone else's deadline - it can just be that you want it. Of course, it is your story, and you're ultimately responsible for any version you post or submit. If you don't want to wait, then don't wait, but don't blame your betas for the results of your impatience.

Based on my own experiences, and the weird stories I've heard recently, I offer the following suggestions for anyone trying to find a good beta match.

Suggestions:

Read your story over before you send it to betas. A stream-of-consciousness dumped onto a page is usually not good enough to send off. It should have a bit of coherence.

Break it up into paragraphs. Use punctuation, and use it as appropriately as you know how. Punctuation isn't really that complicated--it's a formula, not a mystery.

Spell character names correctly. My first YnM fic was full of character name typos that were totally humiliating for me and ended up being the focus of most readers' attention. Learn from my mistake, please.

Assuming your fic is written in English, let the beta know if English is not your first language. Word usage and especially verb tenses may need special attention in such cases. Personally, the people I've betaed for whose first language is other than English seem to have that Nabokovian ability to make native English speakers despair of ever doing anything decent with their own language, but I do realize this isn't always the case.
USE YOUR SPELLCHECKER. The spellchecker that comes with MS Word is not 100% useful, but it's better than nothing. The grammar checker included with Word is wrong about a great many things, but it can be very helpful with comma usage, that vs. which, and some tense issues.

Tell the beta what you want: a line-by-line beta, or a general impression. Most line-by-line beta readers use the "track changes" feature in Word and will give you specific assistance, advice and comments throughout the story file. A general impression can be as simple as an e-mail saying, "I liked it, especially when X happened." Personally, I must have line-by-line, so there's no reason for me to inflict my divaness on people who haven't the inclination to go into that degree of detail.

If you want specific input on certain aspects of writing, make that clear. And, if you don't want input on certain things, you ought to state that up front, too. Personally, I wouldn't beta for anyone who was adamantly against receiving certain types of input, but there are plenty of beta readers out there who might be willing to accommodate your quirks.

If you're soliciting readers and you care whether or not the beta reader is also a writer, you might want to say so. I know there are many excellent editors who are not writers themselves, but I prefer working with betas who also write, and who preferrably write in the appropriate fandom. If it's important to you, say so.
If you have a deadline, let the beta know. If the deadline is simply that you're impatient, that's still valid, so let the beta know.

When you post, give credit where it is due. Always say "thank you" unless the beta doesn't wish to be thanked for one reason or another.

Develop a sense of humor. Know that typos are funny (for Primary beta readers: St. Lex!). Know that someone saying your story doesn't work for them is not the same as someone telling you that you suck.

Got anything to add? Think I'm wrong? Want to tell me why I'll never get to beta for you again? Please do ;)

This PSA brought to you by the intense relief felt when I realized I had a deadline date wrong and didn't have to post a shitty story tonight after all! I have a day to fiddle with it and make it better!