This is excellent advice for every beta and every writer looking for a beta. One thing I can think to add is be honest if you, as a beta, cannot do the type of beta the author wants. I cannot do anything but a thorough, line-by-line beta that covers not only the technical aspects of spelling, grammar, and punctuation, but also characterization, plot, scene structure, etc. It's the kind of beta I want, and it's the only kind I can give.
I tend to write with an alpha reader. She and I exchange snippets over chat, and give each other our initial impressions. This helps catch a lot of things before the story is even finished. It would probably also help us both keep "clean copy" in terms of paragraphing and capitalization, but I don't think either of us could even fathom not doing these things automatically. It's just...I'm sorry, but you are just not an author, and your work not a story, unless you at least get the basics of the format right, i. e. capitalization at the beginning of each sentence, starting a new paragraph when a new character begins to speak, etc. I have volunteered to beta for authors in the past, and rescinded that offer when a document was sent to me that was just one big chunk of text. No. Just no.
I always advise new authors I beta for (which aren't many, these days) to step away from the story for a day or two before sending it out to beta. Then come back to it and read it over. Fix any errors that jump out at you at that time, then send it off to your betas. The more preliminary work you do, the better your chances that your betas are going to catch more of the problems, and your story will turn out being as close to perfect as it can get. It also saves you time on future rewriting, if you do what you can now.
These days, I only beta for a handful of authors I've known for years, and I have a few core betas who see pretty much every word I write. I'm still looking for another core beta for YnM, though. ::eyes you::
*G*
One thing I like about regular betas is that they know my quirks, and they know how to point out when those quirks are working and when they aren't. What's more, I'll listen to a regular beta on such a quirk, when I might not to an unknown beta, especially if the quirk is a stylistic choice. There's got to be a level of trust and knowledge there so that when a beta says, "That thing you like to do is not working here," I won't be left to wonder if it really is working, and it's just that the beta doesn't like that style. This is one reason I personally try to have at least three betas look at each story. That way, if two or more of them agree on something that's not an absolute (like a misspelling), then I know for certain it's a problem a lot of readers will have.
So, as an author, I'd say try to identify your style, and look for betas who like that style, or at least don't dislike it. And as a beta, be honest if you don't like a certain style (or POV, or tense, etc.). Just as you wouldn't offer to beta for a pairing you hate, be upfront if the story turns out to be first-person POV and you hate first-person. If you can't stand poetry, make sure the author's background isn't poetry, because that's going to show up in her prose and it's going to irk you (I speak from experience, as a poetic author who has had two betas bow out on her because they hated poetry). It's a fairly common complaint in fandom when your betas like you or your writing so much that they don't actually do the job of betaing, but I think it's just as problematic if your beta hates the kind of writing you do and can't see past it to get to the actual flaws in your story.
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Date: 2004-08-29 07:01 pm (UTC)I tend to write with an alpha reader. She and I exchange snippets over chat, and give each other our initial impressions. This helps catch a lot of things before the story is even finished. It would probably also help us both keep "clean copy" in terms of paragraphing and capitalization, but I don't think either of us could even fathom not doing these things automatically. It's just...I'm sorry, but you are just not an author, and your work not a story, unless you at least get the basics of the format right, i. e. capitalization at the beginning of each sentence, starting a new paragraph when a new character begins to speak, etc. I have volunteered to beta for authors in the past, and rescinded that offer when a document was sent to me that was just one big chunk of text. No. Just no.
I always advise new authors I beta for (which aren't many, these days) to step away from the story for a day or two before sending it out to beta. Then come back to it and read it over. Fix any errors that jump out at you at that time, then send it off to your betas. The more preliminary work you do, the better your chances that your betas are going to catch more of the problems, and your story will turn out being as close to perfect as it can get. It also saves you time on future rewriting, if you do what you can now.
These days, I only beta for a handful of authors I've known for years, and I have a few core betas who see pretty much every word I write. I'm still looking for another core beta for YnM, though. ::eyes you::
*G*
One thing I like about regular betas is that they know my quirks, and they know how to point out when those quirks are working and when they aren't. What's more, I'll listen to a regular beta on such a quirk, when I might not to an unknown beta, especially if the quirk is a stylistic choice. There's got to be a level of trust and knowledge there so that when a beta says, "That thing you like to do is not working here," I won't be left to wonder if it really is working, and it's just that the beta doesn't like that style. This is one reason I personally try to have at least three betas look at each story. That way, if two or more of them agree on something that's not an absolute (like a misspelling), then I know for certain it's a problem a lot of readers will have.
So, as an author, I'd say try to identify your style, and look for betas who like that style, or at least don't dislike it. And as a beta, be honest if you don't like a certain style (or POV, or tense, etc.). Just as you wouldn't offer to beta for a pairing you hate, be upfront if the story turns out to be first-person POV and you hate first-person. If you can't stand poetry, make sure the author's background isn't poetry, because that's going to show up in her prose and it's going to irk you (I speak from experience, as a poetic author who has had two betas bow out on her because they hated poetry). It's a fairly common complaint in fandom when your betas like you or your writing so much that they don't actually do the job of betaing, but I think it's just as problematic if your beta hates the kind of writing you do and can't see past it to get to the actual flaws in your story.