sophinisba | questions about beta readers

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questions about beta readers

Many things about fanfic communities and customs can be learned by lurking. The beta process, not so much. It tends to go on behind the scenes, for obvious reasons, and I'm still feeling a bit lost. I have learned a little from a discussion this weekend on

fanthropology, but most of those folks aren't in LOTR and I know customs vary a lot across fandoms, so I have a few questions for you all.

Part 1.
If I've written a fic, or am trying to write one, and I know someone who's written about the same pairing or group of characters, or a similar situation, and I like what she's done with it, is it ok to e-mail her and ask if she'd be willing to beta for me? Will this make her feel she's been put on the spot and make her uncomfortable if she'd rather not do it?

Is it better to put up some kind of post, announcing what the fic is about and asking if anyone would like to take a look at it? (I'm hesitant to do this, because it might mean giving away a lot of the story and I'd like for there to be more suspense and surprises for most of my friends.) If so, should a post like this be public, f-locked, filtered?

Should I just wait for people to offer to do it for me? (This option seems the least practical but the most suited to my shyness.)

Part 2.
In reference to the fanthro discussion: What would you say the norms are in hobbit fanfic, or whatever corner of fandom you're in? Would you say that having someone look over your fic before you post it publicly is expected, or a matter of personal preference? Do you always use a beta reader? Do you always use the same person? Do you ask if she'd be willing each time, or do you just put the fic up in a filtered post or send it to her, and then wait for a response?

Do you ask her to help you with plot, characterization, canon accuracy? Or are you relying on the process mainly for catching typos, grammar mistakes, etc.? Are you partly looking for reassurance, someone to say, "no, you're not on crack, you should totally post this"? If she doesn't like something and she tells you so, does it hurt, or does it feel good to know you're improving the story by making the changes?

Part 3.
If a reader, say somebody you don't know, comes across a typo or an inconsistency in a fic you've already posted, how does it make you feel if she sends you an e-mail to let you know about it?

Should I not be using female pronouns in a generic way? Does this bother anyone?

Other thoughts?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You raise some excellent questions (and btw, I've very much enjoyed your email discussion -- will answer later!). I was confused for months and months when I first came into fandom about beta readers.

You can certainly email the person, but it may end up being awkward. If the person doesn't want to do it or wants to do it but doesn't have time, then it can feel a bit like rejection or it might be awkward for hte person to refuse. On the other hand, you might strike it very lucky and the person is more than pleased to do it and you have a beta,all in one shot, lol!

You could make a post, giving away the basic premise (you don't have to give away the story, just the basic premise and any warnings: Ex: It's about Frodo being thrown in jail in Minas Tirith, some interspecies slash, some violence) and length.

I wouldn't wait for people to offer. Because while a lot of people do use betas, not everyone does, and so if you can string sentences together in a coherent manner (and it seems that you can, lol), nobody's going to just assume that you need one.

I personally do not always use beta readers. I do occasionally, especially for short stories. I think a lot of people use betas, it's always a good idea, but it's not always necessary, if you think you have a pretty good handle on rereading your stuff and catching mistakes. I have traditionally used the same two or three people, but not everyone uses the same person every time. I do ask every time, because sometimes those people are busy and aren't able to do it at that time.

If I give someone something to beta, I ask for everything. If they see wide-open gaps in plot and think the whole thing sucks, I wanna know. I'm a very forthright person, if you haven't guessed, lol. But it feels wonderful when a good and honest beta says that she's hardly found anything and loves it. ;-) It does hurt when a beta really rips something apart, but it's only temporary, because when I've dug in and made the improvements, it's always a much better story.

I think we can assume that 99.9 percent of us are female, so I've been using "she" in generic terms lately, lol!

By the way, if you send me stuff during the summer, I'll be happy to beta. I can't promise to do so during the school year, because that's when I get busy and stressed...We can work out what you want as far as "beta service" :-)

This is very helpful (and quick!) Claudia, thank you.

I... I kind of feel like I should go make another post before I really answer, just so we can relax and quit being so cagey about that other fic. I have a statement prepared and everything. Tell me to post it, I just need a little push.

You mean, THAT other fic? As in, THE fic?

By all means, post the statement!!! :D GO FOR IT!

BTW, re-read said fic today (er, for about the ten-billionth time?) *bliss*

POST IT!!! *push*

:-)

Damn, and now I'm kind of drunk. That was sort of necessary in order to get the other post up, but could be a hinderance in making a coherent reply to your comment.

Anyway, yes, I feel I can string sentences together and have decent knowledge of grammar, but I also know I'm much better at spotting errors in other people's writing than in my own, so I do plan on using a beta reader every time I post a fic, except for the occasional drabble that I've already reread 100 times.

About the "she" thing, I sometimes wonder if there are more male lurkers among us than we realize. I don't really hesitate to use feminine pronouns when referring to authors, but I wondered about the beta thing because I do have a male friend (from RL) who sometimes reads slash and knows more about my tastes than just about anyone. After a fair ammount of nagging on his part and coyness on mine I even gave him the link to the fic I wrote for Lily, and I've considered letting him look at some drafts and fragments I've written before I dare to post them. Not that he would give unreservedly positive feedback, but I know he's not easily offended, so it feels fairly safe to say "This is something I kink on, what do you think?"

Thank you very much for the offer. We'll see if I actually get anything done to the point where it can be looked at... but I'm much more likely to be writing during the summer myself, so I shouldn't be bothering you much during the school year.

Quick comment on the run---I will look at your chapter tonight that you sent and get back to you tonight or tomorrow! :)

Thank 'ee!

Quick reply, though, since I read through your post and it's very interesting.

I'd say using a beta reader is strictly a matter of personal preference. I've never used one, so the truth is, I don't have much input on exactly how it works. I probably should use one, but my job of the past nearly six years entailed a LOT of writing, and a LOT of necessary input/editing from others in the department, and so the last thing I really wanted to do in fanfic was make it similar to my job.

Plus, a huge part of my job was also editing others' work . . . and editing our 64-page catalog twice a year. So I'm pretty sure of myself when it comes to the basic grammatical issues and spelling, and I do enough research on fics that I *try* to make sure I'm keeping with canon facts where necessary. Yes, sometimes I think I should have betas to comment on my sentence structure or the overall plot, but I just never have wanted to fuss with it. Lazy, I guess. :)

If I'd had a different job when I started writing fanfic, maybe I would have thought differently!

I re-read this and want to emphasize that I'm NOT saying, "Oh, I'm so good I don't NEED a beta reader," because I know I'd benefit from one greatly! And sometimes Claudia has looked over my trash fic and commented on the plot, which is very helpful. I know a beta reader would be extremely beneficial to me.

It's just that I'm lazy, as I said, and I suppose I never have written a fic I've taken seriously enough to get a beta reader for. I always have an element of fear: that the reader will just say, "Scrap the whole thing!" and I'll then be afraid to ever post the story at all!

I thought it was interesting in the fanthro discussion that someone said they thought people sometimes do use beta readers out of laziness. I'm not really clear on what they meant by this, but for me there's a little bit of fatigue with my own writing, and just natural blindness after having looked over a bit fifty times while writing it. I am fairly confident in my grammar skills, but by the time I finish something I think, "Oh man, I could go back and proofread this again, and see if I catch any more errors, but wouldn't it be easier to let someone else find them for me?" Or also, I could go look this up the book, but I'm pretty sure it's right, and my beta knows her canon better than I do, so why don't I just let her tell me if it's wrong. Know what I mean?

A further question to you and others, whether or not you use beta readers: if a random reader comes across a typo in one of your fics, how does it make you feel if she sends you an e-mail about it?

I definitely share the fear you mention though. Probably my favorite part of that essay was this paragraph:

In 2000, for a brief time, FanFiction.Net ran a beta certification process. People who wished to be certified as beta readers were asked to beta read a story, treating the process as they would any story they normally beta read. This was run by Michela Ecks and Niamh as part of FanFiction.Net’s Writers University. The pass rate was roughly one in four. Some examples of poor beta reading attempts submitted included phrases like “This sucks,” and “You should consider not writing any more fan fiction.”

It especially made me laugh because I don't think of ff.net as a place with terribly high standards, but whatever. As I said when I posted that draft for you, part of me says be brutal, because I seriously don't want to be putting up crap to be ridiculed by all... but another part says be gentle, because I am just so terribly insecure about it all.

By the way, is there an html tag I can use to indent a block quote like the second-to-last paragraph in that last comment? I've tried a couple that I found other places but they don't seem to work.

I think you found it, but it is < ul > < /ul > with the spaces taken out of course!

I hadn't, thank you.

Replying kind of off-the-cuff to a very serious issue, so I apologize.

I didn't use a beta at first. My writing is quite good, just as Lily is saying - my English usage and grammer are both very good, and I didn't see the point.

But I asked someone to beta it when I decided to rewrite it, and it has improved drastically. She thought of things that I never would have and, using the hints she has given me, I've thought of things I wouldn't have before.

I do think it's very important to settle just what it is you want from a beta. A very green writer shouldn't expect the beta to turn the piece into a masterpiece.

Goodness, don't let any of the issues on my LJ ever get too serious, please! I'm just looking for personal experiences and opinions, and I'm happy to have yours.

The big thing I'm getting from a lot of people is that it's important to talk over exactly what you want from her before you go ahead with the process. For me it's just weird because I'm so very new at this that I don't really know what I want. *ponders* Lily has certainly been helpful and fun to work with though. I think I'd be scared to put anything up without having at least one person look it over and make a few suggestions.

Oh yes, I suffer greatly from "fic fatigue." It's almost impossible to catch all of the errors yourself when writing an extremely long fic, especially. That's one reason someone else ALWAYS as a matter of course proofread whatever anyone else wrote at the place I used to work for---because others catch things that you can totally miss when you're so close to the material. Ha, I still laugh at one fic in which I didn't use a beta because the deadline loomed, and I wrote "Frodo's nine-fingered hand." :) Luckily the person running the challenge caught it!!!

So yes, my "laziness" isn't a good thing, I'll admit. When I say "lazy," I guess I mean that I don't particularly WANT to make changes unless I'm doing a fic for a special person, and I don't particularly want to hunt a beta down every time I post something. For me, I know it truly had everything to do with my job---I had enough proofreaders at work that fanfic to me, was just a fun thing to post when I felt like it. And truthfully, when I started posting fanfic, I had no idea betas even existed. I didn't even know it was the thing to do.

I'm not the least bit offended if someone points an error out in my story---I'm really very grateful to them. So no, it doesn't bother me if someone spots a typo (or Frodo's nine-fingered hand . . .) Of course, I also must say that for tough canon questions, I sometimes post the an inquiry on my LJ before even writing the story.

LOL at the ff.net thing . . . I can only imagine what sorts of comments some authors might encounter there!!! Goodness.

Well, I promise to be nice when I beta your story . . . and I doubt very much that I'll have many suggestions, because you're an excellent writer. I betaed a story a year or two ago for someone for whom English was a second language, and that was tough. Especially since, as put in the post you referred to above, she didn't make all of the necessary grammatical changes (we're talking very obvious things such as verb tenses here and completely wrong use of pronouns, not matters of opinion) and posted it anyway, thanking me as a beta. I cringed, I must say, on both of our behalves. I do really enjoy betaing fics for people, but after that experience I am careful about who I volunteer to beta for.

My most amusing typo thing was way at hte beginning of all my fan fic writing when I was spelling "Minas Tirith" "Minis Tirith" and I was CONVINCED it was right. So convinced that I didn't need to look it up. And Lora emailed me, and it was very nice of her to do that or I would have kept spelling it that way, lol!

LOL! Hey, that isn't even CLOSE to a fic I saw the other day in which the writer wrote, "Aragon" throughout. The sad thing is, I've seen that several times before. Oh, and then there's "Thrundual" for Thranduil.

I can understand misspelling Minas Tirith so much more.

That's as good as "Argon" *snort*, as in Frood and Argon, twuluv forevah!1111 Psst! I wrote more Frodo/Aragorn porn last night in case you missed it!

YAY!

I just read the other day that Aragorn's great-grandfather was Argonui . . . and it gave me a real giggle. At least I *think* that's right.

Oh, I will check it out! Haven't been to my flist, really, since last night sometime. But I am off Wednesday and so will catch up (except for taking my nephew to see Madagascar.

Argonui! :-D That's such a cool name. I think Frodo and Aragorn should name one of their babies Argonui and he could be "Argon" for short...;-D

That's a perfect idea! Now I think I'm going to have to go look up all of Aragorn's family tree.

Hee, I was quizzing my nephew on Aragorn's grandfather's name (Arador) and my brother rolled his eyes and said they were probably named Arkansas or Arizona.

*snort* For I am Arkansas, son of Arizona, and if by life or death I can save you, I will. :-D

And the funny thing is, I was all staring at "nine-fingered hand" for several seconds going "What's wrong with that? Frodo of the Nine Fingers! What's the problem?" LOL.

That's also a funny (embarrassing) story about the person who ignored your beta job. A friend of mine proofread some papers and even some med school application essays for another friend of ours in college, a guy from Hong Kong, and he would never fix the mistakes either, but he'd keep bringing them to her. A really sweet guy (we used to watch X-Files together), but it makes you wonder.

I do live in fear of getting the "You should consider not writing any more fan fiction" comment. That cracks me up every time I look at it.

I once got a flame on ff.net that said, "You have sunk LOTR fanfiction to a new low." (it was for Too Long to Wait, my mpreg that I had up there for awhile...) I still giggle whenever I think about it.

Wow, that must have made you feel important!

What made me laugh was that you had to put in A/N on some of those chapters to say that, yes, you know how Elrohir is spelled, yes, you realize that you're spelling the baby's name differentely. Amusing that people felt the need to "correct" you on that when Aragorn and Frodo actually discuss the issue within the story. *chuckles*

hee. I did! Imagine. Being the sole person in charge of sinking LOTR fanfiction to the lowest of lowest low...:-D

Oh, yes, I can't remember why I felt the need to put those A/N notes, but surely something must have come up about that...like canon really matters at that point, lol!

Hi Sophinsiba!

I didn't read the post you mentioned (must go do so), so forgive me if I repeat or disagree or something.

Part 1 -
You can certainly contact an author about betaing, and mentioning that you admire their work helps, but don't be disappointed if they admit they don't have time or they just don't beta. Many authors can barely find time to write, much less beta. Or, if they do beta, may have a pretty full list of folks they already beta. Some people are too nice and don't want to say no when they really should because they just don't have the time, so be prepared for that.

Another option is to post in Middle Earth News in the "Wanted Ads". I wouldn't give too much of the plot away - just the genre and a good idea of length and any possible warnings that might keep someone from being comfortable with betaing. For example - "It is hobbit/hobbit slash, and there is a mention of non-con, but it is past history and not in the fic. It is about five or six chapters, 50,000 words, and I am publishing it as I go as a WIP."

Of course, by making this post, you are kind of asking and will likely get offers from your friends list. *GRINS* But it depends on what kind of a beta you were looking for as to whether that will ultimately work for you.

Part 2 -

IMHO, I think having someone look at a fic is a courtesy to the readers. No one is perfect and everyone needs a beta. (This is a quote from my beta, who is one of the best writers in the fandom, but nonetheless asks a couple of people to beta her work, because she knows "No one is perfect, etc.etc." heh) It is a bit like asking someone to give you the once over before you go for the big interview, or out on the big date, or walk down the aisle. You just wanna make sure you don't have spinach stuck in your teeth or, even worse, that you really did accidentally ingest an hallucinogenic drug.

I always use the same person and I always ask if she is willing EVERY time. She may say no. That is her perogative. And she is darn busy writing herself, so I cannot expect her to turn on a dime for me. I must be willing to move on to the next project without publishing until she has time to finish and we have time to discuss.

I ask her to help me mainly with story arc and characterization, but she also gives the grammar a look and catch major canon issues, but she expects me to have checked out the canon stuff and even bounced it off her and others in advance if it is out there. I have a couple of other dear friends who read and catch grammar, spelling, typos, and even plot points too, especially if they love the characters and want to argue characterization for some reason. Of course, with all of them it ultimately comes down to me deciding what I think is right!

You are always looking for reassurance that you are not on crack this time and it is a good story. That is natural, but, IMHO, that is not betaing, that is just reading it and saying "Yep, that is a story I could read. Nope you are not on crack."

Heh - does it hurt? Heck yes, sometimes it does. Sometimes it is just a pain in the neck to realize you have to tear that part out and start over or go through and fix all this kind of thing or whatever. Sometimes you just decide, nope, I like it that way and it is a matter of taste. I am keeping it. That is your perogative as the author. I have learned more from my beta that I even want to ADMIT and every bit of it has, to a certain degree, been painful, but it has been learning, and that is good. (And I love her to death. Which is amazing in itself, cause a really good beta can be very painful.)

Anyway, I hope that helps. Just another viewpoint in a long list of viewpoints. Of course you are free to take or leave any part of it!

And good luck finding a beta with whom you can have a long productive relationship!

EG

Hi Elanor, I do recommend checking out that post. The essay itself is mostly a history of the term, but I was interested in the comments on it, which had a little more of the practical experience and opinions I'm curious about. The answers I'm getting here though, including yours, are much more relevant and helpful.

Thanks for the suggestion about the wanted ads. When I asked about e-mailing I was actually thinking of a couple people I've chatted with (and praised) in the past, so I might just send the e-mail and mention several times that I completely understand if they're not interested or don't have time.

Of course, by making this post, you are kind of asking and will likely get offers from your friends list.

Heh, well, yes. *blushes*

I'm amused by the comparison to preparing for an interview or a date because those are actually things I will not do. I don't ask my friends to check for spinach, and I never have anyone proofread the papers I turn in for school because it's just far too embarrassing for me. But I got the idea early on that a beta was expected before posting fanfic, and even though it scares me to death I do plan on using one every time. (There may not be very many times -- I suddenly feel like I'm planning some long career when actually I barely ever finish anything.)

I have a couple of other dear friends who read and catch grammar, spelling, typos, and even plot points too, especially if they love the characters and want to argue characterization for some reason.

So, are you saying that there are several people to whom you show the fic before you post it publicly, or that there are a few friends who give you honest, detailed feedback after you post? And, as I asked Lily above (and I think I'll amend the original post to include this question), how does it make you feel if someone you don't know comes across, say, a typo, or an inconsistency, and sends you a (polite) e-mail about it?

Hi Elanor, I do recommend checking out that post. I will!

So, are you saying that there are several people to whom you show the fic before you post it publicly, or that there are a few friends who give you honest, detailed feedback after you post? The former. I share the work in progress with trusted friends (one or two, in addition to my regular beta). I really don't post anything unless it is final, final, final. Although I have tweaked stories for blatant errors I notice later. Because, I have found, people don't really reread things even if you make significant changes.

How does it make you feel if someone you don't know comes across, say, a typo, or an inconsistency, and sends you a (polite) e-mail about it? As long as that is not the only thing they mention, I consider it helpful and I thank them profusely. But if someone just pops up suddenly, and the only thing they say is "you do realize that the British spelling is 'colour'" or "the ages of your characters are wrong according to canon", my response is likely to be to feel a bit ruffled and be a bit short in my response comment. (I mean really, if you took the time to read the whole story, isn't there something you can say besides "you misspelled 'Tighfield'"?) But that is just me. I have actually seen folks do that to someone whose LotR fanfiction novel is now longer than the original LotR - all three books. That is just ridiculous!

Of course, this is all IMHO.

I see that you have written something!!! I must read it, but I have to go back to writing while I am still awake. I believe this is known as AVOIDANCE THERAPY!!!! (I will be sure to comment when I get a chance to read it!!)

EG

Ha. I've had someone lecture me on just how long a journey from Gondor to Bree would have taken, and there was nothing in that particular story that actually countered it. I was left feeling puzzled and ruffled and wondering whether they just WANTED to find something wrong. :-)

Huh, well, it's good to hear from more people about the unsolicited corrections thing, because it's something I do kind of a lot, and I could probably work on the politeness a bit. My problem is that I'm not that great at providing *specific* positive feedback, so my comments would tend to be more along the lines of "This is awesome! I love this! And by the way, you misspelled 'Tighfield'. I thought you'd want to know." (And I have done that to the author of the extremely long and wonderful novel to which I'm sure you refer.)

*laughs at self*

And, oh dear, please don't feel under any obligation to read (or comment on) the other thing. It was written in response to a very specific and kinky request, definitely not for everybody. Stick to your writing!

Hi! I have to rush off and get ready for work, but I wanted to toss in my "two cents" to your interesting questions.

I find a beta reader essential, now that I finally have one (my mom). I tend to overuse the same phrases, which she always catches. I also have a tendency to skip over logical progressions (such as, I'll have someone getting up from a chair, but had never described them sitting down on one) -- which she loves to catch. A fresh pair of eyes "sees" our beloved child (a chapter) in an objective way. Mom can't catch 'canon' mistakes, but is invaluable when it comes to the flow and logic of a chapter.

I'm writing a series of stories about Frodo and a dog (Scamp), and while I was posting the first story ("Reflections of the Past"), a reader apologetically e-mailed me to let me know that I was sometimes calling Scamp 'she' and sometimes 'he'. I was most grateful! It's one thing for someone to be kind enough to read our stories -- it's another when they care enough to want it to read *well*.

I don't rely on a beta for canon/plot/storyline... but to improve the flow and logic of the chapters. A good beta should be honest BUT GENTLE, and always keep in mind that it's *your* story, not *their* story.

Sorry I have to rush off! The office awaits...

:D

Oh my gosh, the same thing happened to me -- someone caught the sometimes he and sometimes she in my last Lamentable Stranger chapter with the kitten! Luckily it was very soon after I posted it, so I could go back and catch it! :-D And when I was writing Lantern Gift, you know how it is always in first person? Well, sometimes I flubbed that up and started to write randomly in third person. I almost always used a beta in that series...:-D

Switching to third person, sure, because it's what you're used to, right? You know that thing I e-mailed you about? I made a conscious decision to do half of the chapters of it in the present tense, but I keep catching myself slipping back into past. It's just the natural thing. I'm sure if that one ever gets to the point that I can show it to someone, she'll catch me swithing the tenses around.

I loved that kitten, by the way.

Thank you! :-) The kitten will definitely show up in the last chapter (which I am laboring on at the moment). I hate the tense switching thing. I run into that a lot when I'm playing with tenses. Sometimes I use a present tense when I'm doing a flash back or vice versa and I have to be very careful about that...I still have to reread your email and respond!! (I haven't forgotten).

Man, that's wonderful that your mom betas for you. I love my mom, and I wish I could tell her at least a little bit about fanfic, but that would have to lead to telling her about the slash, and I just can't handle that. I was just showing her my new Atlas of Middle-Earth last week though and I was so excited and she was really happy for me, but I couldn't explain just how wonderful and useful it is.

Anyway, yes, logical progressions! It makes perfect sense that you would miss that in your own story, because you see the scene so clearly in your head that you don't notice that you didn't actually write down the part about them sitting down in the chair.

I think one of the people who commented on the fanthro discussion actually said she tries to seek out a beta reader who doesn't know the canon and hasn't read any of her stories before, to make sure that everything makes sense even to people who aren't familiar with the universe she's built up. *marvels*

If I wrote slash, my mom wouldn't be my beta! (She knows what it is, and doesn't want to read it.)

Omigosh The Atlas of Middle-earth is invaluable! What a resource.

:D

I was all, "Look, it's Bree! And you can see where the Prancing Pony is!" But I really wanted to be saying "And it makes you wonder where the jail is, and I need to know, because..."

Yes! I love the Atlas of Middle-earth! It has been really invaluable to me, too! I've even used it to pinpoint where Frodo and Boromir were going to live together in this totally AU scenario I had in On the Banks of Calembel (see? Calembel? An actual city in Gondor...:-D) And yeah -- one always must know where the jails in Bree are...*snort*

Oi, reading this makes me really want to read what you have written.

As you know I am not a writer. Erm, I have written a RPS fic though and I asked the beta I had before I wrote it if she could take a look at it. Otherwise I don't think I could have done it.

At the same time I started writing a little Frodo post-quest drabble thing I have not finished yet and I sort of asked shirebound about beta advice and she offered. Hehe, don't know if she remember it though. And I don't know if I will ever finished it.

If I do finish it I will ask someone to beta it. I am not good at english and grammar so I would definitely need a beta. And also in case I have something wrong storywise or if I accidently copied something already written. I am influenced by the fanfiction I've read after all and don't have that many plot ideas myself.

I have a lot of trouble finishing things too, which is why I'm here talking as if I've written a lot but you don't actually see any fics posted on my journal, heh heh. I have written a lot of pieces of fics, but that doesn't do anybody much good, does it? I had made a resolution not to put up any WIPs, because as a reader I'm really frustrated by ones that never get finished. Mind you, I don't mind if they go on for a really, really long time, or even indefinitely, as long as I can trust that the writer is continuing to work on them...

Anyway, I'm giving up my resolution this week and having Lily beta a chapter of something I'm not even close to finishing. My rationalization is that I need to get over the fear of posting fics, and I'm also hoping that having the first chapter or two up will be more encouragement for me to keep working on it.

I did not see this answer before now. I just happened to look again at this entry in your journal. I have set my journal so I should receive email notification on answers. Now I wonder how many I don't know about.

Insecure as I am, I wonder what I said wrong if I never get a reply from someone I don't normally comment to. And well, I don't remember all places I comment to either, so I can't check.

I have actually stopped making comments to some because I never received an answer. I didn't feel welcomed in their journal. So what if I was wrong. :(

I've missed comments a couple times before when two people comment at more or less the same time, I don't know if it needs to be on the same post or the same thread or what. Anyway, two or three comments show up in the same e-mail, so I only notice the first one, that has the person's username at the top, so that could have been what happened.

But there are also people who don't always respond to comments. I've been trying to figure out how to deal with that too, whether it means I should back off or it's just that they're busy. At first I was freaking out more, but I heard back from some people after a week or even a month, and it turns out they've had health problems or other things that kept them from spending much time online. And then some people just say they need to spend their spare time writing, but that they do appreciate comments. Hard to know.

I think betas are very special people and I tried and failed utterly. It takes a lot of patience and time and you have to be grammar sound and canon savvy and careful not to insert your own preferences into a story or try to influence a writer no matter how innocently. Good luck finding one. I think good ones are selfless and rare.

Wow, you're the first person to say that, it's good to know. I guess it would take a good deal of tact and subtlety, apart from just having the knowledge of writing and canon, which are the skills that had occurred to me.

I had a thoroughly wonderful experience with Lily on my very first fic, and I think it was fun for her too.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

questions about beta readers

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confused

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