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lady_windermereThe true unsung Heroines of fanfiction is a good beta. I mean a good one, I've had my fair share of bad ones in the past to know the difference, but I will not go into that.
There is more to a beta than spelling, punctuation and grammar, but that is what a lot of people look for, and yes, me too. for a various reasons, I need a lot of help with these subjects. I'm not an easy author to beta for when it comes to this
A) I'm slightly word blind
B) I missed a lot of primary school because of ill health
C) When I went to Secondary School, it was during the time they were experimenting, and not using punctuation or grammar.
So massive gaps in my knowledge. Yes, I did get a "B" in English as Higher level, but that was because I can see the hidden meanings. I could wax lyrical about the comments on Victorian Society and class in Oscar Wilde's fairy tale, The Little Prince, or interpate anything, but still gaps.
I tend to just accept what a beta tells me in these subjects, because of the gaps in my knowledge, and that has been a mistake in the past.
Being timely. If I'm waiting for a long time for the beta got come back to me, I can go off the boil on a fic, and it ends up sitting as a WIP, and never gets any further. I have two like that.
Constantly changing things, and insisting that the author doesn't post until the beta says so, especially when they are constantly changing things. I missed a deadline, which the beta knew about, because of that, and the fic never got posted. In the end it is the author who posts and basks in the feedback. They are the ones in ultimate control, and stand, or fall, by the fic. Responsiblity is the authors, as is control.
Which brings me neatly to, just changing things. The work coming back and not with beta notes for consideration, but rewritten to such an extent that it is no longer the author's work, but a co-written fic.
The Indepth Beta
The Indepth Beta will not just offer spelling, punctuation and grammar, but be willing to talk plot with you, characteristion, character voices, guides on how to move the plot forward and feedback. This is time consumming, and could mean you end up having to talk for hours in IM, or exchanging messages a lot. For such a beta, you have to have a good understanding of where the author is going, and the work they are trying to produce. But untimatly it is still the author's work, and should still get most of it's direction from where the author wants to go.
The Good Beta can make your fic into something to be proud of, can win awards with, get recommendations with and be an enjoyable read. The author needs to remember that, despite all that, they are still the one who will stand or fall by the work, and still have to take responsiblity for it. Talk to your beta, ask advice, listen to them, but it is still your work.
There is more to a beta than spelling, punctuation and grammar, but that is what a lot of people look for, and yes, me too. for a various reasons, I need a lot of help with these subjects. I'm not an easy author to beta for when it comes to this
A) I'm slightly word blind
B) I missed a lot of primary school because of ill health
C) When I went to Secondary School, it was during the time they were experimenting, and not using punctuation or grammar.
So massive gaps in my knowledge. Yes, I did get a "B" in English as Higher level, but that was because I can see the hidden meanings. I could wax lyrical about the comments on Victorian Society and class in Oscar Wilde's fairy tale, The Little Prince, or interpate anything, but still gaps.
I tend to just accept what a beta tells me in these subjects, because of the gaps in my knowledge, and that has been a mistake in the past.
Being timely. If I'm waiting for a long time for the beta got come back to me, I can go off the boil on a fic, and it ends up sitting as a WIP, and never gets any further. I have two like that.
Constantly changing things, and insisting that the author doesn't post until the beta says so, especially when they are constantly changing things. I missed a deadline, which the beta knew about, because of that, and the fic never got posted. In the end it is the author who posts and basks in the feedback. They are the ones in ultimate control, and stand, or fall, by the fic. Responsiblity is the authors, as is control.
Which brings me neatly to, just changing things. The work coming back and not with beta notes for consideration, but rewritten to such an extent that it is no longer the author's work, but a co-written fic.
The Indepth Beta
The Indepth Beta will not just offer spelling, punctuation and grammar, but be willing to talk plot with you, characteristion, character voices, guides on how to move the plot forward and feedback. This is time consumming, and could mean you end up having to talk for hours in IM, or exchanging messages a lot. For such a beta, you have to have a good understanding of where the author is going, and the work they are trying to produce. But untimatly it is still the author's work, and should still get most of it's direction from where the author wants to go.
The Good Beta can make your fic into something to be proud of, can win awards with, get recommendations with and be an enjoyable read. The author needs to remember that, despite all that, they are still the one who will stand or fall by the work, and still have to take responsiblity for it. Talk to your beta, ask advice, listen to them, but it is still your work.
