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Aug. 23rd, 2006 04:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
author_by_nightSo I was doing that fanfic meme, and realized I had some sudden beta-reading thoughts that needed their own entry.
So, here is my Standard List for Authors in Relation to Beta Readers.
So, here is my Standard List for Authors in Relation to Beta Readers.
1. Yes, you need a Beta Reader, even if you have a PhD in Creative Writing.
We're not as impartial to our fics as we'd like to be. Yes, proofreading is good, but many people read knowing what they know. In other words, the typo is automatically spelled correctly in our minds, or perhaps we don't realize we spelled "egregious" wrong. We also don't realize a line doesn't make sense - to us, it does, because we know the character who says it. And if something doesn't fit with canon - well, it's our fic, right? So we already know our ficverse. We may be blind to the fact that in canon, that doesn't work. (And even if your fic is AU, or simply not meant to be canon, you want to make sure you still keep the canon basics. Voldemort is not a ballet dancer. Unless you are writing a parody, and it's supposed to make the reader laugh and shudder.)
2. Don't "Call a Friend", unless your friend is very honest.
If our fics are our babies, our friends are their aunties, and that means chances are, they are going to automatically love the "child." Why? Because you wrote it. Or they may hate the fic, but they don't hate you... and therefore, are not about to tell you that your fic should be rewritten immediately.
Unless, of course, they are going to be the type of aunt who will tell you, "don't make Johnny wear that outfit to school, he'll have food thrown at him during lunch." And even then, make sure they actually will. If I have friends beta read my work, I always ask them things like, "will this make sense to other people?" And otherwise invite them to open criticism. And I always try and find two people who don't know me as well. Sometimes you need a few sets of eyes, too.
3. Don't nag your Beta Reader.
Believe it or not, your Beta Reader probably has other people he or she helps, not to mention their own stories - and then, even more importantly, real life matters. (Work, school, family, etc.) They're not going to necessarily be able to get your fic done in a day. I range in when I can get back to my beta-ees: If it's during a weekend, probably within a day, but if I get the fic during the week days, I usually take a bit longer. And that's if the fic is a seven page one shot. If your fic is a long chapter fic... give me a week. And a lot of betas need a week even for one shots. You need to remember that while we care, we do have other tasks.
However...
4. Don't be afraid to send a reminder.
If you haven't heard from your Beta Reader in two weeks, and they normally do not take that long (or they told you they'd have it back in five days), email them. Chances are they thought they sent it back, got busy and forgot to email you, or even lost your email address and have no means of contacting you. (This actually has happened with me and a Beta-ee... I lost her email address because I accidentally deleted it, and couldn't find it again. I wish she'd emailed me and asked what had happened, because it would've been appreciated!)
That said, be careful how you do it. Rudeness doesn't win anyone over.
5. Feel free to let your Betas know when the fic gets posted.
We like to know the aftermath, so to speak. :) However, this isn't a must, just something that is appreciated.
Anyone else have Beta tips?
We're not as impartial to our fics as we'd like to be. Yes, proofreading is good, but many people read knowing what they know. In other words, the typo is automatically spelled correctly in our minds, or perhaps we don't realize we spelled "egregious" wrong. We also don't realize a line doesn't make sense - to us, it does, because we know the character who says it. And if something doesn't fit with canon - well, it's our fic, right? So we already know our ficverse. We may be blind to the fact that in canon, that doesn't work. (And even if your fic is AU, or simply not meant to be canon, you want to make sure you still keep the canon basics. Voldemort is not a ballet dancer. Unless you are writing a parody, and it's supposed to make the reader laugh and shudder.)
2. Don't "Call a Friend", unless your friend is very honest.
If our fics are our babies, our friends are their aunties, and that means chances are, they are going to automatically love the "child." Why? Because you wrote it. Or they may hate the fic, but they don't hate you... and therefore, are not about to tell you that your fic should be rewritten immediately.
Unless, of course, they are going to be the type of aunt who will tell you, "don't make Johnny wear that outfit to school, he'll have food thrown at him during lunch." And even then, make sure they actually will. If I have friends beta read my work, I always ask them things like, "will this make sense to other people?" And otherwise invite them to open criticism. And I always try and find two people who don't know me as well. Sometimes you need a few sets of eyes, too.
3. Don't nag your Beta Reader.
Believe it or not, your Beta Reader probably has other people he or she helps, not to mention their own stories - and then, even more importantly, real life matters. (Work, school, family, etc.) They're not going to necessarily be able to get your fic done in a day. I range in when I can get back to my beta-ees: If it's during a weekend, probably within a day, but if I get the fic during the week days, I usually take a bit longer. And that's if the fic is a seven page one shot. If your fic is a long chapter fic... give me a week. And a lot of betas need a week even for one shots. You need to remember that while we care, we do have other tasks.
However...
4. Don't be afraid to send a reminder.
If you haven't heard from your Beta Reader in two weeks, and they normally do not take that long (or they told you they'd have it back in five days), email them. Chances are they thought they sent it back, got busy and forgot to email you, or even lost your email address and have no means of contacting you. (This actually has happened with me and a Beta-ee... I lost her email address because I accidentally deleted it, and couldn't find it again. I wish she'd emailed me and asked what had happened, because it would've been appreciated!)
That said, be careful how you do it. Rudeness doesn't win anyone over.
5. Feel free to let your Betas know when the fic gets posted.
We like to know the aftermath, so to speak. :) However, this isn't a must, just something that is appreciated.
Anyone else have Beta tips?
