Isacean's Guide To Being a Beta

[Isaiah Moretti]

Hey all! I'm Isacean, your friendly neighborhood helper monkey. I'm finally feeling better and as I'm going through and catching myself up on my obligations, I figured I'd help fill this empty forum with some tips and suggestions for those who really want to help critique a piece.

There are three main topics I'll be talking about: How to present your critiques, how to tell if something is right or wrong, and the attitude a Beta reader should have. Below is an F.A.Q that should help clear up any other minor questions.

F.A.Q.

What is a Beta Reader?

A Beta Reader is kind of like a pre-publishing editor. In most cases, they are an individual who the author finds trustworthy enough to submit unfinished manuscripts or rough drafts to. Betas can be anybody - from strangers on the internet, to a classmate in Math.

What do Beta readers do?

Beta readers take an unfinished piece of work or a rough draft of something and they edit it. Betas look at the grammar, spelling, punctuation, and consistency of a piece. They provide suggestions on what could be changed, what needs to be reworked, and what needs more or less in regards to storytelling.

Why should I consult a Beta reader before I submit to a publisher?

Beta readers, for the most part, won't have the level of expertise that the editors hired by big publishing companies have. Once you've edited as much as you can, gone through everything and decided that there was nothing else you can do on your own, that's when you pick out a Beta. A Beta will give you a fresh set of eyes on your manuscript and chances are pretty high that they'll see some quirks that you didn't notice.

Getting a Beta reader to read over and offer suggestions on your manuscript will ensure that when you submit to a publisher, you're submitting the absolute best that you can.

Doesn't posting my story in the Original Stories/Prose subforum, or the Completed Works subforum of Zero, give me the same thing?

Yes, but it could limit your publishing options in the end. If a publisher is aware that a story is posted online somewhere, and they find out that more than 1/3 of it has been there for some time, they will not accept it. The reason? It'll be wicked hard for you to prove that it was your work, and if somebody else claims that they wrote it, you could end up losing it or losing your publishing deal.

Can't my Beta steal my work, too?

Again, yes, it's possible, but most of the time, it won't happen. Beta readers are, for the most part, trustworthy individuals that the author knows in some capacity. Thiefs don't usually take the time to befriend the person they want to steal from, and most writer's are smart enough to not pick up a random, strange beta much in the same way most women are smart enough not to let a strange man on the side of the road into her car.

At any time, an author can request for their Beta to delete their story from the beta's harddrive, and most Betas delete the works they've edited after a "backup" period has passed, meaning they keep a copy of their edits on file for two weeks to two months, just in case the author requests another copy be sent for whatever reason. Betas do double-duty as a backup drive in case the author has computer troubles.


Any more questions? No? Alright, let's move on.

 

[Isaiah Moretti]

Isacean's Guide to Being a Beta

A Beta's Attitude

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Beta readers should never be mean. Here's an example of what I mean by that:

Example 1

What the f*ck are you thinking? You've already established that Tom falls in love with Sally, not Jerry! God, you stupid motherf*cking d**k, get your own continuity right! F*uck!

This is not the right attitude for a Beta to have, and I am not joking in the least when I say that the above is not an over-dramatization of some Beta critiques. We Betas take brain-babies from authors and help turn them into beings worthy of being seen.

On the opposite side, this is an example of a completely worthless Beta. If you find somebody who doesn't give you any criticism and only kisses your a** and worships the toilet you s**t on, find a different Beta:

Example 2

Oh wow! I love the way you've got Tom abandoning his dearest love Sally in order to pursue a dangerous relationship with his best friend Gerry! You are a God amongst men, a King above Kings, and you don't need to change a gosh-darn thing! I love it!

Again, this is not an over-dramatization. These are examples from some badly mannered Betas that I have had in the past.

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Betas should be blunt. Never sugarcoat your critiques, but at the same time, don't be so harsh as to be insulting.

To use a Harry Potter reference, be Minerva Mcgonagall instead of Severus Snape.

 

[Isaiah Moretti]

Iscean's Guide to Being a Beta

Submitting Critiques

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

When submitting critiques to an author, I highly recommend submitting a secondary word document along with the main document. Do Not Edit The Original Text. The reason for this is so that the beta reader can keep a copy of the original text on-hand in case there are technical problems on the writer's end; copy/paste the original document into a new Word document and edit it there.

When submitting critiques to an author, be sure to know your deadlines. Most authors want something back by a certain date, so make sure you fulfill your half of the obligation by returning your critiques on time. If the author wants a chapter a week, fulfill that obligation - or have a valid excuse as to why you haven't.

If an author asks you to edit an entire 300 page novel in two weeks, politely inform them that the timeframe is too small to edit an entire novel in, or suggest that maybe you can edit a (much) smaller portion of it in the given time - or perhaps that you can read it and offer suggestions, but not a full-out edit.

Most Beta/author relationships exist through emails and maybe instant messenger; if the beta and author live in a similar area and are more personal, sometimes face-to-face meetings in public areas are arranged.

Warning:

Do not EVER meet somebody face-to-face that you just met off the internet. Exercise caution. If a Beta reader says that he or she is in your area and would like a face-to-face meeting when he or she is not from your area, say NO. The same goes for if an author is in the area of a Beta and requests a meeting.

Common sense. You may be working with a person in a professional context, but you can NEVER be certain about a person you've met on the internet.

Side Note: Beta readers don't HAVE to edit a piece. They can act in the capacity of a proofreader for technical aspects of a piece or they can simply look something over for asthetics and flow. Or both.

Before anything changes hands, a Beta and an author should have a definite agreement as for what is expected when the critiques are returned.