Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
I'm not the type of betareader that's going to be overly gentle. I'm going to be brutally honest, but I try not to sound cruel. If I am brutally honest, I'm going to offer you alternatives and hopefully give you ideas on what to replace a bad sentence or description with.
My style is simple--I read over your story and give you my opinions. I'll change a bit of bad grammar or wording if needed. If you want to talk things over before or after the chapter is written, you're not wasting my time. It's my job to help you learn, and I want you to be the best writer you can be.
My expectations are thus: Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you're stuck mid-chapter, don't be afraid to strike up a conversation via IM. I've got accounts on both Yahoo and MSN if you want to chat and exchange ideas. If you want to send what you've finished by email with questions at the end, that's cool, too. Just be honest when you need help. That's what I'm here for.
I'm not fond of 100 word chapters, so if you're going to write, make it worthwhile. Anything less than 2,000 or 3,000 words per chapter isn't something I can see myself beta-reading, unless it's a one-shot. |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
My strengths include spelling, grammar, and sentence structure, along with repeated adjectives and adverbs. I'm good with editing descriptions and noticing when things don't make sense.
I'd like to think that I'm good at returning chapters quickly, but it really depends on what's going on at school. If you send me a chapter, I'll have it edited and back to you as quickly as possible for me. If I have an algebra test the next day, well, you'll just have to wait. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
My weaknesses are simple, too. Misspelled words make me flinch. If you don't have a pretty good spell-check, you need to get one, because I'm not going to deal with 'defiantly' vs. 'definitely' mistakes, because, frankly, that's just stupid. Other things I can understand, like 'there', 'their', and 'they're', as spell-check often doesn't catch those mistakes.
PS - If you put 'defiantly' where you mean to put 'definitely', I'll happily fire myself after giving you a dictionary definition of each word, including what they mean and how they are pronounced. Sorry, but that strikes me as something you should know. |
Preferred: types of entries I prefer over others
I'd like to think I excel at drama, humor, and romance, and those are the types of stories I want to beta. I can't write mystery well yet, but I'd love to beta-read something to that effect.
Slash is okay as long as I like the pairing, and I do like most pairings. Seriously, I'll read Harry/Ron, Harry/Tom Riddle Jr. and Harry/Bill all in one day. I'm also pretty much up for any het pairings. I can edit femslash, but only if it's only used as a subplot or not overly descriptive.
I'm also awfully fond of student/teacher relationships. The dynamic just seems so interesting... |
Would Rather Not: types of entries I do not want to beta for
Adventure isn't really my strong suit, and I don't really prefer it unless there's a good bit of romance and humor tossed in. Incest and bestiality, along with other rather disgusting things such as necrophilia and nymphophilia are NOT things I will beta-read. Consider yourself warned. |
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