Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
Before I begin, I will only beta a certain number of stories or authors at a time. Authors, I will beta multiple stories for you, within reason, and like to keep tabs on Authors who write in a particular style I like. Once my beta calendar is full, I will put my status as on vacation, but if I have already agreed to beta for you, I will work until the piece is finished, unless I have contacted you directly to say I am truly going on vacation, it just means I am not taking on any more stories.
I am a college graduate, with a BA degree in psychology. When I read a story, as a beta or even the finished product, I look for the flow of the story. I can usually wade through misspellings and find the proper words through the context of the sentence or paragraph. I would expect my authors to be patient, as I try to be very thorough with my review. As anyone who has ever received a review from me can tell you, I like to give thoughtful and helpful reviews, and as a beta reader, I like to give my authors as much information as they need to help them make good strong stories. For me it is a three step process: plot, spelling, & grammar.
During my first viewing of the piece, I read it through for content and flow, and try to define the plot and see that it follows a logical path from where the characters start to where they end up. I like to make sure that details are there that need to be, and I like to suggest ways to pare down the details that make things to wordy. There's nothing worse than getting lost in the details to the point that you forget what is going on in the story.
After that, I look for spelling, unless the spelling is too distracting when I'm doing my first run through. Spelling is not just about misspelled words, but also misused words too. I find that bad grammar is easily overlooked, but bad spelling is just too distracting. While not as bad as getting lost in the details, I find that one misspelled word will stick with me to the end of the paragraph or passage. I keep returning to them in my mind, which is very distracting indeed.
Finally, I check for grammar mistakes. These aren't a high priority for me, since my grammar is only fair (by my own high standards of perfection) and I don't feel overly qualified in comma usage. While it isn't my major focus, I do understand that punctuation placement can have a profound impact on the meaning of the phrase, so don't be surprised if I ask what you meant when you wrote this. |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
Well, if my scholastic record has any bearing on my skills, I excel at spelling and comprehension. I am really good at context reading, and am usually able to figure out what point is trying to be made, and can offer constructive suggestions on how to achieve a clearer picture. Plots, sub-plots, and sidelines are easy for me to identify and follow through in others works, even if my own stories seem to fall off their plot lines and meander around until I find a way to make it to the end. My stories have never been beta read, and sometimes I think it shows. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
While grammar is a personal weakness, my most distracting weakness is trying to find the proper detail, be it a math statistic or the meaning of a particular non-English word that would need to be translated for an English speaking audience. As an author, sometimes even trying to name the character is an agonizing process. While my pursuit of factual or proper details is a weakness, too much detail is a pet peeve of mine. There is a certain published author I refuse to read because she goes into such great detail (worse than Charles Dickens at times) about the character, sometimes describing down to the reason that the hero's eyes are brown and almond shaped is because his great great ancestor was from a certain descent that had such characteristics. My analytical mind will go there, but as an author you can lose your audience to too much detail. By the way, the hero in that particular story at the time she was describing this was trying to pull the damsel from a burning house in the middle of the night. How many people are studying someone's eyes when their own house is about to collapse around them in a flaming heap?
Do you remember what I'm supposed to be discussing? Another weakness, apparently, is that I ramble when I am nervous. This is just like a job interview, so I think I have a right to be nervous, but I promise you, potential employers of my beta reading services, I will not be so rambling in my critiques of your work or with any changes (spelling & grammar) that need to be made to your work. |
Preferred: types of entries I prefer over others
I can read just about anything, any genre, any type of coupling (heterosexual or homosexual). I prefer dramas, dark stories, and fantasy. True mysteries are also a passion of mind, but they are so hard to find, and if I can figure it out in the first chapter it usually loses my interest. That's why I can't watch Columbo, Perry Mason, or Matlock. |
Would Rather Not: types of entries I do not want to beta for
While I love anything anime, I'd rather not read about overly endowed teenage girls. Don't get me wrong, I love Sailor Moon, but it gets old reading about the big chested girl with creamy thighs who always seems to find herself in some kind of trouble. Pointless girl on girl stories are also not a big favorite of mine. Vampire stories, cheap vampire stories, well let's just say before I'll beta a vampire story I'd need to either read a sample of another vampire work from the author, or I'd need a good synopsis of the story. I love vampires, don't get me wrong, but sometimes the stories can end up so tacky/cheesy, and it's too hard to enrich something if it is painful to read. To me tacky/cheesy equals too painful to read. |
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