Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
As a beta reader, I serve only to improve part of a story, not make it my own through extreme revision and revising. Most of my editing that relates to content comes more in the forms of questions and suggestions, rather than me saying, "No, it IS better this way. That way, I leave the choice totally up to you, the original author.
I will always read submitted material twice through, not just once. The first time I will be looking for errors in grammar and sentence structure and things of that nature. The second readthrough takes much longer, as that is my content readthrough. When I review stories, I primarily look at character interaction, description, detail and overall plotline. These are the main things I will focus on when reading a story/chapter.
I will happily look at something more than once. If you input my suggestions and corrections and want me to look it over again, that's more than acceptable.
Now, as a beta, I will expect you to have a little bit of a thick skin. I do not belittle, but I do make a lot of suggestions, frank statements and corrections, which can irritate some authors. I don't do that to irritate, I do that to make it better. My comments are also pretty frank, something along the line of, "This sentence doesn't work." Or, in relation to content, "Intentional or not, this OOC-ness made me wince." I always have good things to say too, though, so it's not all doom and gloom. Don't be hypersensitive, and we'll be fine.
All in all, I think you'll be pleased. I look forward to hearing from you,
~ SirGecko ~ |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
I have proofread many papers and novels over the last five years, so I have a great deal of overall experience and knowhow.
I guarantee you that the grammar, spelling, punctuation and flow of your chapters will be flawless by the time I'm finished looking it over.
I'm very good at adding length. If you feel your chapters are too short, I will have several suggestions and avenues that you can add to a chapter to make it longer, but also seem like part of the story. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
Things tend to crop up in the last minute in my life, so sometimes I'm not as punctual as I would otherwise be. I'm also a bit of a procrastinator. My services are worth it, but authors will need to provide me with a deadline for when they need their work back, so I have something to shoot for.
My own writing style may tend to want to force its way into my betaing, which doesn't work for everything. If that happens, let me know and I'll keep better watch on that. |
Preferred: types of entries I prefer over others
Romance, drama, suspense, and humor are my four favorite genres. These are the kind I will analyze the most, simply because I like these genres so much. |
Would Rather Not: types of entries I do not want to beta for
I'm a very open-minded person, but there are a few things that are taboo, or things that I just wouldn't beta well. They are as follows:
I will not beta any form of poetry. My poetic mind is next to none, and I'm afraid my suggestions would just ruin the poem.
The rest of my nixes deal with mature subject matter . . .
I will not beta any stories with any form of beastiality. And yes, there are a few floating around out there.
I will not beta any stories containing explicit yaoi. I have no problem with male homosexuality, but certain things make me uncomfortable. Reading explicit yaoi is one such thing.
More later if I think of it. |
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