Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
I am an incredibly thorough beta-reader, and I don't just edit spelling and grammar. I find plot holes, I ask questions, and I point out inconsistencies. Please do not request me as a beta-reader unless you are prepared for a lot more than just some spelling and grammar tweaks. I do try to keep things light, though, with funny comments.
I severely dislike writers who ask me to beta-read, and then email me back telling me why all of my proposed edits are wrong. I understand that sometimes, you need your story to be the way you're currently writing it, since I have emailed reviewers to defend parts of my story. However, if you're going to ignore all of my comments, then you are wasting my time, since that's the whole point of a beta-reader.
To give you a better idea of who I am, I am currently an upperclass(wo)man at a university in Massachusetts, double-majoring in biology and women's studies. While I'm not an English student, writing is incredibly important to me, and I enjoy writing of all sorts (journal writing, poetry, creative writing, scientific writing, academic writing). I also teach SAT prep, and my specialty is the Writing section. At fanfiction.net, I exclusively write Zelda fanfiction, but I don't read much fanfiction because I'm too picky (and my to-be-read list of novels is getting longer by the day). |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
I am very, very thorough. I catch a lot of errors, and I also am very good at rephrasing. I also will not make major edits to your work. Instead, I write my edits out in a different color so you know what I've tweaked, and I also write a lot of notes in parentheses. I write notes in the text because on the computer, it's not as simple to write down comments in the margins. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
I tend to take a while to get your chapters/stories back to writers because I am both very busy and very thorough. Some writers also feel upset when they see my edits, since I make so many comments. My goal, though, is to make sure that everyone loves your story as much as you do, and so I try to keep comments light or silly to keep people smiling. |
Preferred: types of entries I prefer over others
I prefer Zelda stories, but I can edit other stories, too. I am not familiar with Wind Waker or Phantom Hourglass, so while I can still beta-read those stories, I might recommend you find someone else if I'm having too much trouble.
I can generally beta-read most stories, regardless of fandom. Just ask me if I'm familiar with the fandom if it's not Zelda, and I'll let you know. |
Would Rather Not: types of entries I do not want to beta for
I'll beta-read non-Zelda, but be prepared for me to decline if I REALLY just don't get the fandom. While I'd love to help as much as I can, if it's not something I'm terribly familiar with, another beta-reader might be a better idea. |
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