Well, I'm new to beta-reading, so I can't really say how I am as a beta-reader except to tell you how I am as a reader of my own writing. Whenever I'm looking over my writing and getting it ready for uploading here on FanFiction or over on FictionPress, I go over what I've written as carefully as possible, ensuring that I haven't accidentally left out an important word, mixed up "he" with "she," typed in entirely the wrong word, or anything of that nature. Thus, if you want me to beta-read your story, the same will be done for you. To me, one of the worst feelings in the world is to have someone go over your writing (or to go over your own writing yourself), upload it, and then realize that you made some mistake after the fact! I'll therefore do my best to ensure that you rarely (if ever) have that feeling.



br /



If you choose for me to beta-read your story, I'll inform you of every correction that I make myself, let you know of corrections/revisions I think you ought to make (although you'll naturally have the final call on those changes), and give you an overall critique of what I read - that is, I'll let you know how interesting I found what I was given (and thus maybe give you an idea of how interesting other FanFiction readers might think it is) and let you know where I think your strengths and weaknesses are, as well as where you're improving. And I promise I'll be nice about what I read, even if I happen to think that it's absolute crap. (Meaning I'll never tell you that I thought your writing sucked. I won't even come close. I know how it feels to have someone completely slam your writing into the ground through harsh criticism, so I definitely wouldn't subject anyone to that.)



br /



Since I'm just now starting to beta-read, I feel as if I don't have very many expectations of my authors so far. I ask, however, that my authors do these things (at least most of the time):br /



1. Go over your writing one time yourself before forwarding it to me. I'm not saying that I want to do a minimal amount of work or anything like that, but I'm trying to prevent you from feeling ridiculous because I found some minor error that you could have caught yourself.br /



2. Let me know what program you're using for your writing (WordPad, Microsoft Word, etc.) and let me know what version of that program you're writing (i.e. if you're using Word from 1997-2003 as opposed to 2007) so that when I send your writing back to you, I send a document compatible with whatever you're using. (This is something you absolutely have to do the very first time I become your beta-reader. I don't want to be annoyed to discover that I'm sending you the wrong version of a document.)br /



3. Be willing to receive (constructive) criticism. Of course, I would assume that you are if you're getting a beta-reader, but, well, there's that old adage about what assuming does to you and me...br /



4. Be patient. I'm in college and my schedule is busy, what with classes and my work-study job. Unless I tell you otherwise on an individual basis once I start beta-reading your story, I'll always have the changes on your story sent to you within a week. Don't expect me to send the changes back within twenty-four hours or you'll likely be disappointed.br /



5. Keep in mind that I make mistakes, too. So if I send you something back and it's not absolutely flawless, don't be angry. If you see a mistake I didn't catch myself, just change it yourself and feel proud that you caught something your beta-reader didn't! Ha ha.br /



br /



And I guess that's all I really have to say there.

One of my strengths definitely lies in spelling and grammar. One of my pet peeves is poor spelling or grammar, so if you'd like me to beta your story, I would certainly do my absolute best to ensure that your spelling and grammar are top-notch!br /



I've been writing since 2006, and because of that, I've had a lot of time for improvement in my writing overall. Thus one of my relatively-newer strengths is being really detailed in writing (reading my stories 'The Phantom's Daughter' or 'No More Darkness' won't really give you an indication of this because they're older, however). If you pick me to beta your story and I find that your story isn't as detailed as I feel it should be, I'll always give you one particular piece of advice: when writing a scene, envision that scene in your head and write at least 98% of what you see.br /



br /



One of my other strengths when writing which is relatively new is that I have, in my opinion, become pretty good with phrasing - that is, how to write down a particular thought and do a good job with it. If I beta your story and I think that your phrasing (whether it's overall or with particular sentences) could be improved, I'll suggest how I would write whatever section I have an issue with and, from there, let you decide whether or not you're going to change it.br /



br /



This last strength I'll list is also new, and it's rather minor, but you may find it useful - and that would be writing a rather good synopsis (that's within the 254-character-limit that FanFiction gives you). I'm a perfectionist in most everything when it comes to my writing, and that statement applies to my synopsis-writing as well. So if you're having trouble writing a good synopsis that is small enough so that all of it fits into the 254 characters that FanFiction allows you to have, I'll be willing to help you out with that as well.

I think one of my weaknesses is really doing a good job of getting down someone's characterization. I know almost exactly how my own characters are (or what my versions of canon characters are like), but the fact that it's "almost exactly" and "not exactly" is where my problem seems to be. Of course, how well I know my own characters depends on how long I've had those characters in my head. There are, however, still some characters I have who, when I'm asked what those characters would do in a particular situation or how they feel about a certain issue, I feel as if I don't know well enough to answer that question. I'm working on that, however; I'm making an attempt to get down a rather detailed character profile of every important character in each of my stories. But if you'd like help on your characterization, I'll do my best to have us improve together.

My top story genre of choice would definitely be Romance. I'm an absolute sucker for a good love story, especially E/C stories (though I'll keep an open mind and read other pairings if you're writing a non-E/C story and you'd like me to beta-read it).br /



br /



I'll willingly read pure fluff, but I can always go for a good Angst/Drama/Hurt/Comfort/etc. story. I love to see characters go through Hell (and I love to write characters doing so); I find that it makes for some really incredible character development if it's written well. For a while, my favorite genre-combo has been Angst/Romance, and it's still that way now.br /



br /



Though most of what I read/write is romantic and/or dramatic, however, stories of any other genre that I listed for Genre Preference are obviously fine with me as well. It's just not what I pick to read most of the time. (FYI: a really good synopsis will probably get me to read just about anything, as long as it's under my Genre Preference. So if you want me to beta-read something, you might want to have as good a synopsis as you can get in 254 characters so I'll be further intrigued.)

Please don't send me anything that's not in my Genre Preference. I mean, if your story has a little bit of something which falls under a genre I didn't list under my Genre Preference, that's okay. But if I didn't list a particular genre in my Genre Preference and your story's full of that genre, I'll be unhappy. I didn't list those genres under my Genre Preference for a reason. The one exception to this rule (on some occasions, anyway) will be those stories which fall under the Mystery genre. I'm not well-acquainted with many Mystery stories (I rarely read them and, thus far, I haven't written one), but I'll keep an open mind if you have a Mystery story you want me to beta-read.br /



br /



Also, I know I said I'd beta-read stories of any rating, and I will, as there's not a lot in reading/writing that makes me uncomfortable. I have to say, however, that I really prefer to not read much vulgar language - that is, I don't like really like reading sexual slang (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, but if you're not sure, ask), unless there's a villain using that language, in which case the situation is different. If you use vulgar language minimally, that's fine - but if it's excessive, that bothers me. I don't like writing vulgar language, thus I don't like reading it, either.

Book » Phantom of the Opera

General Romance Humor Drama

Adventure Parody Angst Supernatural

Suspense Fantasy Spiritual Tragedy

Family Hurt/Comfort Friendship