Well, I like to read in general and have read many different genres of stories, so I have a variety of story-telling styles to draw ideas from. As a beta reader, I feel my job is to pick up anything that distracts from the general flow of the story, and offer any opinions I have on what might make the story better. At times, this may amount to my rewriting parts of the author's work. However, I don't want to disrespect the effort that the author put into the story. The last time I beta'd for someone, she would send me a document of her chapter. I'd go through and if there was a sentence that I thought could be put better, I'd copy/paste the para underneath the original in her document, and then make my changes in a different color/style font, so that the difference was easily seen. That way, it didn't erase what she'd written, but it did allow her to see my changes and then decide what she did or didn't like. We actually got to where I'd use a different color for different reasons/problems; like pink for spelling errors, blue for misused tenses of words, etc.
As far as expectations, all I would ask is that anyone who would want me to beta their story give the same respect & consideration to any of my suggestions that I would give to their story. It's the author's prerogative to use or NOT use any suggestions, but I do feel that both people should show common courtesy/respect. I also think that both the author and beta should feel free to ask questions like "What made you write it that way?" or "Why do think this should be changed?" in a constructive way without fear of offending the other person.

I'm a stickler for correct grammar, especially using the correct words in a sentence. For example, using "you're" instead of "your", "their" instead of "there", that type of thing. Also, I really feel it's important to make sure that the tenses of all the words in a sentence/paragraph agree. When things like this are incorrect in a story I'm reading, I personally find it very distracting. I end up feeling like I lose the flow of the story in trying to decipher what the author means. I'm also picky about spelling...spell check exists for a reason, to not use it is just plain lazy. Spell check does have its weaknesses, but it's also a useful tool.

As a writer, I currently am stuck with knowing where I want my story to go, but I can't figure out how to get there from where I am. As a beta reader, my biggest weaknesses would probably be 1)Due to health conditions and pain meds I have days where I may not be able to respond to emails...so it might take me a day or two at tops to respond. 2) I can be very opinionated, but at the same time I don't want to offend any author who's taken the time and effort to write down any ideas that they have.

Mostly I'd say things that I'm somewhat familiar with. I'm really into Phantom of the Opera, Jane Austen, some Star Wars, Labyrinth, House M.D, and Stargate (both SG-1 & Atlantis).

I would *not* beta any stories that contain any type of slash relationship or large amounts of gratuitous violence. I'm not at all interested in beta-ing any Harry Potter or anime fanfics. I'm also not that into poetry, so I probably wouldn't be much help. Same goes for songfics, I have weird music tastes so I wouldn't feel comfortable beta-ing a songfic where I wasn't familiar with the song. Stories with really graphic love scenes aren't a particular favorite, but if there is a plot to the story I'd be willing to try it. Other than that, I'm pretty open.

Book Anne of Green Gables series Tv Christy Book Dragonriders of Pern series Book Dune Book Emma Movie Finding Neverland

Book Gone with the Wind Tv Grey's Anatomy Tv House, M.D. Tv JAG Book Jane Eyre Movie Labyrinth

Tv M*A*S*H Movie Phantom of the Opera Book Phantom of the Opera Book Pride and Prejudice Movie Princess Bride Tv SeaQuest

Movie Star Wars Tv Stargate: Atlantis Tv Stargate: SG-1 Tv StarTrek: Voyager

General Romance Humor Drama

Adventure Mystery Angst Suspense

Sci-Fi Fantasy Tragedy Family

Hurt/Comfort Friendship