Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
Qualifications/Experience: I have an Associate's degree in English (on my way to a B.A.), as well as over a decade of experience in writing both fanfiction and original fiction. My goal is to become an editor for children's books. I've dabbled in many genres but I generally stick to my strengths, which include Hurt/Comfort, Family, Friendship and Romance. Fluff gives me life. I am the author of the "Fort Sainte-Marie" historical romance series. I can be located on Deviant Art as "LadyClassical" as /br /br /br / br /br / br / br /br /br / br / br /br / br / Betareading Style: This depends on what you need help with. You'll be confident in some parts of your story, not-so-confident in others. Let me know which specific parts you need me to focus on (style, plot, OOC-ness, grammar and mechanics, what have you). br /br /br / br / br /br / br / br /br /br / br / br /br / br / Expectations: Please let me know which parts of your story you would like me to focus on. Know that constructive criticism will be administered carefully and deliberately. Please keep in mind that I have never used Google Docs and I have no clue how it works; I would prefer to communicate through email instead. For the best beta experience, please send me each chapter as a separate .doc or .docx file by email, in an attachment. If your computer doesn't have MS Word, most library computers have MS Office installed (or maybe a friend's computer does, too). Almost 16 years of writing and MS Word has never failed me, so that is how I would prefer to work. |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
Undeniably, my greatest strength when it comes to betareading is spelling and grammar. It's basically intuitive for me. Other than that, I also work very hard to avoid OOC-ness by using all the information I can get from the canon, as I find it hard to take a story seriously if the characters are OOC (unless it's supposed to be that way, like a Dark!Harry fic or something like that). I know how to provide constructive criticism if something doesn't sit right, although I realize the author doesn't have to take my advice if s/he doesn't want to. Finally, I am a very fast reader and can type at 80WPM. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
To be honest, I don't have too much knowledge of a lot of fandoms, so I'm no jack-of-all-trades when it comes to the story's universe. I am also less gifted in the fields of action and horror types of stories. |
Preferred: types of stories I prefer over others
I can help with grammar and mechanics in any story, since the English language obviously doesn't change depending on the fandom. However, if I'm not familiar with the fandom, I won't have any way to know if the characters are OOC or the plot/ships are realistic. I won't be able to spot fandom errors. So if you need help with these kinds of things, I'll be able to help with Harry Potter, Spongebob, and Transformers (Prime, G1, and Animated only). As for genre, I prefer Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Humor, Family and Friendship. I'm especially good at weddings and pregnancy stories (mpreg or normal), and I like stories that explore psychology, a field I once considered going into. I'm completely fine with most types of pairings (incestuous and intergenerational pairings excepted; here's looking at you, Snarry). I LOVE stories where characters switch bodies/lives and learn about each other and about life, like Freaky Friday. Funny stories are great! I have no problems with OCs and would be happy to help with their character. Canon/OC is 100% cool. Bottom line: Come to me with your story, and I'll be able to evaluate it and see what I can and can't do. I generally work on a case-by-case basis. |
Would Rather Not: I do not beta for these stories
I'm pretty flexible when it comes to this, but I would prefer not to review stories with unhappy endings. I generally would prefer not to read a story which has a ship I'm not really into because that just makes me not as interested in it. I don't mean the TYPE of ship (slash, femslash, het), but more specific ships. My profile lists my favorite Harry Potter ships, if anyone is interested. Also, no kinky stuff like vore. If you really, really want me to read it anyway, I might be able to make an exception. Finally, like I said, it helps a lot if I know the fandom. |
