Beta Bio: general description as a beta reader
If you need someone who is extremely thorough (to the point of being nitpicky) about spelling and grammar, feel free to ask me to beta for you! I have been very good with words since I was very young - as far back as first grade I remember proofreading/peerediting my then-10-year-old sister's essays, etc. I frequently have to correct my sister's spelling and grammar even now, but at this point she's usually not far off.However, because of my meticulousness, I may get disheartened if there are too many mistakes in a single beta job, so I will work best with smaller chunks; if a single chapter is more than a few hundred words, don't send me much more than 1,000 words at once or I might struggle to get through it. That's not to say I won't do lengthy fics, but long-term betawork may be subject to abandonment - even if I don't DOTFOTE (Drop Off The Face Of The Earth) in the middle of it - if you send too long a portion for me to do at one time. (Besides, the less you send me, the more you will have gotten back should I DOTFOTE partway through a chapter.) Alternatively, if you're not looking for a betareader per se but need someone to bounce ideas off of, I'd be glad to help with that, or even if you're just having trouble coming up with titles for something; I've got a friend who always asks me "this fic is about blah-blah, what would be a good name for that?" or "such-and-such happens in this chapter, what should I call it?" Also, please be aware of the difference between a "beta" and an "alpha"; Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet, so a beta is the second person to look over something whereas Alpha, being that it's the first letter of the Greek alphabet, means that an alpha is the first person to look over something. As far as I'm concerned, everyone should be their own alpha, but I don't care whether you do it yourself or not as long as it has been "alpha"d by someone before you send it to me for "beta"ing. |
My Strengths: beta, writing, or reading strengths
I am especially good with:proper spelling (that's self-explanatory), grammar (word meanings as well as punctuation), word usage (tenses and conjugation of verbs, difference of equivalent pronouns in the subject vs the predicate of a sentence, commonly confused words), and recognizing incorrect homophones and heterographs (reek vs. wreak, lead vs. led), as well as how sentences flow - including but not limited to trimming unsightly run-on sentences in any of three ways: 1) removing unnecessary filler words, 2) dividing them with semicolons, or 3) separating one into two (or more) sentences. Additionally, I can merge multiple short, choppy sentences into one clear statement with relative ease. |
My Weaknesses: beta, writing, or reading weaknesses
I suppose my weakness would have to be style... I know everyone writes in different ways, but certain quirks I have when I'm looking over my own writing may mean nothing to someone else when I'm looking at their work. For example, I personally don't like having to use most single words - or even different but similar-sounding words - more than once in a single paragraph, let alone the same sentence (or even on the same page in some cases). I'm not sure if this tendency would be bothersome for some people, but if it is then that would be my weak point.The other thing is my tendency to DOTFOTE sometimes. If you ask me to beta and I take a long time to get back to you, feel free to ask someone else - it won't hurt my feelings. If, when I return, I have something of yours that you asked me to beta, I might give it to you with corrections at that time; better late than never, right? Finally, there's the topic of how good a writer you are in the first place. I understand that a betareader's job is to improve the quality of the author's work, but if your work is too sloppy then I will struggle to get through it at all. If you know that your spelling and grammar is atrocious but you still want my help, make sure that what you send me is not too long; the longer something is, the fewer errors I'm willing to put up with. If I have to make 20 corrections in less than one page, you better not have given me more than that one page or I might just send back the corrections for the first page and tell you to find someone else to beta the rest for you. Reason being that the rest of the fic will probably have more of the same errors. If I correct something for you, I will tell you what was wrong with it; after that, I don't want to have to keep fixing the same mistakes - you should learn the correct way to do it yourself. As far as I'm concerned, the longer I beta for one person, the fewer errors I should be having to change each time they send me something new. |
Preferred: types of stories I prefer over others
I'm very sappy and a sucker for happy endings. Hurt/comfort is alright, but bear in mind I will likely cry. |
Would Rather Not: I do not beta for these stories
Anything excessively gory or with a lot of death throughout. A little whump isn't too bad, just don't go overboard with it. |
