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I need a really good Beta Reader to help me with "Alternate #26" and/or "Fountain of Youth".
"You might be able to find the "Fountain of Youth" On this website.

I really wanted to submit "Alternate #26" to the fanfic but Labrat said I need to have a really good Beta reader to give it a heavy editing job before he will accept it.

Hey Kitty,

I've got a spare weekend right now, I could do one story. I don't have time to do a bunch, but I could do one. I've pulled it off the boards to edit. If it's changed since you posted it here, email it to me at nqoire@hotmail.com

Nqoire

He's a she.

And, yes, unfortunately, the Archive simply doesn't have the time or resources to offer a beta reading service to authors - much as we'd dearly love to.

So we do have to insist that stories are final versions when they are submitted, rather than being at the stage of needing in-depth beta reading to complete them, as our GEs just don't have the time to act as beta readers.

LabRat

How do you know a good beta reader from a okay beta reader when you can't tell yourself.

Why can't you have a list on the fanfic that list the best Beta reader out there?

Not sure what to say about the first question -- for me, a good beta reader is someone who likes my style and who points out things I didn't notice but tend to agree with. But then, I don't really need much help with grammar -- I've had my mistakes pointed out to me for years, and I have slowly but painfully learned a few things

I'm not sure it'd be possible to define a "best" beta-reader; it's important to know something about grammar, but then so much of the value of a beta reader is in his/her relationship with the author, and different authors are looking for help in different areas... so it's a very personalized thing.

PJ

Only experience or word of mouth will tell you that. And even then, word of mouth can be deceiving, as one beta-reader can be perfect for one writer and impossible to work with for another author.

As an author, you might notice if someone regularly comments in your comments folder and gives you constructive criticism that does make you change things in the story; if it's the case, why not ask that person if they have time and would be interested in beta-reading for you?

As a beta-reader, you probably read a lot of things on the archive and on the MBs, and you develop a certain taste for this or that type of story, or for a few authors' writing style. If an author whose work you like interests you and you notice they're asking for a BR, why not offer your help and see if they're interested in working with you?

The point is to find beta-readers who correspond to your writing style, so that they can truly help you with the writing of your story. The partnership must work perfectly, or else both you and your BR will be unhappy and the story won't be any better in the end.

Kaethel

Pam and Kae have covered your questions very well, from the general point of view, Kitty. And I'd certainly agree with their assessment. I always say that a good beta reading relationship is like a good marriage. <g> Author and beta need to be compatible or forget it.

As far as the Archive is concerned, specifically, you'll need a beta who has at least a grasp of the fundamental basics of grammar, punctuation and the English language.

We don't insist that a story be perfect in these areas (or few of us would get into the Archive ), but we do have a long-standing rule that no GE should have to do more work on a submitted story than the author did. They're really only there to do a 'final polish' of the story and pick up the odd typo or punctuation error that author and beta have missed, rather than wholesale editing and beta reading of stories. So we try to keep their work to a minimum.

Generally, you'd be looking out for things like your beta knowing when to put a period or a comma at the end of dialogue and what the difference is there. One who knows where to chop a story into paragraphs. When to use commas and semi colons and when not. Just basic stuff. I'm not using examples from one of your stories incidentally - these are just some of the regular errors that we see time and again on the Archive. But that's the kind of thing you'd want a good beta to be able to pick up on.

LabRat

I used to know a good one. Jamee Jones, But she's has long left the Lois and Clark's Fan arina. She edited the "Everyone has an angel" for me.

And I'm a horrific at grammer. Grammer makes me every time I think about it.

I guess I shoul've asked her first and see if she's still has a busy life.