Beta Reader Hell
Aug. 19th, 2011 10:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
orchidcactusAs If Wishes Were is mucking along steadily, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak, I've decided to be a bit proactive and start looking for a beta-reader. (Perspective is a bitch. Yes, I want a beta.)
ff.net has a section for betas to hang out a shingle. So I clicked.
Wow.
1. (puts on mom hat) There seem to be some very young folks offering to beta mature fanfiction. It hits my 'ew' buttons all at once. No way in the world I'm going to pass along my sexually explicit story to someone I even *think* is underage.
2. I want to improve my writing. Therefore, it makes sense to locate someone with a greater level of skill then myself. Simple, or no? Because I truly, deeply understand a person's profile is not a true reflection of writing talent, I have been clicking on random stories, regardless of fandom, to see if I would trust that person with my work.
And, wow. Just wow. ff.net has always been a haven for teenage girls posting fluttery, rainbow-sparkles-and-butterlies, wrought with technical errors fanfiction. I didn't extrapolate that into them offering to beta-read. My bad, obviously.
3. Even though I just stated I will look beyond profile oddities, I won't look beyond profiles which don't back up authorial claims. It doesn't bode well when a beta's profile brags about how awesome s/he is at catching errors, and then (not two paragraphs later) there's a whoppin' error (that even I catch?).
4. I have more gripes, but my brain, it's tired. I've sorted through roughly 1/8th of the site's potentials and honestly can't bear the thought of looking at more right now.
ff.net has a section for betas to hang out a shingle. So I clicked.
Wow.
1. (puts on mom hat) There seem to be some very young folks offering to beta mature fanfiction. It hits my 'ew' buttons all at once. No way in the world I'm going to pass along my sexually explicit story to someone I even *think* is underage.
2. I want to improve my writing. Therefore, it makes sense to locate someone with a greater level of skill then myself. Simple, or no? Because I truly, deeply understand a person's profile is not a true reflection of writing talent, I have been clicking on random stories, regardless of fandom, to see if I would trust that person with my work.
And, wow. Just wow. ff.net has always been a haven for teenage girls posting fluttery, rainbow-sparkles-and-butterlies, wrought with technical errors fanfiction. I didn't extrapolate that into them offering to beta-read. My bad, obviously.
3. Even though I just stated I will look beyond profile oddities, I won't look beyond profiles which don't back up authorial claims. It doesn't bode well when a beta's profile brags about how awesome s/he is at catching errors, and then (not two paragraphs later) there's a whoppin' error (that even I catch?).
4. I have more gripes, but my brain, it's tired. I've sorted through roughly 1/8th of the site's potentials and honestly can't bear the thought of looking at more right now.
