(no subject)
30 Days of Fanfiction Meme, Day 24:
24 - Betaing - How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
I haven’t used a beta in a while, but I do re-read everything to see if I missed anything/misspelled words/etc. I really should ask someone if they’d like to proofread - things are always better when you have a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective looking at it.
While not exactly being a horror story, I did agree to be a beta reader to this one person several years ago. I don’t think she understood just what I was supposed to do, she would email me the story she wanted me to look over, specifically asking me to check for punctuation mistakes and what I thought about her plot, but then seconds after sending it to me, she’d post it up online with a “many thanks go out to my beta for taking the time to look this over with a fine toothed comb! Hugs and kisses!” note when there were glaring errors I hadn’t even had a chance to comment on (They’re instead of their, sayed instead of said, misspelling the main character’s name several times, stuff like that.) And then when she got several negative reviews pointing out her mistakes, she blamed me in the next chapter’s note, a chapter that she decided to email to me two days after posting it up. When I emailed her about it, she decided not to reply at all to me, but posted a “my GREAT beta did NOT read this chapter. We’ve broken up because she doesn’t like how I write. I’m so sad” author’s note in chapter 3.
Luckily, 1: she misspelled my user name and 2: it was from some fandom that I hadn’t really been a big part of and I was already starting to lose interest in before I had been asked to be a beta reader, so it was no skin off my nose if people thought I was a craptastic editor or not. It turns out that she deleted the story after people who had initially sided with her found out that she hadn’t given me any time to respond (she tattled on herself; by that time I had pretty much given up on her but was still curious as to what she would say) and after a long series of “You’re all so mean!” back and forth comments between her and others, she finally left after an “I’m taking my toys and playing somewhere else!” rant.
After that mess, I'm pretty leery about accepting requests for beta readers unless I know the person. Heck, even if you're not looking for anyone to check for errors and only want an extra person to give reader feedback, I'll be more than happy to help out. During the weekdays and Sundays, I'm more likely to reply to you during the hours of 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM Central time and from 4:00 PM till 2 AM Central time on Saturdays (unless I wimp out and go to bed early. Can't do the all-nighters all the time like I used to.)
One of my co-workers recently became a grandpa for the first time. I'm in the process of making his granddaughter a blanket and the pattern is coming out pretty cute. It's a 30"x36" shell stitch afghan. The shells are quick and the entire thing is nothing but double crochet, so it's coming along pretty quickly. I'm using an I-9 sized hook too, which is helping with the speed. For me, bigger hooks = faster progress. I started it yesterday, and with only working during two lunch hours, I've gotten up to Row #6. After doing four rows of nothing but double crochet and the foundation shell row, #6 is where you can start to see the pattern take shape. My plan is to have it done by Tuesday evening so I can give it to him on Wednesday when he comes into the office for his supervisor's meeting.
24 - Betaing - How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
I haven’t used a beta in a while, but I do re-read everything to see if I missed anything/misspelled words/etc. I really should ask someone if they’d like to proofread - things are always better when you have a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective looking at it.
While not exactly being a horror story, I did agree to be a beta reader to this one person several years ago. I don’t think she understood just what I was supposed to do, she would email me the story she wanted me to look over, specifically asking me to check for punctuation mistakes and what I thought about her plot, but then seconds after sending it to me, she’d post it up online with a “many thanks go out to my beta for taking the time to look this over with a fine toothed comb! Hugs and kisses!” note when there were glaring errors I hadn’t even had a chance to comment on (They’re instead of their, sayed instead of said, misspelling the main character’s name several times, stuff like that.) And then when she got several negative reviews pointing out her mistakes, she blamed me in the next chapter’s note, a chapter that she decided to email to me two days after posting it up. When I emailed her about it, she decided not to reply at all to me, but posted a “my GREAT beta did NOT read this chapter. We’ve broken up because she doesn’t like how I write. I’m so sad” author’s note in chapter 3.
Luckily, 1: she misspelled my user name and 2: it was from some fandom that I hadn’t really been a big part of and I was already starting to lose interest in before I had been asked to be a beta reader, so it was no skin off my nose if people thought I was a craptastic editor or not. It turns out that she deleted the story after people who had initially sided with her found out that she hadn’t given me any time to respond (she tattled on herself; by that time I had pretty much given up on her but was still curious as to what she would say) and after a long series of “You’re all so mean!” back and forth comments between her and others, she finally left after an “I’m taking my toys and playing somewhere else!” rant.
After that mess, I'm pretty leery about accepting requests for beta readers unless I know the person. Heck, even if you're not looking for anyone to check for errors and only want an extra person to give reader feedback, I'll be more than happy to help out. During the weekdays and Sundays, I'm more likely to reply to you during the hours of 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM Central time and from 4:00 PM till 2 AM Central time on Saturdays (unless I wimp out and go to bed early. Can't do the all-nighters all the time like I used to.)
One of my co-workers recently became a grandpa for the first time. I'm in the process of making his granddaughter a blanket and the pattern is coming out pretty cute. It's a 30"x36" shell stitch afghan. The shells are quick and the entire thing is nothing but double crochet, so it's coming along pretty quickly. I'm using an I-9 sized hook too, which is helping with the speed. For me, bigger hooks = faster progress. I started it yesterday, and with only working during two lunch hours, I've gotten up to Row #6. After doing four rows of nothing but double crochet and the foundation shell row, #6 is where you can start to see the pattern take shape. My plan is to have it done by Tuesday evening so I can give it to him on Wednesday when he comes into the office for his supervisor's meeting.