Beta, beta, who needs a beta?
Chuck said it best. Writing is hard.
And it is nice to have someone back you up.I remember when I was new to fandom there was plenty of new things I needed to learn. What a "beta" was one of those things. Proofreading and editing I had heard of, beta reading was completely new to me. Man, this fandom thing comes with its own language doesn't it?
So the mods thought it we would toss up this little post. With the Spring Fic Exchange on the horizon, we thought we would give folks a chance to seek out betas, or offer up beta services. But it is not limited to one Fic Exchange.It is always nice to have someone to work with outside of challenges and Big Bangs.
If you are in need of a beta,drop a note in the comments. It came be everything from spelling, grammar,character, plot, to "Hey, English is my second language". or"I'm new to fandom, what does all of this mean?"
Copy and paste the text from the box below to let people know what you might need from a beta:
Username?
Genres you write (Humor/Action/Crossover/Slash/etc):
Specific Fic or General(Looking for a beta for just one fic, or overall help):
Type of beta you are looking for(spelling, grammar, plot, characterization):
Other Notes(need help with Americanism/English language?, help with fandom?):
On the other hand, if you want to help someone else out, you can also drop a note in the comments, letting people know how you are willing help, genres, pairing, characters, etc you will or won't beta, your strengths and weaknesses.
Copy and paste the text from the box below to let people know what you type of beta services you can offer(this is a guide only, not all categories are required):
Username?
Genres you will beta(Action/Humor/Crossover/Slash/Het/Gen/Deathfic/Any):
Genres you won't beta:
Pairings you will beta:
Pairings you won't beta:
Gen or Character studies you'd beta(John, Dean, Sam, Mary, Meg, Jess, all):
Gen or Character studies you won't beta:
Beta strengths(grammar/spelling/plot/canon/Dean-voice, etc…):
Beta Weaknesses:
Length of the fics you'd beta(Drabble/Stand-Alone/Multi-chapter/Novel-length…):
Any other info: (squicks, whether available for fast and dirty beta, other fandoms, links to pieces you have beta'd etc):
And of course, this comm,isn't the be all,end all when it comes to betas. You can always always check out your own flist or spn_betas if you want help or want to offer help. There are also good resources for information out there as well. Don't have the Supernatural DVDs or a Netflix subscription? Can't remember why Dean has been in women's underwear before (pink and satiny to be exact),or when Sam Winchester was a Bikini Inspector? Then don't forget to use Supernatural Wiki, a fan's resource to all things Supernatural!