the beta volunteer thread

[synecdochic]

I've had a couple of people in the past few weeks ask me if they know of a good place to go for beta help, and I'm so overextended right now, writing-wise, that I just can't in good conscience offer to help. There are a lot of you, though, and I know many of you are really good betas (and enjoy it!) so ... time to be a LiveJournal dating service

Comments

[alixtii]

I try to do an all-around beta, looking especially at narrative structure, plot, and theme. Here and here are good examples of when that was able to happen, but it is not uncommon for me to send it back with only spelling and grammar mistakes corrected if I can't find what seem to be structural flaws. I'll always point out clear grammatical mistakes, but I tend to be a descriptivist on usage matters, so if you want me to point out your comma splices or tell you to kill your adverbs you're going to have to tell me so, or else I'll assume you did it that way on purpose unless it's a particularly awkward or egregious instance. Actually, that's good advice overall, because I suppose it's just as possible I'll end up assuming that plotthread over there was deliberately left hanging.

I'll beta in Buffy and Angel, Firefly and Serenity, Veronica Mars, new Who and SJA and Torchwood, and probably others of which I can't think at the moment.

[dani_the_girl]

Er, hi. I was wondering if there's any chance this offer is still on the table? I could really use a beta (and probably a good thwap upside the head) for the piece of whofic (with a side of Torchwood) that I've just finished the first draft of. I'm a very inexperienced writer so will probably need a lot of guidance, but if you've got a bit of time available, I would really appreciate it.

[alixtii]

Sure! Just send it to alixtii [at] gmail [dot] com!

[roga]

I am currently too swamped until at least mid May for anything serious, but I will always make time if anyone needs a Hebrew/Israeli beta. Which basically just amounts to anyone who wants to write Ziva David fic. Which is three people a month. But hey, I'm here :-)

I can be contacted by a private message or through my email, which is on my profile page. Any length, characterization, spelling and *mostly* grammar - I wouldn't 100% count on myself with grammar, though.

[beatrice_otter]

beatrice_otter@haugensgalleri.com.

I can beta for Stargate SG1 and Atlantis, Babylon 5, Star Wars, Star Trek (anything but Voyager), Buffy, Doctor Who, Superman movieverse, Batman and Batman Begins, Battlestar Galactica (as long as it's not focused on Starbuck).

I'm really good at grammar/spelling and plot details; not so good at theme and characterization. I'll beta for short-medium stuff; long stuff, I may be too busy for.

Also, beta_readers is a community devoted purely to finding beta readers.

I'd like to do this

[idhren24]

Respectively,

a.) Email, but contact me via lj first because I like to talk to someone before giving out my email.

b.) Canon I know best: Harry Potter. Am quite familiar with (and love) most book canons, and am a closet fan of Hikari no Go, Rurouni Kenshin, Black Cat, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Spider-Man. I am very familiar with the fanon of BtVS, SG, and SGA.

c.) I am good as a secondary beta, i.e. one of two or more betas, since I tend to offer feedback on what catches my attention rather than regularly comment on a special aspect or set of aspects. Think of me as a bookworm and a writer who is also a beta-in-training.

d.) I'm willing to beta stories of any length, but I may not always have to time to provide exhaustive comments. Hence my preference to not be the sole beta for a particular writer. Not every beta is right for every writer, so definitely expect a trial period on both our parts, and a tendency towards tactful bluntness on my end.

[indywind]

I'll beta, as my real-world schedule allows.
Spelling/grammar/style in any fandom. Limited help w/ plot/structure-- better at that in others' than my own work. Stickler for consistent & believable characterization, dialogue.

Specific fandoms I've been familiar enough with to maybe catch canon/fact errors:
DueSouth
House M.D. (through Season 3)
Firefly/Serenity
Star Trek TOS, TNG, DS9
Babylon 5
Xmen, Spiderman (& related Marvel)
Some literary/historical fandoms.

Any pairings, any ratings, no particular squicks--though I'm hard on sex, violence or silliness that doesn't serve the a narrative purpose.

Contact me first by commenting the top entry in my lj w/ your contact preference and a brief (~1 sentence) description of the fic.