BSV Forum - Writing - Beta

So You want to be a beta - Part II

Jul 11 2008 12:55 am   #1slaymesoftly
In going over my previous post (some time ago) about the things a prospective beta needs to know and do, it seems that I neglected to mention anything about procedures and  methods of making corrections. So, in the interest of improving on that, consider this Part II of So You Want To Be a Beta.

Most experienced betas will have their own procedures for working on fic, so I expect the comments on this thread to be at least as useful as what I have to say.  However, in the interest of providing some guidelines for people who may be contemplating  becoming a beta, but who aren't sure exactly what to do, here are some suggestions.

1 - If you are doing a fic in which you are really interested, the first read-through should simply be for content. Get that "what next?" question answered so that you can concentrate on the next read-through.  If something jumps out at you on first reading, by all means flag it, but please don't assume that because nothing came to your attention, that there is nothing there. Readers who are really into a story are just as likely to miss a typo as is the author.  Your eyes see what they expect to see, and when you are really into the story they will just slide right over a lot of mistakes.  So, read it once for pleasure. (This rule doesn't necessarily apply if you aren't interested in the story and feel you aren't being distracted by it - but it's a pretty safe step to take anyway.)

2 - Get your red or blue pencil out (figuratively speaking - more about that later) and read it again - this time with a more critical eye.  How much you mark on it will depend a great deal upon what your author has asked of you. Ideally, a good beta will catch all the typos, flag any unclear or ungrammatical sentences, ask about anything that could be a developing plot hole or that strikes her as something that hasn't been prepared for, and offer encouragement and praise when she sees something really good.  Authors needs and desires may range from  "just catch any typos" to "help me make this work the way I want it to", and that is something that you will want to be clear on before you begin.  No sense wasting your time and energy helping with the story itself or the writing style if all the author wants to know is that it has no typos.  And how unfair of you, if your author is counting on you to keep her out of plot hole hell, if all you do is mark the typos and never mention that the story seems to have gone wildly astray...

3 - Okay, you've read the chapter once for pleasure. and gone over it with a fine-toothed comb looking for any and all problems that your author should address; now you need to skim through it one last time -just in case. *refers back to "the eyes see what they expect to see"*

Now you're ready to send it back to the author. :)

There are a number of ways to do the actual flagging of errors:
In a fic that has very few errors of any sort, notifying the author can be just a matter of an IM or an e mail saying, "in the third paragraph you have 'where' instead of 'were'." and "are you sure that Spike would use a word like 'poppycock'?" 

However, if there are likely to be multiple typos and/or a few grammar, punctuation, vocabulary or sentence structure corrections, then using colors is the way to go. I recommend Word's Track Changes (in the tool bar and in the preferences). It allows you to select two colors -one for things that you delete, and one for things that you add.  It also provides a little flag out to the  side of the correction, making it less likely that the author would miss something like an added comma or something else small.  Anything new that you type will be in color also, so your suggestions, questions and comments are also easily spotted. This is far and away the easiest on the beta.  You just highlight what you want to change and type the new stuff over it. (I put anything that is not an actual correction - my comments, suggestions, questions, etc. in italics or parentheses to set them off from the actual text of the chapter.)

In addition to Track Changes, Word (and most other word processing programs) also allows you to go into the Format menu, font, and choose color for text. This can be easier for the author to follow, as you can use as many colors as you need - one for deletions (and you can also use a strike-through), one for the new text or punctuation, and a third for your comments.  However, it is more time-consuming and tedious. And requires more effort on the part of the author to remove the beta notes from the final product.

So, key things here - multiple read-throughs to catch everything, and clearly marking the things that you do find so that the author can easily see what to change (or  to talk  to you about, if it's a question or comment).

It would be a good idea to check back on this thread and see what other suggestions some of our experienced betas have.  Not everyone will have the same procedures, but with a bit of luck,  you will find something that works for you and does right by your authors.


I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Jul 11 2008 01:22 am   #2Eowyn315
If you are doing a fic in which you are really interested, the first read-through should simply be for content.
Interestingly, I can't do this. I know a lot of betas do, because they don't want the story to distract them from looking for errors, but I find it to be the opposite. I can't read a fic, no matter how good it is, without being totally distracted by the errors. They just stick out at me like a whole hand full of sore thumbs (which, btw, makes it very frustrating to read fics I'm not betaing that have errors, and can sometimes result in me giving the author a list of typos I found, whether they asked for it or not, lol). I usually have to go through flagging errors first, and then read through a second time to leave comments on plot, characterization, etc. That's probably what makes me good at proofreading (and why I rarely have typos of my own), but I don't know if it's something you can learn to do. Yay for neuroses?

Just a few technical bits to add (since I am addicted to Track Changes):

It allows you to select two colors -one for things that you delete, and one for things that you add.
You can also select different colors for different editors. So, for example, if you have more than one beta, or are writing a collaborative fic with another author, you can assign them each a color, and then you'll all be able to follow which changes came from which person.

I put anything that is not an actual correction - my comments, suggestions, questions, etc. in italics or parentheses to set them off from the actual text of the chapter.
You can also put comments in balloons that appear in the margins. I find this useful because you can actually select the text you're referring to (whether it's a word, a phrase, or a whole paragraph) and flag it with the comment. To do that, you highlight the text you want flagged and select "New Comment." Also, that way, the author can have a fresh document without having to delete the comments, if desired.

and you can also use a strike-through
You can use a strike-through in Track Changes, as well. If you look at your Tracking Options, you can set deletions to appear in balloons in the margin, or as a strike-through within the text. I find that to be slightly distracting and prefer the balloons, but the option is there.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jul 11 2008 01:33 am   #3slaymesoftly
Hee!  Yeah, sometimes I catch typos on the first reading (hence the "flag them if you see them") but often my eyes just slide past a  missing "the" or something like that.  Some will jump out at me and some won't, so I have to go through again.

Ah, that's where you get the balloons. LOL  The thing about TC is, what it has to offer sometimes depends on what version of Word you are using. My old one didn' t have balloons, the new version does. But I didn't know I could put comments in them. I'll have to look into  that.
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Jul 11 2008 03:16 am   #4Always_jbj
I always find that a day (at least) between step 2 and 3 is a good idea--it helps prevent the whole 'seeing what you think is there' problem.
Aim from the heart
Some will love and some will curse you, baby
You can go to war
But only if you have to 


Fanfic ~*~ Artwork ~*~ Live Journal
Jul 11 2008 11:31 pm   #5dawnofme
For cheap folks like me, I'd like to recommend Open Office software in the place of Microsoft Office.  It's free open source software and can read and save .doc forms.  It has track changes, spell check, and it's possible to download a grammar check. 

:)
Jul 12 2008 02:58 am   #6slaymesoftly
Good suggestion. Thanks, Dawn!
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.

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