I've been considering adding myself to the list of betas, but I'm not sure what to expect from the experience.  What kind of help do authors generally wish to receive?  How much of a time commitment would it be?  What are the websites or communities on which have you listed yourself as a beta?  Et cetera.  Any thoughts, comments, or anectdotes that anyone who has experience as a beta would like to share would be appreciated.  Both positive and negative experiences are welcome.  Feel free to e-mail me if you don't want to post negative things on the forum: immortal_beloved77@hotmail.com

I see that the BSV's beta list is being revamped (no pun intended).  So, I suppose that now is a good time to start asking questions!

This is a good time to ask, IB. :)  One thing you could do is to look through the current list and decide for yourself what format seems best, which people on there probably shouldn't be, and where you would fit in.

Good betas are hard to find and I'm hearing from more and more authors that they just can't get anyone to work with them.  That's one of the reasons behind the revamping of our list - we hope to eliminate most of those who weren't serious about being a beta so that authors don't have to spend a lot of time being ignored or turned down.  So, the first thing to ask yourself is "do I have the time to devote to this?"  Of course, there's really no way for you to know if you'll like it until you try, so it's perfectly fair for you to sign up and, after several months, decide that it's not for you.

Different authors will need and want many different things. Some will be sending you nearly perfect chapters for which you will only have to read, enjoy the story and catch a typo here and there.  Someone else might well send you a chapter that is full of punctuation, grammar and spelling mistakes - and poorly-written to boot.  And there will be everything in between those two ends of the spectrum.  You will have to decide for yourself what level of help that you are willing and able to offer.  

Obviously, catching the occasional typo for an author whom you want to read anyway will take very little time and be an enjoyable experience. Trying to beta something that isn't really very good, and that also has a lot of mistakes, can be a very time-consuming and less enjoyable chore.

Prior discussion with the author, in which you are both open and honest about what you expect/want from each other is key.  In my experience, a good beta will not only catch the typos, but point out any plot holes she finds, offer suggestions for words used too often or incorrectly, and try to provide some long-term help for the author.  It is one thing to just correct someone's errors chapter after chapter, something else to teach them what the error is so that they can stop making it.  Ditto for more subjective things like characterization and plot - I think you should offer advice there, but be willing to back off if the writer objects.

A beta should always feel free to refuse to continue for an author who is not doing her part to improve, and an author should always feel she is free to find someone else if her beta does not seem to like her work.  With luck, this can be done with a minimum of hurt feelings for either party.

I'm planning to post an "advice to betas" and "advice to authors" piece when Dia is ready to post the new form and I will cover some of this stuff again there, as well as add a couple of other things.  I hope you will decide to do it as there are many authors out there who just need an extra set of eyes or a bit of help to move their work to the level they would like.

Thanks for the reply.  "Advice to Betas" would be very helpful.

NP - love your icon....