Adventures in Beta-ing

In a previous post, I very briefly wrote about the job of a beta. Essentially, this is the writer’s “second” – as in the second pair of eyes to look over the chapter before it’s posted for grammatical errors, continuity issues, and to ensure the story maintains its flow.

Since I am not so great with the actual fanfic writing myself but really enjoy the creative process of being involved in the whole Twi-fic world, I recently started beta-ing. Just a few chapters here and there and some stuff that hasn’t been posted yet. I love it! It’s really fun for me – like a complex math puzzle, but without the numbers so that it actually makes sense to me. The process fascinates me and I want to get further into it and gain more experience and understanding.

I personally think all authors could benefit from having such a person around to enhance their stories. Although I know nothing of the publishing world, I assume a beta is like the equivalent of a book editor but for the “amateur” level of fanfiction writing (which we all know crosses over more and more often now). Betas are available – why not use them? I’ve read a lot of stories where easily-fixed mistakes make me cringe. If plot, characterization, etc. are your strong points and you are maybe not as strong in the technicalities of writing, why not have another person help you out? Even if you are a “grammar nazi”, we all make mistakes from time to time and sometimes it takes another person to catch them.

The relationship between author and beta needs to be clearly defined. Different authors may want different things so the role of the beta is not always the same. In general, a beta finds and points out errors for the author to fix during rewrites. But a beta can be much more than that. Some authors have a beta and a pre-reader (or several of each). At first I didn’t understand this distinction and had to ask on twitter what the difference was. (Usually, at the top of a chapter, the author gives the prerequisite disclaimer of “no copyright infringement intended” and thanks their betas and pre-readers. I kept seeing that over and over and was confused.) It was explained to me that a beta handles the technical aspects whereas the pre-reader is there to help with continuity, plot ideas, and characterization. In some cases, a beta does both.

I asked friends of mine, Brina, a pre-reader, and Deena, an author, what they thought about the writer-beta relationship. They both agreed that the expectations need to be established in the beginning - what the author is looking for and what the beta is able to do.

Brina said, “When picking a beta you have to decide, do you want someone to fix grammar and typos or do you want someone who will do that plus make your story better, to give you ideas, to inspire to make you a better writer. They are there to catch the stuff you can’t and sometimes they are there to stop you from losing your way.”

At this point, I am not confident enough in my own abilities and lack the experience to be able to give criticism on story development. I made sure that they authors I read for knew this. I am going in with the intention of fixing punctuation, typos, and basic grammar rules alone. If something does occur to me, such as an error in continuity, I will point it out but I don’t specifically look for them.

It was agreed that honestly is the most important factor in the author-beta relationship. Deena said, “[You don’t want] someone who praises everything you do without giving any kind of feedback at all. You need the truth, not someone who says everything is great because they think that's what you want to hear.”

Another point my friends made was trust. The author needs to be able to trust her beta. Not only that she will be honest but that she will maintain confidentiality. As a beta, you are reading sometimes highly sought after stories before anyone else gets a chance to. Many times, they are submissions for contest for which you must be a vault and not even let anyone else know you are involved. Another aspect to that confidentiality is not bashing your author. It seems like common sense, but I have heard of this happening. A while back things were said on twitter by someone who was acting as the beta for a fairly popular story and she claimed the author would be nothing without her and took credit for the story’s brilliance. Boo to her! She sucks. (And is no longer attached to that story.)

I also think a beta needs to be aware of the difference between when something isn’t working and when something is simply a stylistic choice you may not agree with. It’s the author’s creative endeavour, not yours. You aren’t there to have the story written the way you would write it. You are there to help the author write the best story she can write. There’s no harm in making your opinions known and offering suggestions, just like anyone else who will be reading the story will inevitably do in reviews anyway, but it’s the author’s story and her choice to do what she wants with it. 

Haters Gon’ Hate

I mentioned last time that there is a lot of hate directed towards fanfic and the authors who write it. As with anything posted online, it seems to bring the dregs of society out in full-force. Hiding behind the anonymity that the internet provides is a shameful way to behave. There is an enormous difference between constructive criticism and just being nasty for its own sake.

It’s perfectly acceptable to leave an author a review of their story or even tweet them with comments disagreeing with their views or the direction they have taken. It’s even fine to say you just don’t like what they’ve written (although leaving it at just that is not helpful). As we’ve established, everyone likes different things in fanfic. It’s impossible to please everyone.

What is NOT acceptable is to “flame” someone - things like insulting the author, threatening them, telling them you want them to die… (IKR?!?!?!) Readers get involved in a story and its characters, and it’s understandable for them to become upset when things don’t go the way they wanted them to. I assume this is even more prevalent in fanfiction readers, since there is already that pre-established affection for the characters. But isn’t it just common sense to use that strong emotion to shoot for something good? Ask questions and offer suggestions. Speak your mind, but respectfully. Some authors who read their reviews while their work is still in progress are not opposed to taking these thoughts into consideration when writing subsequent chapters. What do you hope to achieve by upsetting an author? (other than showing everyone you are just a cowardly, mean-spirited, useless troll…)

Most fanfics come with a summary that states the general premise of the story as well as what category it falls under (AU, OOC, HEA, etc. – more on that another time). Warnings and labels are all over the place. No one is forcing anyone to read anything (although my friends may say I push certain fics on them a lot). The point being, if the story is not something you like, DON’T READ IT! So, you invested endless hours in a story that hits a wall and starts to suck? You CAN flounce. And if you feel you can’t (I know a few dedicated readers who refuse not to finish something once they started ~ our “team hitters”, if you will), that is YOUR problem, not the author’s. Keep your nastiness to yourself.

It’s really sad that some stupid people feel the need to spew their hate online, but what makes me even sadder is that some authors take this stupidity to heart and flounce their own stories. They give up writing them completely. I understand that it takes several people praising you to forget one person giving you crap - but when you quit, THEY win. And as someone that goes out of my way to extol the virtues of a writer and their story when I really like it, it hurts my feelings when my comments don’t carry as much weight as someone who is being a jerk. I do not give lip-service. I don’t say nice things when I don’t mean it. If I compliment you, you can believe I think very highly of what you have done. I would like to think that matters more than someone who doesn’t know what to do with their words.

Like I said in my last post, writing fan fiction is hard. Writing GOOD fan fiction is a gift. The authors who share it with us are giving us just that – a gift. Treat is as such. 

Ficpeeves and Hard Limits

We, fanfiction readers, are a particular bunch. We all have our quirks and oddities, and this is apparent when you take into account what we will read and what we refuse. I’m not sure how it is in other fandoms (Apparently, there is NON-Twilight fanfiction out there? Huh. Who knew? Not interested, thanks.), but some of us are very rigid in our tastes.

Everyone has their “ficpeeves” – things that make you want to smash your e-reader and rip out your own hair. I recently asked friends to share theirs with me. The answers were diverse, as I expected. From fanfiction clichés to weak characterization to unrealistic plotlines, we are all bothered by something. For me, I take issues with sloppy grammar and punctuation, especially if the story has another person acting as the “beta” (the second pair of eyes whose sole purpose is to catch those mistakes). And I also get really annoyed by the author overusing one particular word. Just as an example, I’ll use the word ‘said’. There are so many synonyms for that word. Suggested, told, exclaimed, demanded, argued, wondered, mumbled, etc. If one word is used over and over and over, it stands out and takes the reader out of the story.

I remember a few months back, one night on twitter, where many people were participating in an airing of grievances, if you will, about ficpeeves. Most of the ones mentioned were the clichés we see used in story after story. And most of them had to do with phrases that come up time and again in “lemons” (sex scenes), such as tongues that battle for dominance over the other during a particularly racy kiss.

Most of these annoyances are read with a laugh or roll of the eyes, but sometimes, if extreme enough, they cause a reader to “flounce” (throw the story down in disgust before finishing, never to return).  

Ficpeeves are very different than hard limits (a phrase we know from E.L. James’ Fifty Shades Trilogy that has taken on its own meaning in regards to reading preferences). A fic hard limit is something that you just won’t read. Usually it’s subject matter that makes the reader too uncomfortable or strikes to close to home, but sometimes strictly preferences. Again, I polled some friends and the answers varied from huge age gaps between romantic couples or abusive parents to stories that are written by teenagers and inserting real life personas as characters.

A big thing for many Twi-fic readers is that they like “canon-pairings” and won’t read anything else. Edward has to be with Bella, Jasper with Alice, Emmett with Rosalie, Carlisle with Esme, etc. These are the pairings Stephenie Meyer wrote and what we fell in love with. But there are loads of stories out there which change it up. Jasper and Bella, or *cringe* Alice and Charlie. I am obviously a huge fan of canon couples. I CAN be flexible but I feel that, no matter who the other couples are, Edward and Bella always have to be together. This is why I read fanfiction. I love their love.

My own personal hard limit revolves around Edward (as does my whole world, according to hubby). I have a very strong attachment to this fictitious guy. One may even say I’m obsessed. And I’m very protective of him. He must not die! I cannot read stories where the author kills off my beloved Edward. Unfortunately, you don’t often know these things until the end and it’s too late.

(One thing that should be noted, when you read stories written by your friends, all bets are off. I leave my comfort zone time and again for friends. It’s a true testament to how much I love them.)

I tell you these things with humor. In all honesty, fanfiction is free and the authors are all bravely sharing a part of themselves with us. That should be kept in mind. There is a lot of hate out there and I don’t understand that. I’ve tried my hand at writing once or twice and it is not easy! Even the most horribly written stories have some merit. Try to find that next time you want to bash a fic.