All About Betas (a resource post)
Oct. 27th, 2017 11:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desireearmfeldt posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ds_ssdiscussionGreetings all! Hopefully you’re getting excited about your assignments—we’re looking forward to seeing what everyone makes!
If you have not yet emailed us to confirm your assignment and email address, please do so! We’re going to check in with you via email on Nov 1, so we want to make sure we know the right address to use. Email the mods at dsss.admin AT gmail DOT com with the following info: 1) your AO3 handle, 2) your recipient’s AO3 handle, 3) what email address the mods should use to contact you.
TYK to all of you we’ve already heard from!
Now, let’s talk about betas!
This post is a resource for any of you curious about the whys and hows of the beta-ing process. We hope this post will help you understand why we require you to use a beta, and give you some tips about how to get the most out of the experience.
If you’re not sure how/where to find a beta, check out the beta volunteer post on DW.
Beta-readers (-listeners, -viewers, etc.) are a great way to support your creative work and help you take it to the next level. There is good reason why editors are part of the professional publication process—and why we joke that famous authors whose later works seem flabby and self-indulgent compared to their early ones have “fired their editors.”
Whether you are a highly experienced writer/artist or a novice, a second person’s perspective can reveal things about your work that you have missed. It can also give you an idea of how your audience may react: what’s confusing, unconvincing, jarring, or tedious, as well as what parts of your work are especially evocative, funny, or beautiful.
Having someone beta for you can also be a great way to foster a fannish friendship. It’s an opportunity to geek about the fandom and the artistic process with a fellow fan, get to know each other, and strengthen community ties.
Different people have different creative processes. Some of us wouldn’t post a fanwork without first consulting with a beta—or two, or more! Others don’t feel the need for critique. Some of us use betas only for specific purposes; for example, because I’m prolific and the number of fellow dS/C6D fen I know is small, I only use betas when I’m struggling on a fic, or for exchanges where it’s required. There are good reasons for all the various ways people choose to use (or not use) betas.
However, in this fanworks exchange, we require everyone to use a beta, because it’s the best tool we have for encouraging our traditionally high standard of quality. We want everyone to have fun, and we also want the gifts you give each other to represent your best, polished work.
So, even if you’re someone who doesn’t usually use a beta, we encourage you to take this opportunity to give it a try and get all the good you can out of the experience.
Every maker/beta relationship is different, specific to the two individuals involved – but remember, it’s a relationship. Your beta, whether they’re your BFF or someone you’ve never met before that you contacted through the beta-volunteering post, is a person who’s doing you a favor because they want to help you make the best fanwork you can.
Some ways in which you can show respect for your beta (and get the most out of the experience):
* Recruit a beta who can help you with the specific things you’re likely to need help with. For example, do you struggle with….
Plot?
Dialogue?
American slang?
Canadian culture?
Sentence structure?
Character voices?
Humor?
Verbosity?
Someone out there can help you with these things!
* Communicate clearly about expectations. Negotiate in advance how you both want the process to work. For example:
What kind of feedback will the beta provide?
Will they be commenting on the flow of an outline? Looking over a rough draft for characterization and pacing? Reviewing a close-to-final draft for spelling, grammar and word choice? All of the above?
How gentle/ruthless do you want your beta to be in their commentary?
What level of detail should they use in their commentary?
Are there aspects of the fanwork you specifically don’t want feedback on?
When will you get them a draft to review?
When will they get their feedback back to you?
Will there be a single round of feedback, or multiple edit-and-review rounds?
Can you contact your beta to ask clarifying questions?
* Remember that your beta has their own working and schedule constraints. Negotiate an arrangement that works for both of you, and communicate if you need to adjust the plan.
* Give your beta’s feedback serious consideration, but don’t feel obliged to follow their advice if you disagree with it. At the end of the day, it’s your fanwork and the final decisions are yours.
Have Fun & Don’t Stress Out!
This post would be a lot shorter if the author had used a beta. :)
If you have not yet emailed us to confirm your assignment and email address, please do so! We’re going to check in with you via email on Nov 1, so we want to make sure we know the right address to use. Email the mods at dsss.admin AT gmail DOT com with the following info: 1) your AO3 handle, 2) your recipient’s AO3 handle, 3) what email address the mods should use to contact you.
TYK to all of you we’ve already heard from!
Now, let’s talk about betas!
This post is a resource for any of you curious about the whys and hows of the beta-ing process. We hope this post will help you understand why we require you to use a beta, and give you some tips about how to get the most out of the experience.
If you’re not sure how/where to find a beta, check out the beta volunteer post on DW.
Beta-readers (-listeners, -viewers, etc.) are a great way to support your creative work and help you take it to the next level. There is good reason why editors are part of the professional publication process—and why we joke that famous authors whose later works seem flabby and self-indulgent compared to their early ones have “fired their editors.”
Whether you are a highly experienced writer/artist or a novice, a second person’s perspective can reveal things about your work that you have missed. It can also give you an idea of how your audience may react: what’s confusing, unconvincing, jarring, or tedious, as well as what parts of your work are especially evocative, funny, or beautiful.
Having someone beta for you can also be a great way to foster a fannish friendship. It’s an opportunity to geek about the fandom and the artistic process with a fellow fan, get to know each other, and strengthen community ties.
Different people have different creative processes. Some of us wouldn’t post a fanwork without first consulting with a beta—or two, or more! Others don’t feel the need for critique. Some of us use betas only for specific purposes; for example, because I’m prolific and the number of fellow dS/C6D fen I know is small, I only use betas when I’m struggling on a fic, or for exchanges where it’s required. There are good reasons for all the various ways people choose to use (or not use) betas.
However, in this fanworks exchange, we require everyone to use a beta, because it’s the best tool we have for encouraging our traditionally high standard of quality. We want everyone to have fun, and we also want the gifts you give each other to represent your best, polished work.
So, even if you’re someone who doesn’t usually use a beta, we encourage you to take this opportunity to give it a try and get all the good you can out of the experience.
Every maker/beta relationship is different, specific to the two individuals involved – but remember, it’s a relationship. Your beta, whether they’re your BFF or someone you’ve never met before that you contacted through the beta-volunteering post, is a person who’s doing you a favor because they want to help you make the best fanwork you can.
Some ways in which you can show respect for your beta (and get the most out of the experience):
* Recruit a beta who can help you with the specific things you’re likely to need help with. For example, do you struggle with….
Plot?
Dialogue?
American slang?
Canadian culture?
Sentence structure?
Character voices?
Humor?
Verbosity?
Someone out there can help you with these things!
* Communicate clearly about expectations. Negotiate in advance how you both want the process to work. For example:
What kind of feedback will the beta provide?
Will they be commenting on the flow of an outline? Looking over a rough draft for characterization and pacing? Reviewing a close-to-final draft for spelling, grammar and word choice? All of the above?
How gentle/ruthless do you want your beta to be in their commentary?
What level of detail should they use in their commentary?
Are there aspects of the fanwork you specifically don’t want feedback on?
When will you get them a draft to review?
When will they get their feedback back to you?
Will there be a single round of feedback, or multiple edit-and-review rounds?
Can you contact your beta to ask clarifying questions?
* Remember that your beta has their own working and schedule constraints. Negotiate an arrangement that works for both of you, and communicate if you need to adjust the plan.
* Give your beta’s feedback serious consideration, but don’t feel obliged to follow their advice if you disagree with it. At the end of the day, it’s your fanwork and the final decisions are yours.
Have Fun & Don’t Stress Out!
This post would be a lot shorter if the author had used a beta. :)
