Hello all! I am not new, but I am pretty much unknown around here, so I figured I would throw this out there. If anyone needs a beta, I am willing to help out. Let me know if you are interested by answering this thread and we will go from there.

Okay, I know that somewhere out there this question is answered but I will ask it anyway. How exactly does a 'beta reader' work? I've been writing fanfiction for years and I still don't know!

Well i do know there is a lot of going back and forth between the beta and the writer...grammar and spelling I know is the betas job that the writer overlooked or wont bother with correcting... mainly because they have many ideas they want to hurry and put on paper before they lose it. But I've known some to reword some of the phrases that doenst make sense or add a line or two to support the idea of that chappie or particular paragraph...i think...

I'm looking for a beta but I have yet to find someone who isnt squirmish of my stories . I'm a hard MA writer so finding a fellow S.M.u.T FanFic lover who matches me in dementia is hard to find.

I write alot but I hate going back to review it, it makes me lose sight of where I was trying to go. When I finally post a new chappie then go back to writing the new one....I lose my place

So a beta reader is basically an editor?

Not neccessarily. A beta-reader can help with plot ideas, spelling, and grammar as well as editing. Ideally they shouldn't need to reword huge portions of your work since that would qualify as 'rewriting' and 'reproofing' which really is the author's domain. The beta-reader can be brilliant at giving a fresh set of eyes to look over your ficlet before you choose to post it.

I personally believe that stories passed over for beta-ing should already be relatively proofread, and spell-checked by the author. Yes it might reduce the beta's workload but you must remember that they are using their own time to help you out. Making things a little easier for them is simply courteous.

It also really depends on what kind of help you're looking for... as in just basic spelling, an eye for grammar mistakes/improvements (such as punctuation), or another person to bounce ideas off of in order to improve the plot, or readibility of the ficlet.

Everyone is different.

~ Pyre

That sounds cool. I'd love to have someone to bounce ideas off of.

After reading something many (almost too many) times in order to find errors one gets fed up and just updates to get it out of the way. And then you go back and notice the silly mistakes and feel so... silly?
Either way I feel more confident when a beta looks at my work.

I need someone to beta my new fic that I am writing for R0o's GM challenge. It is an MA (rated MA for language and an occasional lime/lemon). I would like to think that my English is pretty good, especially it not being my first language, but there are still some things I am unsure of so some help would be great.

Hello the unknownchild
My name is mandy and I am currently working on a piece of sess/Kag fiction. The first chapter probably won't be ready to be read over for another week or so (I'm very critical of my work) but this will be a looooooonng piece of fiction, possible two fictions in one....I haven't decided yet lol. Anyway, my work is M...possibly MA(undecided on this as well) and I just want to know if ur legally old enough to review a story of this rating ( I no, I sound corny...but it has to b asked) thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Mandy

I am 23 so no worries about keeping it T rated for me.