In Need of a Beta

[katleept.livejournal.com]

I have stayed largely away from the use of betas beside myself and my darling soul mate for the simple reason I've gotten into some rather ugly situations in the ficdom world on other sites. I'm sure we have all experienced them, even, sadly, some on LJ. That being said, I am really wanting to grow as a writer and have signed up to write some bangs this year.

One restriction that's kept me away from joining them before now (besides the word count -- I'm so used to doing short one-shots) is that some of them require a beta. I've finished my first one, read it through several times, but although the comm doesn't necessarily require a beta, I find I still want my fic to look and read its best when presented. I've really poured some love into this story.

If this works out, and I hope it does, I'll be looking for other betas in the future for other fandoms, but this particular story is centered on Catwoman and is slightly over ten thousand words long. What I'm looking for in a beta is some one to catch any loopholes I may have accidentally left, as well as grammar, correct spelling, sentence structure, that sort of thing. So if you're a Catwoman fan with time, and especially if you love animals as the story does center pretty largely on cats as well, and would like to help, please let me know.

I'll also be more than happy to beta anything you may have need of a second pair of eyes overlooking if I know the fandom. :-)

*releases breath*

PS: I just want to "say" also that I chose this comm within which to start my search, because we really do have some wonderful members and mods here. I honestly don't expect any ugliness to arise from anybody here. :) But it's still hard to ask! LOL

Comments

[deepseasiren.livejournal.com]

Okay help me out here. What is a beta?

[dreamersdare.livejournal.com]

Basically a fresh pair of eyes to proofread your work. Depending on what the author is looking for (and what the beta reader is capable of in terms of skills and knowledge), this might include:

- Checking for spelling or grammar errors
- Checking for British/American phrasings which are inappropriate for the fandom
- Checking for plot or descriptive inconsistencies within the fic
- Checking for canon inconsistencies which the author didn't intend

That's not a comprehensive list and I think normally a beta reader would agree with the author what they are checking for exactly before they started, but basically having someone beta your work helps to deal with the likelihood that you will miss errors/inconsistencies in your own writing.

Hope that helps :)

[kaige68.livejournal.com]

I LOVE THIS COMM!!!

[dreamersdare.livejournal.com]

Well, we are pretty loveable :)

[katleept.livejournal.com]

Hey, sweetie. Did you get my pm a few days ago? Would you like to beta for me?

[deepseasiren.livejournal.com]

Sure, let's do it :)

[dreamersdare.livejournal.com]

Well, I have a vague, passing, very limited familiarity with Catwoman (so would probably miss canon errors) and I wouldn't really have any availability to do it until mid-April time, but if you still needed someone and those restrictions/timescales worked for you, I could beta read for spelling and grammar and for internal plot consistency?

I'm aware that is far from the most ideal offer in the world, but it's available if you want it. I'm equally aware that you might want to gracefully decline and that would be fine too :)

[lanalucy]

I beta across all fandoms, whether or not I'm familiar with them. My specialty is SPaG and ESL writers. I have no familiarity with Catwoman, other than Michelle Pfeiffer's stint in the leather. So, another less than ideal offer, but it's out there.