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Alelou, I have a Haiku ready, sort of. I wouldn't know a sylable (sp) if it walked up and slapped me in the face so, I need someone to edit my Haidku to make sure I have the correct number in each line.

I will PM you.

SB

Silverbullet wrote:Yes, Wg, I know that the Beta's and Editors are all volunteers. that they give up some of their personal time to do the editing. I appreciate that. I am not complaining.

SB

Oh no SB I wasn't calling you out! I was giving advice for people who are new at this. It wasn't a reflection on you. You've been here a long time and we understand that you were just expressing yourself. A new writer wouldn't have the experience with betas yet.

I'm sorry that I've had to let people down recently. Until late last year I was only battling long work hours, but unfortunately over the last couple of months some other issues have cropped up which are currently taking every evening during the week and every afternoon and evening at weekends. Much as I'd like to dive into some fanfiction to escape from the pains and stresses of daily life, there simply aren't enough hours in the day at the moment. I haven't lost interest, but it's simply not possible at the moment.

Cogito wrote:I'm sorry that I've had to let people down recently. Until late last year I was only battling long work hours, but unfortunately over the last couple of months some other issues have cropped up which are currently taking every evening during the week and every afternoon and evening at weekends. Much as I'd like to dive into some fanfiction to escape from the pains and stresses of daily life, there simply aren't enough hours in the day at the moment. I haven't lost interest, but it's simply not possible at the moment.

Hence my long lecture for *everyone* to treasure their beta's!

Sorry for your troubles, Cogito.

I second Alelou's comment. Hopefully in the near future things will get better for you, cogito.

SB

For those who are worried about the kind of feedback they'll get, my experience has been that the Enterprise fan fic community is very supportive, so it's a good place to get started!

The term "beta reader" gets bandied about quite a bit and, as far as I can tell, it's a term that is unique to fan fiction, so it can be confusing for the new writer. A beta reader is someone who reads and reviews your piece before you publish it. Depending on your abilities and theirs this could take a number of different forms. At the least, they should help you catch the typos that inevitably creep in. They should give you feedback on the piece and how it hangs together. They may be able to coach you on your writing and plotting.

Many writers don't work with a beta reader and that's OK too. It is hard to be objective about your own work, though, and often a second set of eyes can often help you turn out the work that you want to turn out.

I'm pretty sure beta reader, comes from beta tester. I think the term is only used when fic is posted on the net. I'm sure fanzines and other forms of fan fiction and art, just say editor. I'm not 100% sure. Aquarius would know.

Without the precious help of my beta's who helped this non-native English speaker, none of my stories would be published. So I greatly recommend if you start writing: find a beta.

You can asked for a beta in the beta-thread. Just be sure to write down what you expect of a beta: do you want them to look at grammar only, or also to the flow of the story, the events of the story, the charactization of the person etc.

It's great to write a story and even greater to work together with your beta to create a better story. So start writing and ask help from a beta.

In addition to knowing exactly what you need from a beta keep on communicating! As the story progresses your style and abilities will evolve, and your needs and wants may change. LET THEM KNOW! They're not mind readers, so if you no longer need constant advice on how to keep "in character" speak up. But if all your plot twists are suddenly confusing even to you, speak up. You may even reach a point where they can no longer give you the assistence you need, so keep communicating. Don't take things for granted and get a messy story and a messy relationship.

WarpGirl wrote:I think the term is only used when fic is posted on the net. I'm sure fanzines and other forms of fan fiction and art, just say editor. I'm not 100% sure. Aquarius would know.

Agreed as to source/origin and initial usage, but I'm starting to see the term used in the acknowledgments section of Star Trek profic as well. I had a good giggle the first time I saw it, and I suspect that if it's creeping in there, it will eventually show up in other media tie-in work (if it hasn't already). From there, it's likely to spread to areas where fan fiction usually isn't written.

All of this, of course, is a clear indicator as to how pervasive and "real" fan fiction is.

I always thought the term came from the greek "beta". You have alpha (a, the first letter), then beta, delta, gamma etc. So the writer is the alpha, the first to write the story, beta the second person who is a complement to the alpha-writer. It's probably my own pet theory after spending time to learn Greek.

I have some thoughts about reviews, sometimes I feel like they get more importance than they truly deserve. Now don't get me wrong, I love them, I want them, and when I get them (good or bad) I'm beyond euphoric. However, I believe that you're setting yourself up for major disappointment if that's the reason you start writing. The fact is, you will always have far more readers than you will reviewers. Don't ask me why this is. So don't set all of your energy on getting reviews, begging doesn't usually work. Just enjoy the process of writing, cherish the comments you do recieve, and work towards perfecting the craft. That's where the real joy in doing this comes from.

Yes, but I would also say that like any good marketer, you CAN sometimes 'ask for the sale' and get more than you would otherwise. This is particularly true if 1) you ask nicely (and thoughtfully, i.e. not with the reflexive "Please R&R"), 2) you ask a specific question you really want some feedback on, and 3) you don't freak out and get all defensive when a reviewer says something that is not 100% what you were looking for, scaring away that person and potentially a whole bunch of future reviewers.

Saying thank you is never a bad idea either. If they took the trouble, why shouldn't I? I really like that fanfic.net makes it easy to respond personally to people (as long they've logged in).

Minor point, but basic: accept anonymous reviews if you want more reviews (this is at ff.net). Yes, you might get trolled once in awhile, but without that you also might also lose a few people who don't like to log in but might say something really nice and make your whole day.