Beta-readers: what, how and why? Part 1

Finding a good beta-reader is one of the most important steps a fan fiction author may take to ensure the success of his or her story. Unfortunately, this resource (which is available to all free of charge) is also a step commonly overlooked by new writers due to a lack of knowledge and/or understanding of the beta-readers’ duties and the nature of their relationship with the authors. Therefore, let’s take a look into what being a beta-reader is all about.

According to the definition stated on fanfiction.net (the biggest and most popular fanfic archive), a beta-reader, or simply beta, is “a person who reads a work of fiction with a critical eye, with the aim of improving grammar, spelling, characterization, and general style of a story prior to its release to the general public.”

Twilighted.net provides a further description, explaining that the term "beta" originates from the software industry and its use of the "alpha" and "beta" terms, taken from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, in connection with the software that are works in progress and publicly released tests. On that analogy, a fan fiction author can be referred to as an “alpha reader,” since he or she was the first one to see and work on the story, while the beta-reader would be the second person to read the story and suggest some corrections before publication. As stated on the site, “In essence, it is what the editor's responsibility is in the book publishing industry.”

While this does shed some light on the beta-reader’s duties, we still need an explanation of how the author/beta relationship works in real life. To help us fully understand what it means to be a beta, Denaliyasha, a beta-reader and author of 107 fan fiction stories, agreed to share her insight.

“To be a beta means basically that you're reading somebody's work and making corrections or suggestions. What exactly those corrections or suggestions cover is up to the beta and the author to work out. It can be basic editing or it can be plot help, grammar changes or making sure a set of foreign idioms is accurate,” she explained.

She also said, “The relationship [between the authors and their betas] works based on the understanding that the beta is going to make corrections of whatever kind the author is looking for, and in return the author will at the very least read and think about the changes the beta suggests.”

As it sometimes happens, the author may not like or agree with suggestions made by the beta. From her experience, Denaliyasha handles this type of situation by suggesting that the authors she is beta-ing for ask her why those corrections were made.

“I don't just go changing things for the heck of it,” she said. “Grammar and spelling corrections, at least for me, are non-negotiable.”

Beyond correcting stories before publication, the beta’s duties also include turning the work around in a reasonable period of time, so that the author can post and update his/her story on a regular basis.

“Being a beta, therefore, means you get to take some pride in the story as it unfolds, because you helped make it that way,” said Denaliyasha. “I get to help give someone else an easier time finding a well-written story. I also really like getting to know the authors and feeling like I'm helping them make their work make a little more sense, or flow a little better.”

To be continued...

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