Need A Beta?

[Birddi]

I'm thinking of becoming an official beta but I'm not sure yet.

• How many years have you worked as a beta?
  

I have roughly one year of experience under my belt as a beta. I have however been reading and critiquing/fixing work unofficially for about seven years in both fan-fiction and original work.

• Provide links to some of the work that you have beta'd. Link the titles. Work posted outside of AFF is acceptable as well.
  

Green Dreams is the latest project I am working on.

• In which capacities have you served as a beta? (Spelling/grammar, canon, characterization, etc.)
  

Realness in the characterization, plot, and information are my specialties. I like to be extremely thorough when I act as a beta, and usually my author will receive my revisions, with relevant notes and information that they can use for their work. If the piece is set in a boarding school for instance, I will find them information on fees, rooms, schedules, school rules etc. Or for example, is they are introducing a new pairing into a fandom – I find what has been speculated about the character(s) by other writers, height differences, theoretical reasons why they could work, what obstacles needs to be addressed (ie. Economic, personal histories, social, political, personal characteristics, possible canon hints, etc.)

• Which types of potentially objectionable content have you beta'd for? Correspond it to warning tags if possible.
  

I fully believe that if a story needs something then it should be done and sometimes extremes must be pushed for the sake of the work. The questionable content that I have beta'd is varied and to a different depth in each. Among these that have been done are:

Abuse, Anal, Angst, some Anthro BD/SM, Beast, Bisexuality (BI), Bondage, Blood-Play, Cock/Ball Torture, D/s, Dom, Exhib, Fetish (Fet), Hurt/Comfort, Hand Job (HJ), Humiliation, Incest (Inc), M/M, some M/F, Mind control (MC), Minor, MPreg, N/C, Oral, Racist, Rim, S&M, Sexual Harassment (SH), Shouta / Lollicon, Slave, SoloM, Spank, Tent, Interrogation and Torture (Tort), Trans, UST, Violence, Voy, WAFF, Wet Dream (WD), Yaoi.

• Is there any type of work you haven't beta'd for but are willing to accept? (Capacities, objectionable content).
  

I have never beta'd a story with necrophiliac tendencies, nor have I read any actually therefore I can only speculate that I wouldn't be opposed to it. Others which I have never beta'd and therefore have no particular reason as to not beta them are:

Body Modification (B-Mod), Double Penetration (DP), Penetration by woman (Peg), menstrual blood play, Fist, Moresome, Scat, Water-Sports (WS).

• Are there any specific areas in which you would not be willing to beta?
  

I suppose Furry is not something I can beta in good conscious. I do not mind tails and ears, or 'creature' with human, but I am uncomfortable with most of the Furry realm.

I am unable to deal with Mary-Sue or Crossover stories. Consequentially, I have also avoided most vampire stories due to personal reasons for the last few years and dislike the realm in general. Therefore:

Most Anthro, Crossover, Mary-Sue/ Self-Insertion (SI), F/M/M, F/F, Yuri, Vampire Sex (VS).

• What are your personal boundaries as a beta?
  

I expect people to understand the difference between reality and fiction. Just because I will beta (or in some cases write) a story with a minor in them does not mean I agree with the situation in reality. I am, in fact, vehemently opposed to the idea in reality. Therefore, I expect not to be harassed or sent things of questionable material by those I work with.

• What are your weaknesses when it comes to beta work?
  

Grammar has never been my strongest suit. However, I do not believe I am horrible.

• How do you tend to interact with an author when doing beta work?
  

I believe the only way to beta a work is to speak with the author. While it can change, my preferred method is listed in the next question.

• Can you determine an average speed when it comes to performing beta work?
  

Usually, I like to read the story before hand to get a grasp of where the writer is at. I find I work best when I get on the train before it is considered a finished story. So in the preliminary chapters or around the half way part is best for me when it comes to longer multi-chaptered works. For one shots, any time in the process if fine.

Then, I like to speak to the writer to get a clear understanding of what they want from the story. I find it best if we are comfortable with each other to speak freely and set up a working relationship. Sometimes, though not often, we find we are too different to work together and it may be best to find other people to work with before issues arise.

After that, the day I receive it I can usually have the story/chapter beta'd and returned.

• For which fandoms have you worked? Which fandoms do you frequent? Do you consider yourself well-versed on any specific characters?
  

I can become fluent in any fandom or category or character if needed, however I prefer original slash. In the fandoms, the one's I am strongest in are listed below. Once again I do prefer yaoi, slash, or male/male for most fandoms.

GAMES: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XII, Kingdom Hearts

ANIME: Demon Diary, Death Note, Pet Shop of Horrors, Gokusen, Gundam Wing/AC, Hellsing, Howl's Moving Castle, Inuyasha (Sesshomaru x Inuyasha), xxxHolic, Yu-Gi-Oh, Wallflower, Sukiso, Spirited Away, Ranma ½, Ouran Host Club

BOOKS: Phantom of the Opera, Secret Garden, Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter (Snape x Harry, Draco x Harry)

MOVIES: Labyrinth

I am strongest in Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts.

• Have you done any unusual beta work in the past?
  

I suppose every new story I come across is a new situation, because of the different problems it poses, the different people I work with, etc. I have even found different chapters to have vastly different needs.

I have a funny story about my experiences as a beta. I was at a con a few years back and was waiting in line for something, that I now can not recall, when I struck up a conversation with the person next to me, they were dressed like Naruto and were playing around on their on their laptop and I was bored. Turned out they were a big fan of writing boy on boy smut, and had just finished a new piece. Well, it was a match made in heaven when they found out that I was a beta. So for the forty minutes or so we were waiting in line, I beta'd a girl's original slash work.

I suppose that is an unusual way of being a beta.

• Do you have any quirks when it comes to beta work?
  

I expect professionalism when it comes to taking criticism. I don't pull punches if they are needed, and I like to warn people when they request me as a beta that I am not nice, I'm truthful. You'll find that I'm a generally nice person, who doesn't mind ripping your mistakes apart and giving you the tape, whiteout, and staples to make it better.

My corrections are in bold. Expect smiley faces.

Other than that, I find research and related information for my writers, which I am told others do not.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

- Cheers,

B.

[eroburn]

hey i have a 125k story that is finished.. well sorta lol.

i expect to do a lot of rewriting and work on it to get it ready for others to read it

it is a slash story. original.

if you are interested in doing this reply back or

hit me on a messenger

aim:gloomyfriday

yahoo:gloomyfries

msn:iamsobad1113@hotmail.com

look forward to hearing from you

[Double]

I need a beta who I can bounce a few ideas off of for my Kingdom Hearts fanfic called Twins. Would you be interested in that?