Writer's Corner – Betas, Beta Readers, and Drafts

Writer's Corner – Betas, Beta Readers, and Drafts

Writers Corner is an attempt by me to create some kind of aid or assistance for people who want to write. I am by no means a great writer, I barely qualify as a good one. I am simply trying to give people the chance to not make the same mistakes that I have, and hopefully help someone at least in some small manner. While I write erotica, much of the information posted will help people who are writing non-erotic works as well. I cannot be held responsible if my advice has an adverse effect on your writing, or if it improves either.


Today I posted that I sent my work to my beta readers, and I thought for the initial Writer’s Corner I would talk about beta versions, beta readers, and drafts.

When you first create something, your first instinct is to naturally show it to people. You’ve done it, you want to get some kind of a response, whether it’s something for school, whether it’s from your friends and family, or whether your going to post it online, the natural desire is to get it out there and show people.

You have to suppress that urge to do it, trust me. When you write something, there’s a great chance your going to make a mistake. Whether it’s a simple ‘to, too, two’ or ‘where, were’ ‘who’s whose’ kind of error, up to whether your creating an out of character instance, you are likely going to make some kind of error. Hell, I make tons of them. Spelling and grammar checker included in Word and other processors are great tools certainly, but they can only achieve so much.

Now just to let this be known, I did not invent this nor do I claim to, this is just a method that works for many people. But when I write, once something is completed, it enters into a beta, or what I term a raw beta.

What is a beta? What is a beta reader?

The word itself is literally the second letter in the Greek alphabet, you may recognize it if you’ve been a member of a fraternity or sorority. In computer programming a beta is an unfinished version of the product, a version that is somewhat stable but still needs to be worked on, to have the bugs taken care of, and to be tested greatly. Depending on the state of the unfinished program, it may also be called an alpha, which is the version preceding the beta (alpha preceding beta in the Greek alphabet). Beta testers test a program, if it’s a video game they are sometimes called game testers.

The concept is essentially the same, a work that is in beta is considered to be an unfinished version of a piece of work that requires people to come in and work on it, notice errors and problems. A beta reader is someone who helps the writer in working on that beta.


Drafts

Oftentimes, a story should go into at least two drafts. After all, finishing it and looking at it once is two drafts. Some people will want to do more, it all depends on how much work the author has already put in on it, how much he or she needs to put in on it, how long the piece is, and whether or not the author is a perfectionist or not.

The first version of a story is the rough draft. Its name is appropriate, everything hasn’t been smoothed out, as the kinks have yet to be worked on. This is generally the beta I discussed earlier. The author may go over it him or herself, trying to correct the problems themselves. If I have just written something and not had a chance to go over and read it, then I call it a raw beta, as I haven’t even personally taken care of small things yet.

Once I read through the raw beta and I’m satisfied enough to send it out, this is the time to send it off to the beta readers.


How to get the best from beta-ing

Betas don’t just find places where commas should be periods, or where names need capitalization. They also help have a guiding hand steering the story, telling you where a sentence sounds wrong, where it doesn’t come off right. They can tell you if you seem to be breaking a character from their normal actions. They can say if a scene is confusing, or unnecessary.

One of the most important things about a beta is to keep an open mind, to not be defensive of your work, and to have an open form of communication with your beta readers. They have to be able to tell you about a flaw, or a bad point in the story, honestly. They cannot be afraid that if they leave a comment to you, that you will get upset, that you won’t be able to take their critique in stride. That kind of communication is very important. I find that sometimes I have to distance myself from the critique if I find it to be too harsh and return to it later, when I can take the emotionality of the instance out of it.

Another thing that is important is to ask your betas specific questions as to what you want them to keep an eye out for. Depending on the story that your writing, you might want them to look for clues, you might want them to look for descriptions of people, you might want them to find Waldo, but you have to let them know that. If you perceive something to be weak in the story, then say what it is. Ask ‘is scene x weak, is it needed?’ or ‘does scene y read alright?’ or ‘does scene z seem rushed?’ or another specific question.

Wait to edit your work until you have read the critiques and input of the betas. That way when you do you’ll have the criticisms in mind, if you change a scene and then read it’s confusing for whatever reason, you may wind up later finding out that you only made things worse. (Or possibly you corrected the mistake)

Most importantly, appreciate the help they are giving you, and be sure to thank them for their help. They aren’t doing it for pay, generally, and just as you want a response for the work you’ve done, be sure to leave a kind word to the people who have worked for you. Make their job easier, if they prefer a certain type of document to read, send them that kind of document, if they’d rather chat with you about a story instead of email their comments, then find some time.


How to get beta readers

Well, oftentimes, ask! It’s usually that simple. Beta readers are usually people who are friendly to you, who want to help you out. Only send work to people your comfortable with, don’t send it to just some random bastard who you don’t know. There are a lot of people out there, some are positive people, and some are negative ones. This can be a friend and family for pieces that you are comfortable to share them with, or this can be someone you meet on the internet. But the bigger question is where to ask, where to find people there to help you. Generally, the best place to find help is where you plan to post it. Do you plan on writing an erotic story? Then wherever you post it, is wherever you should ask for help.

Many forums are a good place to find people who are willing to help lend a hand, particularly in a story section. Many forums for story sites have areas for beta readings, or work in progress areas where you can find people to help.

If you aren’t going to post it online, much of that information is still applicable. Oftentimes you can meet people in real life who are interested in reading your piece easier than if it was erotic, and you can keep yourself from blushing as you show it to them. If you’re in college many places have writing areas, or teacher’s aides that can offer up ideas and constructive criticism.

Do not just email or PM (private message) someone a story expecting a beta, even if they have beta read other stories for other people in the past. Ask first, it’s just the polite thing to do. Do not lay out a time table, do not expect them to get things done by a certain time. Everything takes time especially free things. Do not be rude to them if they point something out. Explain and discuss to them why you have done what you have done, and why you feel it’s important to the piece. It’s okay to defend something; it’s not okay to be defensive. There has to be a give and take between the two of you.

I hope this helps everyone out, and I hope to make this a regularly occurring feature on the website. Please feel free to leave any civil comments.