What makes a good beta

[malenkayacherepakha]

We had an interesting conversation in one of my group chats today prompted by the question: do you think a bad writer can be a good beta?

The general consensus was yes, they can still be a valuable help, because beta'ing isn't just about checking the technical side of the writing, but also about making sure the plot works, that the pacing and characterisation are right etc, and if someone is a good reader they can check for those things. To me it's another good reason to have more than one beta - everyone has different strengths and can check your fic for different things, all of which are important for making a fic work.

I thought I'd throw that question out here too, to see what you all thought, and also tack on a follow up - what do you think are the important qualities a good beta needs?

Comments

[magpie_fngrl]

What I'd like to add is that betas in fanfic are the same as authors: doing this for fun. Fanfic authors want their story to be fun and exciting and as good as they can make it, but I wonder how many of them would shred the whole thing and start again if a beta suggested that they need to completely restructure the plot.

Writing with a view to publish professionally is different. It's... I see it as competitive writing if that makes sense. I'd shared a chapter with my writing group and, based on their feedback, went and rewrote the first half entirely. Would many fic authors do the same when they have a completed story they've worked on for weeks? In that case, if I were to beta such a fic, I might suggest ways to make the scene stronger, even if it's a complete dud, instead of suggesting they rewrite it (unless the author was up for it). With original, the suggestions don't involve only making a chapter stronger. It has to stand out, it has to hold the agent's attention past the first page, it has to progress X Y Z etc. So if I need to rewrite it 5 times, I will.

(OK I'm more or less the same in fic, but I don't know how many other people are like that)

This is also to say that a lot of my thoughts at the moment revolve around a different field than fandom so they're bound to be different to what you're asking.

[malenkayacherepakha]

This is a good point and one that's very interesting to consider - I've definitely felt before that I can't be as, idk, harsh? while betaing as I could be because it doesn't feel appropriate for fanfic that someone is writing for fun. I can imagine some writers would be totally okay with it, but I expect the majority would be seriously unimpressed (which is fine!)

It's interesting to see how the topic is different in different fields, it gives an interesting outside perspective!