Aha! I'm glad you asked. I have a little essay about it here (http://www.icarus.slashcity.net/essays/beta.html).
Different betas check different things. All betas review for tpyos, messpellings, where there be bad grammar, and punctuation errors;
Most of the betas I find on lists do only this sort of copyediting.
Other betas also check for consistency (watch for scenes where Ron has blue eyes in one and amber eyes in the next) and continuity (you don't want someone to walk through a door and then open it). I know it sounds silly that we might have these errors, but it's surprising what happens when you edit, edit, and re-edit your own work.
Then last, a beta might check for characterisation (would Snape really burst into tears?), pacing (okay, we've had nine pages of mind-numbing description of a Quidditch match...), plot-holes (whoa, wait-a-minute, Harry has a spell on that can make him see in the dark, so why can't he see Voldemort in the cave?), and phrasing (okay, you got your meaning across, but it's awkward and hard to read).
Different people are good at different types of betas.
wildernessguru, though not a writer, can spot a plot-hole a mile away. He's also great at pacing, consistency, and continuity. He keeps all the details in his head.
I had one beta who was an absolute stickler for SPAG errors and consistency of where I used italics. I didn't even see the italics-thing, I just obeyed, and then later realised what she meant.
For myself, if you want a beta for SPAG errors, well... I'm okay, but not great as a copyeditor (I get bored). But when it comes to characterisation, pacing, and a top-down look at a story, I can help by pointing out story's structural strengths and weaknesses. In the past I've been good at taking a story that is utterly unreadable and teaching the new writer the skill she (or he) needs to take their writing to the next level.
I don't fix too much because I'm not focused on the story, but on developing the writer. Even with experienced writers I notice larger patterns, are their main characters fleshed out but the OCs flat, what it is about their world-building that doesn't quite convince, that sort of thing. So I'm not a good beta, but I am a good encouraging person to develop your writing.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2005-11-15 05:26 pm (UTC)Different betas check different things. All betas review for tpyos, messpellings, where there be bad grammar, and punctuation errors;
Most of the betas I find on lists do only this sort of copyediting.
Other betas also check for consistency (watch for scenes where Ron has blue eyes in one and amber eyes in the next) and continuity (you don't want someone to walk through a door and then open it). I know it sounds silly that we might have these errors, but it's surprising what happens when you edit, edit, and re-edit your own work.
Then last, a beta might check for characterisation (would Snape really burst into tears?), pacing (okay, we've had nine pages of mind-numbing description of a Quidditch match...), plot-holes (whoa, wait-a-minute, Harry has a spell on that can make him see in the dark, so why can't he see Voldemort in the cave?), and phrasing (okay, you got your meaning across, but it's awkward and hard to read).
Different people are good at different types of betas.
I had one beta who was an absolute stickler for SPAG errors and consistency of where I used italics. I didn't even see the italics-thing, I just obeyed, and then later realised what she meant.
For myself, if you want a beta for SPAG errors, well... I'm okay, but not great as a copyeditor (I get bored). But when it comes to characterisation, pacing, and a top-down look at a story, I can help by pointing out story's structural strengths and weaknesses. In the past I've been good at taking a story that is utterly unreadable and teaching the new writer the skill she (or he) needs to take their writing to the next level.
I don't fix too much because I'm not focused on the story, but on developing the writer. Even with experienced writers I notice larger patterns, are their main characters fleshed out but the OCs flat, what it is about their world-building that doesn't quite convince, that sort of thing. So I'm not a good beta, but I am a good encouraging person to develop your writing.
I hope that's helpful.
Icarus