I've noticed in this thread that there are alot of requests for Beta-reading services but none around that discuss what a Beta actually does, and how they go about betaing a person's ficlet.

I don't beta and have never betaed before.

But I ask those that have done and do both.

How do you Beta a ficlet?

LOL Sorry I use ficlet as a general term meaning for me at least any piece of fiction be it fanfiction, drabble, or novel or anything.

Genre is irrelevant.

I've just always wondered how peeps that Beta well Beta XD.

Sorry about the confusion!

~ Pyre

Wow, thanks everyone!

I had thought that overall that everything you've all said was what a Beta did in general too, but with no experience myself, you can only hypothesize so much.

XD.

Thanks for the feedback.

~ Pyre

P.S: And it's posted my overall reply after my own post. >.>. Sometimes I'm sure Sesshy is behind a PC somewhere intentionally mucking around with Dokuga to make you know accidental if annoying funnies.

.

I've betaed for multiple authors and still do so I might be able to help lol but I'm not sure what you mean by 'ficlet'.

I've had a a beta for most of the time I've been writing fanfiction, and on occasion I beta for some of my IRL friends who don't have English as their first language.

As BelovedStranger pointed out, I'm not sure what you mean by ficlet, just a fanfic in general or a short fic like a drabble or oneshot?

Nevertheless, what beta does depends largely on what the author wants them to do. For me, both as a writer and as a beta, it has always been limited to proofreading. Catching faulty grammar and typos, pointing out sentences that although correct could be improved on, etc.

Some writers might prefer to also get tips on the plot line of their fic, continuity, characterisations... you name it.
Basically, I've always seen it so that a beta is to a fanfic writer what an editor is to an author, more or less.

Chie wrote:
Nevertheless, what beta does depends largely on what the author wants them to do. For me, both as a writer and as a beta, it has always been limited to proofreading. Catching faulty grammar and typos, pointing out sentences that although correct could be improved on, etc.

Some writers might prefer to also get tips on the plot line of their fic, continuity, characterisations... you name it.
Basically, I've always seen it so that a beta is to a fanfic writer what an editor is to an author, more or less.

Same here. Any beta work I have ever done was limited to basically being a second set of eyes to go over the story and check for grammar/spelling errors. I would also keep an eye out for any potential plot holes. Beyond that, I wouldn't offer any major suggestions on plot or style of writing unless the author asked it of me. After all, it is the author's story, so the big things like the plot, characterizations, and style should be what the author wants, not what the beta wants.

I do all what the others have mention about grammar, spelling, etc, but I also do keep an eye out on plot to make sure it is strong, that it is consistent and makes sense. I even look out for an author if the writing style somehow shifts from the norm of the story or if the characterization is off from how he/she has been portrayed thus far.
If asked, I even help an author if he/she is stuck on the plot on his/her muse just doesn't want to cooperate so we bounce ideas back and forth until the author is happy and can continue writing.
When making corrections/edits, I keep what is wrong but make my corrections/edits in parenthesis and highlight them red so my author's can see their mistakes and learn from them. I also make suggestions in parentheses but highlight them blue if I see something that could be added to a sentence or paragraph to make the story 'pop' more if I think it necessary, however, those are only suggestions and not edits so the author does NOT have to follow the blue suggestions.

As an author, I just want my spelling and grammar to be corrected. Of course any additional feedback is appreciated, but what I want from my beta is mainly just proofreading. My beta adds in corrections on red, but she never actually changes anything on the text itself. I'm rather particular as to my word choices and such, so I want to clearly see what is mine and what is my betas suggestion. (I freely admit to being a bit of a control freak. )

Since I know as a writer I am quite particular about my text, I'm probably not as aggressive a beta as my friend would want me to be. Again, I mainly correct grammar, sentence structure and flow. My friend does usually ask my opinion on the chapter, and I give her that, but I don't really focus on the plot or characterisations as such. I make my corrections using the comment tool on MS Word.

Depending on the writer's wants, I can be anywhere from basic proof-reading to ripping their work to proverbial shreds by pointing out continuity issues, structural inconsistencies, grammar minutiae, over usage of words and clichés, etc. I try to always offer constructive criticism, and point out strong aspects of the story; especially when working with writer's still learning the technical aspects of the craft.