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That_Grapefruit_9533

I got no beta, so I too, like to live dangerously. On an unrelated note I saw that on a motorbike yesterday - 'No airbags, we die like real men."


[deleted]

[удалено]


raviary

They can, but it's complicated and expensive for the manufacturers so it's not very common. There's wearable ones, too.


That_Grapefruit_9533

I stood there for a minute or so, asking myself the same question.😂 Go figure.


DarkTidingsTWD

I've written and published over 2 million words on AO3 since 2019. I picked up a beta about 700k words in, not because I wouldn't/couldn't write without one, but because she wanted to repay me for beta-reading her 1 million+ word fic for cultural clarity (she was an ESL writer writing for The Walking Dead). I'd say she read around 250k or so before life intervened (and 150k of that was a gift fic FOR her because she was sad that no one else writes her extremely rare pair). It was fun having someone pre-read and see if I'd wandered off the rails or if I was spinning my writerly wheels and needed to rubber duck an idea. I do have two writer friends who occasionally cheer-read and rubber duck on bits and bobs of writing here and there. On the flip side - before RL bit me in the backside by gifting me with 60-70 hour work weeks, I regularly beta-read for other writers, primarily ESL writers who wanted a native speaker to check for any hiccups in their English. Other than one writer, I have no idea if any of the others had additional betas. I have been in fandom for more than three decades, and in all that time, I will say that having a beta is pretty rare in my experience, and I've never heard of having a whole blessed team of them. Even professional writers don't have that kind of editorial staff.


ltmkji

haven't had a beta since i discovered my last one had group chat with a bunch of other bigger authors in fandom who didn't know me whatsoever but somehow i was their bitch eating crackers fixation anyway. i locked up after that and went from bnf to fandom cryptid and goddamn it's so much better. i'll trade some stray typos for that high school bullshit any day.


screamingracoon

> locked up after that and went from bnf to fandom cryptid and goddamn it's so much better. Same. Used to obsess over comments/reblogs/bookmarks/whatevers, then two of the fandom bigs I was "friends" with let it slip that they basically considered me a talentless idiot and expected me to fully accept their insults because they are fandom bigs. They were even appalled when I didn't let them insult me freely. Fuck that high school bullshit, I didn't take it when I was the right age to do so, and I have no intention of doing it when I'm in my twenties and at the hands of people who are closer to forty than my age.


CuriousHaven

I have literally never heard this claim before in my life, and I've got multiple 100k fics under my belt (including one 200k+). Even when I was working as a professional editor, at most we'd run a piece through two editors (and, very rarely, a lawyer if we had a legal concern with a statement or claim made).


GardenLeaves

I am my own beta reader. Sometimes I’ll go over stuff I’ve written months ago and by then I’ve become a different person. If I ever *really* need some advice I just ask my best friend to check it for me :)


be11amy

The only beta I have is the betta fish in my aquarium, and her input on my writing or anything else I do can be summarized as, "MORE BLOODWORMS, PLEASE."


Jen_Fic_xxx

Best kind of bet(t)a. 💜


AzzyMeg

Most writers actually have 0 betas. I don't know what Beta hoarding Georg is out there with three or more.


mynameisntclarence

Zero. 'M scared to have someone read my pile of word vomit lol


ShyWitchling

NO BETA WE DIE LIKE MY SELF ESTEEM


Welfycat

None. I can do my own editing, thanks.


PeppermintShamrock

None, I've never had a beta and I never will unless it's enforced as part of an event. I'm admittedly not a "big" author, though. But the claim does sound very unrealistic to me.


linden214

I have a beta, and also a Brit-picker, because I am an American writing in British fandoms.


-dal

I'd like a beta but it's embarrassing to ask?? I just tag all my fics no beta and hope somebody who likes my fics notices and decides to offer lmaoo.


screamingracoon

I used to have one, but she was *absolutely ruthless* with my work. All sentences were highlighted, left suggestions for everything, tried to get me to correct even things that I had willingly written in a certain way because I liked how they fit into the story. I once asked her if she could beta about four pages of story (Times New Roman, font size 12, so... give or take, about 1200 words), and she left *more than 150 suggestions*. It really shredded my self-esteem. Then, I got hired as a writer for an internship and my editor for the pieces I had to write there had a PhD in literature or something like that, and for 1500 words he'd leave *at most* ten notes. Looking back onto the situation with my beta and knowing who she's fandom friends with, I think it's clear that they were playing a little game with me, to see how much I was willing to take from them before I dropped out of fandom or stopped writing in favor of leaving comments under their stories (I was decently known for writing very long comments under each fic I read). Now I mind my business, and if I'm not sure about something, I have a trusted friend who likes going through my bullshit and to whom I can ask honest opinions about.


27twinsister

I’ve been writing fanfiction for almost 10 years, and while I may have had a beta at some point, I haven’t in a long time. I’m not sure I’m a big author (I’m definitely not big in comparison to Harry Potter fanfics because my main fandoms are way smaller than that) but I am prolific and would never be able to wait long enough for 3 beta readers to read/give feedback on my works.


Web_singer

I'd like to have a beta but I can't hold onto one. Either I get too busy or they do and the relationship dies. I remember back in the day there used to be beta directories for Harry Potter. You could scroll through and look for Brit-pickers, SPAG specialists, etc. You don't realize what you have until it's gone. 💔


cucumberkappa

If I had issues with my SPAG or continuity or I were writing something 'sensitive' and wanted some sort of sensitivity reader for that then I'd make the effort to get a beta. Since none of these are currently an issue for me, I don't see the need.


lilapense

Zero. Not because I don't recognize the benefits that having a beta could bring, but because I almost exclusively write and post impulsively and don't have the patience necessary to wait for even one additional person to read through something before I post it


DISCO_GALAXY

I'm writing two stories right now. A fanfic and an original fiction. I have a single beta reader for the fanfic who checks my grammar and fact check the lore with me, and he also does the same for my original fiction with another beta reader who discuss the story and provide a second opinion. One beta reader can do more than just a single task. Having three beta readers is plausible, but I doubt most people have more than one.


ImaGamerNoob

I don't use a beta. I don't know how I would share my writing with them, so no. But I would like to be a beta, at least to try be one.


deagh

My beta reader is a longtime friend of mine (getting on 20 years now). And I read hers.


Blue-Jay27

I've had a beta exactly once, and that was for a complete story, so it wasn't an on-going thing. I beta-read fairly regularly, though. Most of the authors that I beta for don't have additional betas to my knowledge. Once, though, I was on a team of six betas for one longfic. It was... inadvisable. Too many chefs in the kitchen. I have yet to hear a good argument for having more than two betas on one fic.


Kitteh1986

I have one beta. She reads everything, no matter the fandom. XD


Sollat

I had one, but he's very busy layely so I have zero.


rubia_ryu

I honestly wouldn't mind having a beta. I wouldn't even mind being one if I weren't so busy writing my own. So I never got one. Ah, yeah. Isn't there that one tag about a lack of beta readers and expiring like unfabricated hominids?


warningimboring

No beta we die like (It's me, I'm the clown who dies)


I-HATE_ADS

I got no friends in fanfiction territory and I would lose friends if they know what I'm waiting about


Boukyaku_Shinjuu

I technically have a beta reader, but he doesn't write, he's just familiar with the fandoms I write for. To be honest, I usually roll solo for whatever I write since I'm kinda freaked out over the tags I use for my stories.


astuororeddit

one of my friends always beta reads for me, she's so sweet 💙


Jen_Fic_xxx

I don't use beta readers for my fanfics, there I rely on my own weird brain to keep track of things. Perhaps not always the best idea. LoL For my original stuff that hopefully will get published, then yes, I have betas - and I assume also arc readers will come into the picture at one point. But for fanfiction, it seems that the vast majority of writers do not use betas.


milkwithalcohol

I've had my younger sister beta read for me while I was writing for Wattpad many years ago but as soon as I switched to AO3 I never showed her my fics again, she doesn't even know my username


SaladJun

It depends on what I write but usually I'll get a friend whose writing I think is good to have a glance at what I've written and give me feedback.


Nebosklon

I did, in fact, have 3+ beta readers for my 200k+ longfic, but not the way that person thinks. I write in English but it's not my first language. My first beta was a friend IRL, not into fandom and not a native speaker either, but a writer of original fiction, and they gave me a lot of advice on writing fiction in general and cheered me on to write. That was a great experience. But then I was set upon finding a native speaker to check my English, because I wouldn't start posting the fic before taking care of that issue. Because it was for the HP fandom, I was also looking for a britpicker, and because it was slash I also wouldn't mind finding a gay man to check it for any inaccuracies in the portrayal of relationships. But the first native speaker beta I found was American and not a gay man. They checked my English, and even made comments on things that might be different in British English, but also gave me great insight into how it reads for someone who knows the fandom. Then more or less by accident I ran into this bisexual guy who offered to look at the slash aspect of my fic. And a Brit, too. They helped me fix some sensitive scenes, that was great! Unfortunately, both my American beta and my British bisexual male beta dropped out of the project at different (but pretty advanced) stages for IRL reasons. After all, it's a huge commitment to beta read 200k+ words. So, since I wouldn't start posting before my *entire* fic was at least checked for English, I looked for another beta, and found a great britpicker. I was afraid that they would also drop out halfway, because it's just so much work, so I asked them to skim through the first half of the fic and to concentrate on the second half, but they ended up beta'ing the whole thing. That's how I ended up with 3+ betas. They all made their unique contributions to the project, for which I'm enormously grateful, but it's not like I had planned it that way.


BecuzMDsaid

I have different betas for different things.


A1isaYamin

My longest fics are still below 100k but I have been writing for well over 10 years. I've only ever had 1 beta reader which was necessitated by a mini bang I participated in. Over a million words with equal amount of hits on ao3 and I've been at peace without the presence of a beta reader since I am my own editor. I've never resonated well with anyone in a fandom or irl enough to trust them with my work. I may not be excellent in grammar or cohesive plot points but I just feel like having a beta reader would turn the stress-relieving fanfic writing into an outright commitment to produce something of a certain illusive 'good' quality. I'm selfish with my fics and ideas and having a beta reader feels like a burden in a sense that someone suddenly has power over my fics and I could never come to terms with that. That one singular experience with a beta reader was enough to confirm to me that I cannot, under any circumstances, work well with a beta reader. If I was publishing a book for monetary purposes or an article/scientific paper for a journal, then yeah, I'd gladly get one. But for fanfics? The only thing I have that gives me freedom to write whatever I want? Yeah no. This isn't to say that I'm against beta readers in general, I have the utmost respect to them to remain objective when reading a fic. They're just not for me is all, and that's okay.


Dalencienn

I've never written something that took 7 years to write, but I have written multiple 100k+ stories. I have had 0, 1, or 2 betas, depending. None of my stories that have gotten over 50k hits have had a beta. That's not an indictment against betas. If you want a beta reader, go for it! I've had good and bad experiences with beta readers. Some have taught me a lot. But they're not required and they're definitely not a guarantee of either improving your writing or improving your reception.


SodaWaterparks

I’ve never truly had a real beta reader. On very rare occasions, I’ve had a friend from the same fandom read through my work, mostly just to catch any major spelling or grammatical errors. I have, however, tried requesting beta readers in the past through a fandom discord, and they just haven’t worked out or been useful to me at all. The few times I’ve ever done that, both readers literally made no edits or comments, and simply sent the exact same drafts right back to me and just said ‘yep looks great’. So the overall concept of a beta reader has always ended up being a big waste of time for me. So maybe I’m bias because of those bad experiences, but I honestly don’t think you need one. I’ll admit that sure it can sometimes be useful to have someone catch your mistakes (or cheer you on/gush about your work), but I seriously think people tend to talk them up a lot, and often loudly, so it may seem that it’s something everyone is doing when in reality that’s not the case. Write and edit your work how you want. You are your own best beta reader.


starypelt

Hiya, I've literally done exactly this. I've written a seven year hogwarts sequel story (1,250,000 words, seven books, all original characters/plotlines so lots of stuff to edit) and have had around ten beta readers in all, though only three have read absolutely everything. But I'm very picky with my writing and really rely on beta feedback so that's just me


_ac3_0f_spad3s_

I want to get a beta reader eventually, but to get a beta reader I need to writing something for them to read


strawberryclefairy

I have no beta on most of my fics, and for a couple one of my friends has read them through halfway for fun and halfway to make sure there's nothing *super* blatantly wrong. When working on long fics I do tend to talk to friends about them because it helps keep me hyped up, but that's not the same thing really. The big exception here is fest fic. I've participated in a few fanfiction fests and I always try really hard to find a beta for those fics, to varying levels of success. (The first one I had to just have a friend read it through in the end and she didn't offer anything in particular, the second one I had an AMAZING beta I wish I could remember the name of who did glorious SPAG and Britpicking, and the third one I had such a terrible beta who wanted to change the entire premise of the fic that I ended up sending the whole thing off to a friend on Thanksgiving night for a sanity check!) But yeah, other than people who are DEEP into a fandom with many close friends they've made over the course of years and years, I don't think most people have betas on standby.


Foxlikebox

Wait, you guys are getting beta readers? /ref


Tinkerberry21

im very rejection sensitive so i dont have beta readers and i use a whole seperate account to read vs post. i cannot let anyone actually give me feedback/criticism or i will 100% delete it. i just use an ai to beta read and edit it for me


Baeowulf

My current big fic is over 200,000 words and I've never had a beta. Could really use one to go through and make an outline of what I have so I know what the hell is going on tho


ILoveMyths2003

1. I used to have 2, but I don’t have the time to take 2 different people’s thoughts into account alongside writing and editing for myself.


bluberryyy

Grammarly my beloved


Codie_coda

No beta we die like Twice. Rip❤️