Are You a Grammar Fanatic? · 6:51pm Dec 10th, 2015
Hey guys! Viking here with a question for all of you.
Are you a grammar fanatic? The kind who can spot a misplaced apostrophe or a double space and fix it with a sizzling glare that would make a vengeful nun think twice about reaching for her ruler? If you answered yes to even half of that, then you're exactly who I'm looking for!
Unusual Events is now in Beta, which means that I need Beta readers. Right now I have two, but I'd like to have three or four. Beta readers, if you're unsure, are readers that go through and look for grammatical errors, typos, misplaced apostrophes, homophones, or Word Autocorrect (I hate that feature sometimes) goofing up. Basically, this is the cleanup of all the tiny errors that have survived until now, readying the book for publication (at which point, all the rest of you will be able to get your hands on it!).
So, anyone up for it?
*Do understand that there is a significant time investment in Beta reading. You will be actively reading through 140,000-odd words worth of short stories.
I might if I didn't have term finals to worry about. But good luck finding people.
We really need some ultimate authority to dictate what the different terms mean.
Because I would call this a proofreader, copy editor, or line editor.
A beta reader, I'd say, is an inexperienced member of your target audience who reads through it before publication and gives you their impression of the story in general, maybe pointing out parts they think worked very well or very poorly... to give you an idea of what impression the story will make on its audience while you still have time to adjust things.
3608309
What you just described is an Alpha reader, and that comes before Beta reading.
3608315
You see, everybody's got different definitions.
3608336
The definitions I've gone by are the same ones used by authors and publishers like Baen, so they're fairly standard across the industry. eARC, for example, stands for "Electronic Alpha Reader Copy," an early-access book that is before proofreading and the Beta copy, and those have been around for 2 or 3 years by now. The terms are pretty common.
If you still need someone in about a week, I might be able and willing to give it a try. But until then, I have finals that need to be dealt with.
I'd love to give you a hand, though I can't promise complete mastery of the english language
3608387 personally I can't help but think if anyone claims 'complete mastery of the English language,' they are either deluded or lying.
Now that I got my daily dig at my native tongue out of the way,
just wanted to say to anyone considering it, if you have the time the stories are all great and worth the effort.
3608387
Fire me a PM with an e-mail compatible with Google Drive, and I'll see about getting you Beta reader access! Thank you!
3608248
I don't miss finals. Good luck!
3608361
Pretty much what I said above. I don't envy you, and wish you the best of luck. If you're still interested when finals are over for you, let me know!
I'd be halpy to help if you're still looking. Gotta stretch my paper writing/reviewing skills every once in a while.