Or what's a beta for? And, is there a beta in your meta?

[red_satin_doll]

ETA 08/02/13: comlodge just re-stated the point in the convo thread below that I was attempting to make re: beta-readers and meta and did so better and far more concisely than I could ever hope to. I bow to her awesomeness.

I just noticed one more empty "pending" slot in the Beta catagory at the Running With Scissors Awards,  which seems odd to me. Thousands of fandom writers (theoretically) = thousands of betas (theoretically) = unable to fill six slots? Granted a good beta is hard to find - or rather, a successful author-beta partnership based on complete trust and respect for the other person may just be harder to find than a good marriage. The author needs to be able to choose someone who can offer objective, constructive criticism, not flames or insults; who can judge the work based upon what the writer is trying to achieve in the piece and how much it fails or succeeds in that goal; and the beta needs to be someone who can offer  help but then detach themselves and always remember it is the author's story, not their own.

On the other side of the page, nothing is more frustrating as a beta (I speak from experience, of course) than dealing with an author who says they want feedback when what they really want is praise. And this is true of 99% percent of the writers I've dealt with, who say they want "feedback" when what they're really after is ego strokes. Of course every writer wants that, but when an author is entering a relationship with a beta partner they need to be clear as to what, exactly they are looking for: an editor? A cheerleader? A teacher or taskmaster? Someone to brainstorm with? Line by line analysis of plot, structure, etc? Hugs and puppies? I'm not a beta for any writers in this fandom currently but I'm a "Muse" for one of my closest friend's novels (we prefer the title "Muse" to "beta"), and I've always been more than willing to give the writers I've working with the feedback they need, if they are willing to listen to what I have to say. (Why ask a beta for their opinion if you don't want to actually hear it?)

One thing I noticed since I've been a part of this fandom: betas are considered essential to fanfiction, to the point that authors actually apologize for not having a beta; why is it then that "meta" (nonfiction writing) posts very rarely mention the feedback of a beta? The exceptions I've seen have tended to be the more intellectual or academic fan essays and analysis. The other day I asked someone to beta a fanfic I'm working on but it's never occured to me to request feedback on a nonfiction fan essay before posting it.  Is it custom? Habit? Lack of interest in nonfiction writing in relation to fiction?

(ETA paragraph breaks, hyperlinks, and screencap. Clearly, this post needed a beta of it's own.)

Comments

[ruuger]

I think the difference is that a story is generally assumed to be a finished piece when it's posted, and in theory at least as good as it could be, whereas meta is often just a discussion opener where the reaction it inspires is as important as the original text. In a way the relationship between the writer and the people who respond to the meta replaces the beta process.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

a story is generally assumed to be a finished piece when it's posted....In a way the relationship between the writer and the people who respond to the meta replaces the beta process.

Huh. That's a good point and I hadn't thought of it that way before. that is, I'm aware that the two types of writing generate very different types of feedback - we're generally expecting or hoping for in-depth conversation from meta as opposed to fics. But that may also be part of the reason that fanfiction isn't as satisfying to me as a writer. Whereas comments to a meta may very well inspire another meta; and replies may in themselves become "metasplurges" of their own. (A term I'm borrowing from the lovely lanoyee.)

OTOH, I find for myself I've been very anxious (read: terrified) when I've posted meta here on my journal - not short off the cuff posts like this but the longer ones (as for The Big Damn Love Fest). I wanted them to be as good as possible, to be readable and accessible, to strike an emotional chord; any of the things I would want a story to do. So far I've been extremely gratified by the responses, but I have no idea what effect it will have until the comments come in.

I still think of myself as a storyteller, but using nonfiction rather than fiction, so there's an art and a craft to it. Are we perhaps unintentionally "downgrading" the art that it requires? Does it depend on what the writer wants to achieve and what style they use to do it? Is it a matter of confidence in one's audience/flist, or rather experience in the fandom (having developed a "network" so to speak?)