Experienced Editor/Beta Reader {available}

[thegoodestvibes]

DISCLAIMER: If I come off as an overconfident asshole because of how long this form is, I sincerely apologize. However, I’ve been taught to be a big believer of the whole, “saying too much is better than not saying enough” concept, and my only intention is to lay out every single detail on the table so that no question is left unanswered and no curiosities are left unfulfilled. So without further ado, sit back, relax, and enjoy the overly extensive passage that is my “portfolio” of sorts!


Also, if you need an example of writing from me to decide whether or not I'm a good fit for you, I'd be happy to provide a passage upon request! I have a story in development right now, so I'm pretty aware of what people are looking for/have enough experience to be able to share my own with you. 

Hello, lovelies!  

My name is Lindsey (TheGoodestVibes) and I am a verified editor/beta reader on this glorious place we like to call the worldwide web. When I say verified, I don’t just mean self-proclaimed. With four years of experience under my belt, I can proudly say that I’ve received various accreditations for my efforts in creative writing, subjective English and literature, and editorial assistance. You know, all the fancy stuff. As an active composer and avid reader of fanfiction, I find myself getting more and more bored with the publications of the modern day world, just knowing that there is so much potential possessed by the authors of fan written literature on sites like 1DFF, Wattpad, and many more. Even though I may come off as the newbie here on the boards, I can disclose that I once had an account here to base my experience off of, which I was unfortunately forced to delete due to personal reasons. However, I’m back, I’m eager, and I’m ready to be put to work!


Beta Skills: SPaG, Characterization, Plot Flow, Word Choice, Fact Checking, Smut Realism, (Just a bit of) Britpick and American Slang (If needed), and any possible brainstorming assistance you may need! [Also available for summary help now!]


Ratings: Any and all ratings are welcome!


Squicks: MPreg (This does not mean I’m opposed to helping with other Slash-related plots, just please. MPreg is where I draw the line, hahaha), BDSM, Child Abuse (Excludes a character having a history of child abuse. I just don't want to work with any active stories about the harm of a character classified as a minor)


Maximum Length of a Given Story (Chapter/Oneshot): I myself have been guilty of making a single fanfiction chapter 20 Microsoft Pages long, so I’m no stranger to reviewing lengthy pieces and will be open to passages of all sizes. Just understand that if your submission is longer, your request is naturally just going to take a bit more time to complete. [DISCLAIMER: Depending on the reaction I get to this thread, this might possibly change over time.]


How Long it Takes for you to Beta Something: As I stated in the section above, one major thing that dictates how long it takes me to edit a passage is the length of your piece. I myself am particularly fond of editing, so I have an intricate process when it comes to doing it; first, I read it once through just to get a general idea of the passage I’m working with. After that, I go through it again, piece by piece, and make a list of notes that include the following (upon request): SPaG changes, Comments on Characterization and/or Plot Flow, different wording/word choices, fact-checking corrections, comments/concerns for smut realism (if the passage contains any/author requests), and any Britpick corrections you ask me to take a look at. My list will be individualized, depending on what you ask me to look for. Those who only inquire about SPaG and Word Choice won’t take as much time as those of you who request for me to review all of the above. In most cases, I will give you an estimated amount of time just at first glance, and I will consistently update you on the status of my editing process. Just because I know my own schedule well enough to be able to make an estimate, the time it will take me to edit a piece will most likely often take anywhere between a few hours to a day or two. Only in special cases will a passage ever take me more than three days max, and if the circumstance comes about, you will be notified. So long story short (no pun intended), if you’re in search of someone who gets a piece completed within the first five minutes of submission, the attention I pay to each and every written word may get in the way of that.


When it comes to requests for brainstorming ideas, my process is a bit different. In these instances (If brainstorming is the only thing you’ve requested of me), I will simply read the passage once over and participate in an active discussion with you on what it is you’re asking me to help you come up with. This procedure is much more intimate and involved and doesn’t necessarily have any time limit or frame. It simply requires your participation and a few PM’s back and forth!


Now that I have that out of the way, I've got one more thing to address; my terms and conditions. I know, I’m already the jerk who took up almost a whole page for just a form but just hang in there, we’re almost done.


Terms of Agreement


1. Users interested in utilizing me as a beta reader must first express interest in the thread. If I’m available for use, I will reply back and ask that you PM me a few things along with your submission (If this is the first time we’re working together/you have a new story or one-shot in need of review): A quick summary of your overall story/one-shot, the specific things you’d like me to take a look at (Listed in Beta Skills), and the word count of your passage. Please title your message as, "Beta Needed - [Your Username Here]"


2. I’m only going to be accepting one chapter/one-shot per person at a time, so please refrain from asking me to do multiple, unless the chapters/one-shots you’d like to submit are under 1,750 words. That is the only way I will make an exception.


3. As of now, the cap I have in place for the amount of stories I’ll take at a time is set at 15 [Note that this is susceptible to change with time]. However, this excludes people who have asked me to become their long-term beta reader [if interested, please state this in your submission] and authors who only wish to inquire about brainstorming. I will eventually, if needed, establish a cap for the amount of long term stories I will take on, but brainstorming will be left unlimited. In the event (even though I’m most likely just being a big shot and overcompensating) that I hit my cap, I will either make the decision to increase it, based on my schedule, or place you on the waiting list that I’ve had to use in the past. However, don’t fear the idea of it, because it rarely happens, and when it has, the longest anyone has ever been on it before I got to their request was three hours.



Well, with all of that being said, I think I’m finally done! I promise you, I’m not a stuck up bitch who thinks she needs rules and regulations because of the “demand.” I swear I’m probably one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, and one of the easiest to work with! Anyways, thank you for taking the time to read over all of this nonsense. I look forward to embarking on all of your literary journeys with you and can only pray that my services will help you on your road to complete and utter success. Xx

[sorry darling]

I feel as if you have graduate degree's from the most prestige college's and I am simply a (community) college drop out. This also feels a lot like a contract, but that's kind of wickedly cool. I would love to work with you, of course that would mean you'd have to love to work with me, (or at least want to, or somewhere in the vicinity.) but I highly doubt that, this next bit I am about to type is simply if you decide to beta some of my work. I have legitimately no idea how this works, or how I am supposed to respond to such a qualified individual. Therefore please forgive me, if I am - for lack of better words - an ignorant, inexperienced, child. I am only fourteen, and I've been writing for a couple of years now I am just in the early stages of finding my style, if you will. Whereas I don't believe I am god's gift to the eight grade literature community, I think that I am slightly better than most of the kids in my grade. (I understand how that makes me sound, very pretentious indeed, but to sum it up for you, most of the kids in my grade are just know learning what quotation marks are.) Of course there are a few exceptions, because one I am speaking of my school specifically, and let's face it, there's probably a world of gifted fourteen year old 's who write just as good and or better than me. I already see incredible talent here and I've only been here a couple of days, most of the people here aren't much older than me, but I figure a few more years worth of experience would already put them far ahead of me, but that doesn't mean I won't catch up. (I feel like I am writing an essay to a college of some sorts.) The first thing you might want to know is my stories are almost always narrative, because dialogue is incredibly difficult for me. I find joy in writing of feeling, or speaking of sights and sounds. The way people talk, the words they say, use, etc set's up their whole personality and can often time determine the likability of such character. I am terrible at dialogue, because I can never find the right words, and half the time it tends to come out as over analyzed drama. I am not even remotely good at dialogue, therefore I like to stick to narrative. (Which is an incredibly impossible task when I have to write at school and we focus on dialogue, not that you needed to know that or anything.) I would love to say that this conclude's my incredibly long (passage? paragraph?) but I am not yet done, almost, but not yet. I apologize severely if this has become too long, or you wanted a simple, 'Hey I want to work with you.' I enjoy the idea of having a beta, and someone I can talk to about my work, and figure out the style I want to convey and the message I want people to hear - read - therefore I would be absolutely ecstatic if you agree'd to work with me. I am sorry if this is an incredibly strange response, I kind of just rushed into it with little regard or thought of consequence. I apologize if I have come across as pretentious, or overly confident. I feel as if this is far too formal, I just wanted something I could match you're well written list of credentials, rules, etc. I won't be like this all of the time, I swear, most of the time I am pretty cool and forget to capitalize letters when I type. Also I apologize for my strange metaphor, (can it be considered a metaphor, this is why I am still in school) at the beginning. Once again I would be absolutely overjoyed if you agree'd to work with me. This is where I conclude my message, and finally get ready for school. 

P.S. I could give you an example of my writing, if you need it. Which I'd understand why, now I am officially done, I promise.

[thegoodestvibes]

Oct 16, 2015 12:12:33 GMT sorry darling said:

I feel as if you have graduate degree's from the most prestige college's and I am simply a (community) college drop out. This also feels a lot like a contract, but that's kind of wickedly cool. I would love to work with you, of course that would mean you'd have to love to work with me, (or at least want to, or somewhere in the vicinity.) but I highly doubt that, this next bit I am about to type is simply if you decide to beta some of my work. I have legitimately no idea how this works, or how I am supposed to respond to such a qualified individual. Therefore please forgive me, if I am - for lack of better words - an ignorant, inexperienced, child. I am only fourteen, and I've been writing for a couple of years now I am just in the early stages of finding my style, if you will. Whereas I don't believe I am god's gift to the eight grade literature community, I think that I am slightly better than most of the kids in my grade. (I understand how that makes me sound, very pretentious indeed, but to sum it up for you, most of the kids in my grade are just know learning what quotation marks are.) Of course there are a few exceptions, because one I am speaking of my school specifically, and let's face it, there's probably a world of gifted fourteen year old 's who write just as good and or better than me. I already see incredible talent here and I've only been here a couple of days, most of the people here aren't much older than me, but I figure a few more years worth of experience would already put them far ahead of me, but that doesn't mean I won't catch up. (I feel like I am writing an essay to a college of some sorts.) The first thing you might want to know is my stories are almost always narrative, because dialogue is incredibly difficult for me. I find joy in writing of feeling, or speaking of sights and sounds. The way people talk, the words they say, use, etc set's up their whole personality and can often time determine the likability of such character. I am terrible at dialogue, because I can never find the right words, and half the time it tends to come out as over analyzed drama. I am not even remotely good at dialogue, therefore I like to stick to narrative. (Which is an incredibly impossible task when I have to write at school and we focus on dialogue, not that you needed to know that or anything.) I would love to say that this conclude's my incredibly long (passage? paragraph?) but I am not yet done, almost, but not yet. I apologize severely if this has become too long, or you wanted a simple, 'Hey I want to work with you.' I enjoy the idea of having a beta, and someone I can talk to about my work, and figure out the style I want to convey and the message I want people to hear - read - therefore I would be absolutely ecstatic if you agree'd to work with me. I am sorry if this is an incredibly strange response, I kind of just rushed into it with little regard or thought of consequence. I apologize if I have come across as pretentious, or overly confident. I feel as if this is far too formal, I just wanted something I could match you're well written list of credentials, rules, etc. I won't be like this all of the time, I swear, most of the time I am pretty cool and forget to capitalize letters when I type. Also I apologize for my strange metaphor, (can it be considered a metaphor, this is why I am still in school) at the beginning. Once again I would be absolutely overjoyed if you agree'd to work with me. This is where I conclude my message, and finally get ready for school. 

P.S. I could give you an example of my writing, if you need it. Which I'd understand why, now I am officially done, I promise.

You'll have to excuse me for how short my response to this will be because for a fourteen-year-old, you've absolutely struck me speechless. I would most definitely love to work with you! Your writing style is seemingly impeccable, and this is only your introductory paragraph. I think you and I will work splendidly together, and I could even help you with your dialouge (I agree, it's really tricky). Send me a PM at your earliest convenience and we can work something out.