Oh Damn, People

my dad: i thought it was bones

me:

Source is Instagram user thatmodernlife. Per Reddit, this post was deleted quickly, and was captioned:

or a poor wounded vulture, fleeing for his life

but other chapters are just like. two people in sleeping bags having an awkward conversation. it’s very uneven

First of all, thank you for hosting so many discussions on your blog. It's always incredibly interesting to learn how fandom-related outlooks and experiences differ between individuals.

The topic of feedback and beta-reading has been particularly curious to me. However, while reading through the responses, I couldn't shake off the feelings that the underlying definitions used by each person may also be a fascinating thing to explore.

As such, if you don't mind: what would you describe as "inappropriate feedback"? What characteristics does it have? And likewise, what do you think is "appropriate feedback"? What's your personal guideline for that? Thank you for answering, and well... I would be thrilled to learn what your audience thinks too. 👉👈

Feedback that I give during beta reading is quite different from comments I leave on posted works.

First of all, when I'm a beta, I'm seeing the work while it's still being actively worked on and edited. That means I can make suggestions that I wouldn't make on a posted work - anything that's posted won't be edited beyond fixing typos.

Second of all, when I'm a beta I have a relationship with the author. I might or might not know them beyond being their beta, but as their beta I've talked to them about their story. I know what their goal is for the fic. I've asked about what their priorities are, what they're trying to improve, what they don't want me to comment on.

So for me, "appropriate feedback" is anything that falls within the boundaries they've asked for help with, that I have knowledge of, and that is aimed at helping the author make their story the best that it can be.

Inappropriate feedback would be:

commenting on something they've asked me not to comment on

commenting on an aspect that I'm not knowledgeable about (for example, I won't comment on characterization if I'm a casual fan or if I haven't interacted with canon at all)

making suggestions that would change their writing style to be more like my writing style

making suggestions that would change the story into something different from what they've told me they're trying to do

My goal as a beta is to help an author solidify the story they're already telling, clarify the voice they're already using, and support any areas where they feel like they need support.

I also love it when authors allow me to cheer read and add in comments about parts that I particularly enjoy. Not everyone wants that, but it makes me so happy to have that little back and forth of "OMG I LOVE THIS!" and "YAY! I'm glad that worked!"

Cheer reader comments are the kinds of things that I leave on posted fics as well.

Things I'm usually looking for when betaing or asking for from a beta are:

Spelling, Grammar, and Punctuation (SPAG) - Did I drop a comma? Did I drop a letter? Did I accidentally use too instead of two because I wrote it at two am in a dark room with a cat yelling at me?

Readability - Are there any clunky phrasing or convoluted sentences or otherwise confusing passages? Are there word choices that make the meaning of a passage unclear because of multiple definitions and insufficient context? Is that intentional?

Characterization - Does the overall POV voice seem in character for the POV character? Do dialogue bits seem in character for those characters? Is it consistent throughout? If not, does it serve a purpose and is it intentional? If I don't know the canon sufficiently, it's mainly looking for consistent characterization.

Worldbuilding - In AUs or other bits where I've made up new world rules, are they consistent? Are they internally logical? Are they interesting? Are there unintended implications that I missed noticing?

Canon Compliance - Does it break with canon? Is that intentional? (canon is a buffet to choose what you want and ignore the rest -especially for DC comics with their own conflicting canon- but I think that works best if you are aware and actively choosing to ignore that bit of canon.) Are there interesting call backs to canon that provide more depth to the passage? Does that add unintended context or change the way it will be interpreted from the intention?

Insider Trading - Did I claim something about laws that's actively incorrect? Applying the specialized knowledge and real world skills that the beta has to the story. I have a Masters of Accountancy, so if the fic mentions accounting in a way that doesn't make sense to me, I will ask clarifying questions or provide related information to allow it to be smoothed.

Cheer Reading - Any turns of phrase or bits of characterization or worldbuilding etc that really get me and make me happy or make me feel things. Giving the emotional response feedback, especially for things done well.

General Vibes - Final thoughts. Does it feel complete or does it want more? Does it feel like it dragged on overlong and I should have cut out half of it? Does the ending feel earned? Does it have the desired emotional effect?

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