- Please post the following details in the thread and in the PM while submitting your stories. Please make sure to fill in ALL the fields. Incomplete entries may not be picked up.
Name of the story:
Author (Username):
Length of story (FF/SS/OS):
Genre:
Characters and show: (Please give full names & not abbreviations):
Word count (approx.):
Rating (Refer to FF rules for rating determination - G, M, R, X) :
Trigger and content warnings(for list of Trigger warnings please refer to the FF rules):
The extent of Trigger/content warnings mentioned above ((Mild/Moderate/Severe):
Specific instructions to Beta-reader [Pls mention here what you want us to focus on while beta-reading your story. Kindly note in case of unspecified requests, the BR decides what kind of feedback they will give]
Some examples of feedback you can request:
- Character development
- Flow of narrative
- Grammar and punctuation *
- Vocabulary & phrasing *
- Prose (usage of literary devices and story enrichment techniques)
- Dialogue & placement
- Plot / plot development
- Continuity ( plot/ thought/ action/ character-driven)
- Depiction of emotions
- Exposition/ detailing
- Summarized analysis (bird's eye purview of the story)
- Descriptions, setting and build-up
- Point of view
- Title (and it’s relevance to the story)
- Scope of the story
You are not limited to the above & your request can specify more than one kind of feedback.
1. * Please note that BRs will give detailed feedback on grammar, punctuation, syntax, phrasing, vocabulary etc only once - when the author submits an entry for the first time. It is expected that the general guidelines/ feedback shared will be incorporated in all future work by the authors, & the BRs cannot be expected to correct the same errors over and over.
2. PM your passage/chapter to IFBetaReaders and notify in this thread that you have send your entry. Use the same title for the PM as the chapter title/ story title and post the same title in the thread.
3. You may NOT request for a specific beta-reader. Whoever is available at the moment will take on your entry for beta-reading.
4. Authors need to wait for a week to request again after a beta reader delivers the requested chapter.
5. All fictions need to be written in English. A few words/phrases in Hindi, or even a sentence or two is allowed, but if your entire entry is in Hindi/any other language, we won't be editing it.
6. You are asked to make specific feedback requests regarding your entry. Please note - in case of unspecified requests the BR will decide what manner of feedback they would like to give.
7. Please send only one chapter at a time. BRs will read up to 2000 words per entry. You are only allowed to post a passage once a week. If it’s a single OS/TS/FF chapter that exceeds the 2000 word limit, you can send the entire story, but the Beta Reader may take time to reply.
An exception can be made in case you want your story checked for continuity. In this case, you are allowed to send in 2-3 chapters at a time, since the BRs cannot make an assessment on this with just one chapter.
8. Beta readers, like you and me, have a life. Expect a lead time of between 3 to 8 days for your passage to be beta-ed. No urgent requests will be entertained. Rest assured, it WILL be edited and done as soon as it is possible.
9. Additionally, it may take time for a Beta Reader to take up your request. They may or may not be available to do so at the time you post your request. This is a voluntary service, so kindly have patience.
10. The BRs take their valuable time to offer authentic critique on your work, so we do expect that you will incorporate the changes suggested.
Once you've done so, it is compulsory to credit the beta-reader at the end of your chapter. This can be at the start of the passage, or right at the end. You have upto 7 days to incorporate the changes.
If you fail to credit the BR, you can expect strict action from the Fan Fictions Development Team (or the DT of the forum the story is posted in) in regards to plagiarism. Example/s of how you can credit the beta reader:
Editing of this chapter/one shot has been done by username.
Credits/Shoutout to *insert username* for beta-reading this chapter/one shot.
11. There is now an option available to credit BRs in the title page of your story. You are able to credit upto 3 BRs per story. In case your story has been beta-read by more than 3 BRs, you can pick the top 3 (the ones that read the most chapters). Kindly note this does not preclude you from including chapter credits. BRs still need to be credited for every chapter.
12. Entries for ongoing competitions organized on any forum on IF will not be beta read. Once the contest is done, & after the contest organizer has given you the green signal, you can post a request for it to be beta-read.
13. Please understand that beta-reading means getting your story fine-tuned and checked for narration, flow, character arcs etc before publishing it so you have a good idea of what your readers' reaction will be. Beta-reading DOES NOT mean re-writing the entire piece for you.
It is expected that the authors will check the work themselves for spelling, grammar, punctuation, word usage etc using online tools before submitting it for beta-reading.
Some common errors you can check
1. Make sure your commas are inside the quotes. Eg. "He's right," is correct. "He's right", is incorrect.
2. Continuity in thought, speech and action is important. Check where your characters were and what they were doing when you write action scenes. Consider what a character has spoken when you're writing a piece of dialogue. Characters' speech should flow logically and should seem like a response to the previous dialogue, unless your writing explains any deviation.
3. Check your work for phrasing and flow of narrative. Use the correct word to convey the right meaning. Using an online thesaurus, or a reverse dictionary will help. Use online tools such as grammarly to check for grammar.
14. Passages that are extremely poorly written (example provided below in the post underneath this) will NOT be entertained twice.
15. It is MANDATORY to mention Trigger warnings (however minimal you think they might be) in order to safeguard the mental health of our beta-readers. Please also mention the severity as given in the format above.
16. Kindly note that if your passage needs to be reworked entirely, the BR that has accepted your assignment can send it back to you with a note to resubmit after making the required corrections.
17. Please only send the FINAL draft of your story (ready for publication) for beta-reading.
If you are dissatisfied with the beta-ed version for some reason, address your concerns via PM to the Skipper/FFEs, who will help sort out your issues.
Disclaimer: The BR team has the right to refuse/ choose any assignment based on the content if they think they might be uncomfortable/ triggered by it. Additionally, please be aware that passages may not be picked up in the order they were received. If the request is found to not adhere to any of the above guidelines, the BR team reserves the right of refusal.
Write Up: Angel-Jot. & Koeli
Edited by: LizzieBennet
Edited by LizzieBennet - 2 years ago
Mangal Lakshmi
193