Sorry to bug you, but I have a few questions... How does the whole beta thing work? Like say i have a fic I would like to get feedback on before I post it. Do i need to have it in a word doc? And how would I send it to them?
Michelle - Most folks these days use Google Docs. It’s free, online, auto-saves constantly so you don’t lose content, and it makes collaboration with a beta really easy. You can share the document via a link or send an invite via email, and you can specify if the person you’re sharing it with is allowed to edit, or only make comments and suggestions, or only view. The comment and suggestion level is most often used because then every change the beta makes is only a suggestion, which the writer then has the choice to accept or reject. You can make comments by highlighting the relative text and clicking into the window that pops up. You can assign a comment to someone, and it will send an email to that person letting them know that you assigned something to them.
The only issue I’ve had with Google docs is that when I copy and paste out it into Tumblr or AO3, I lose my formatting. Anything that’s been bolded or italicized is no longer bold or in italics. Very annoying. Personally, I copy from Google docs into Word, save it on my computer, and then copy from Word into Tumblr and AO3, which saves my formatting, and gives me a saved copy on my computer in case the internet ever goes away. (I know,not very likely, but I’m like Bobby that way.)
I know other folks do it other ways, but I don’t know those ways. Maybe someone else has some suggestions?