#if you're ever reading something unbetad from me

[daisyishedwig]

The A and D keys on my laptop are finicky because this is a laptop not meant for gaming that I spend too much time playing Stardew Valley on, and it's really disrupting to the flow of writing to have to constantly go back and correct spelling errors because the A just decided it didn't want to register.

[lacrimula-falsa]

*slams reblog button*

^^This.

Seriously. Don't feel bad about not having a beta. Yes, even if the reason for it is "I don't want one." It's fine! You're golden.

Sometimes I mark my unbetad fic as such so people can be aware that there might be more typos/inconsistencies/whatever than "my usual". But this is a personal choice, NOT something you have to do.

Sometimes I don't mark unbetad fics because I don't want to or because I forget. Literally no one has ever complained. Not a single person.

Sure, some readers avoid unbetad fic. But in my experience, most fanfiction readers don't give a hoot. You're fine.

(Also yes, I had the case of someone suggesting that I might benefit from having a beta reader. Suggesting. Kindly. Once. But that was A) a fic where I'd explicitly asked for concrit on it and B) one of my earlier works where I admittedly had some rather glaring spelling errors and repeatedly used the wrong word for something. It has never happened since even when I asked for concrit on fics. And that person even beta-read the fic for me when I asked if they could point out some errors. So just... don't stress about it, this reaction is super rare even if readers know your fic is unbetad.)

So in summary (TL; DR): Not having a beta is fine. Not wanting a beta is fine. You're in the majority, so don't stress about it.

Tiny post.

I sometimes get asked how to find betas and I’ve written posts about that in the past.

But I think it’s worth noting that most - MOST - fanfiction writers don’t have betas and are doing pretty damn well without them. They won’t be putting ‘unbetaed’ in their tags or notes, and they just…don’t have ‘em.

It’s an absolutely normal part of the fanfiction process for the majority of writers. So if you feel like you’re doing something ‘Wrong’ because you’re just starting out without a beta, you’re not. Or it’s been a few years and you don’t have a beta. Or it’s been your entire fanfiction life and you don’t want a beta, you’re doing fine. Tbh, many writers pick up betas through acquisition - they’ve written so much that eventually one of their readers either offers, or they talk to a reader about it and that’s how that happens. And that’s why it is so hard to find betas, because the most common form of ‘acquiring a beta’ is just ‘I was writing for so long without one that eventually I had a regular reader who had a really good eye and seemed to like what I do so now they beta my work.’

Basically if you’re writing fanfiction without a beta or editor you’re doing nothing wrong, you’re great, and you’re super valid and awesome. You’re not even on the road less travelled, you’re on ‘the road most people are travelling on.’ 

*

Brought to you by the: Tired of seeing people try to bring professional writing rules to fanfiction - especially ones specifically that make it very hard to write, or that impose forced rules of interaction, or that shame - when fanfiction is specifically about tossing a lot of those rules anarchistically in the trash so that people can have fun / enjoy a hobby.