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squeeful:
inkandblade:
chicklette:
mayalaen:
Over a decade ago when I first started getting into fanfiction, the term Alpha was used more frequently. A writer had the option of finding either an Alpha or a Beta to help them with their writing.
A Beta is for all the basics like grammar, but when it came to an Alpha, they did so much more. Alphas almost co-wrote the story with you, but not quite, and it was such a fun and interactive process.
What an Alpha Does:
Proofreading (like a beta)
Bouncing Ideas (email, chat, phone ideas back and forth)
Discussion (ideas, plots, problem points, or even just a pick-me-up)
Editor (small and large instances, often marked in red in your document)
Story Structure (does it flow? does it follow the format writer wanted?)
Canon vs Fanon Advice (distinguishing and suggesting)
Consistency (e.g. character has same color hat from beginning to end)
Major Rewrite Suggestions (an entire chapter doesn’t work? help!)
Cheerleading Through an Entire Fic (not just chapter by chapter)
Presentation (help in picking out everything from cover art to the tagline to the finished product structure, maybe even creating the PDF or HTML page for the writer)
And more that I’m not even thinking of right now
An Alpha would get credit for this (most of the time right underneath the author’s name on the cover art and in the story info), and people looked to alphas like they were special, they were very much appreciated, and if you found one, you would do pretty much anything for them.
I’ve been on both ends of this, and I really miss it being a more widespread thing. I’ve got my own alpha in the form of a friend who has been with me from the beginning of Alpha House, and she’s still a HUGE help. It wouldn’t be the fic it is without her, and I wish more writers could experience this.
How Using an Alpha Works
First you find one, and you get their email/chat ID/phone number. You tell them the ENTIRE idea for your fic (spoiling it all), where you want it to go, how you want it to feel, what the characters’ motivations are, etc. Then you send the alpha what you have so far, which can be part or all of the fic.
Once the alpha reads it, they mark in red any suggestions, but instead of just marking mistakes, the document looks like a professional editor from a book publishing company got a hold of it.
You’d either email back and forth or (more often) chat online or talk on the phone with them while you both went over it, each making different suggestions. It wasn’t just a one-day/one-sitting thing, and from then on there’s emails back and forth with cheerleading and ideas and chunks of fic from both the writer and the alpha, so that by the time the fic is done, anywhere from 1% to sometimes 49% of the writing is from the alpha (with your fic in mind, not their own way they wanted the story to go), and the rest of it was at least helped along by the alpha.
It was very rewarding to do this for other writers. I enjoyed it a lot. And having an alpha myself was such a treat. I can’t even explain it to you. It’s an awesome experience, and one I’d love every writer to experience.
What it Does for Beginners
New writers are vulnerable and don’t know their way around. An alpha would take them under their wing and help them along, helping them find where and how to post, how to use warnings, summaries, tags, etc. If a writer got bad feedback, the alpha was there to listen and encourage. If they got good feedback, an alpha was there to celebrate right along with them.
In my opinion, it made for more confident writers, because they were prepared for some of the shit writers get, and alphas stopped them from ever making newbie mistakes in the first place that get some writers flamed and ridiculed. Not that I’m condoning flaming, but the truth is it happens.
All in all, I’d love for the concept of Alphas to come back.
This this this this this this this!!
We live in a world of grammar and spelling checkers that can do a reasonably good job of proofing your work. But an Alpha reader, someone who understands concrit, who can say whoa, wtf are you doing here? Or holy crap! genius! - those are like diamonds, like gold, like a parking space right in front of the restaurant when you’re already running ten minutes late. I am so, so grateful to @buffyscribbles for all of her help and support for my writing. It has made oceans of difference and, IMO, has led to some of my favorite stories being written.
Bring back the Alphas, please. They mean everything to the writers.
I would love an Alpha – I’ve never explicitly had one, though I can think of several people who I’d call this if asked specifically.
*edited as I shouldn’t comment on anything at 4am.
I…have been reading and writing fanfiction since the 1990s and have never heard of this or the difference from a beta before. Just that sometimes people had different betas for different things. Because the alpha, if the term was ever (never heard it) used, was the author.
Huh. This is already how I beta (by request). I am an AlphaBeta, the packleader of the betaing.
(Your picture was not posted)
squeeful:
inkandblade:
chicklette:
mayalaen:
Over a decade ago when I first started getting into fanfiction, the term Alpha was used more frequently. A writer had the option of finding either an Alpha or a Beta to help them with their writing.
A Beta is for all the basics like grammar, but when it came to an Alpha, they did so much more. Alphas almost co-wrote the story with you, but not quite, and it was such a fun and interactive process.
What an Alpha Does:
Proofreading (like a beta)
Bouncing Ideas (email, chat, phone ideas back and forth)
Discussion (ideas, plots, problem points, or even just a pick-me-up)
Editor (small and large instances, often marked in red in your document)
Story Structure (does it flow? does it follow the format writer wanted?)
Canon vs Fanon Advice (distinguishing and suggesting)
Consistency (e.g. character has same color hat from beginning to end)
Major Rewrite Suggestions (an entire chapter doesn’t work? help!)
Cheerleading Through an Entire Fic (not just chapter by chapter)
Presentation (help in picking out everything from cover art to the tagline to the finished product structure, maybe even creating the PDF or HTML page for the writer)
And more that I’m not even thinking of right now
An Alpha would get credit for this (most of the time right underneath the author’s name on the cover art and in the story info), and people looked to alphas like they were special, they were very much appreciated, and if you found one, you would do pretty much anything for them.
I’ve been on both ends of this, and I really miss it being a more widespread thing. I’ve got my own alpha in the form of a friend who has been with me from the beginning of Alpha House, and she’s still a HUGE help. It wouldn’t be the fic it is without her, and I wish more writers could experience this.
How Using an Alpha Works
First you find one, and you get their email/chat ID/phone number. You tell them the ENTIRE idea for your fic (spoiling it all), where you want it to go, how you want it to feel, what the characters’ motivations are, etc. Then you send the alpha what you have so far, which can be part or all of the fic.
Once the alpha reads it, they mark in red any suggestions, but instead of just marking mistakes, the document looks like a professional editor from a book publishing company got a hold of it.
You’d either email back and forth or (more often) chat online or talk on the phone with them while you both went over it, each making different suggestions. It wasn’t just a one-day/one-sitting thing, and from then on there’s emails back and forth with cheerleading and ideas and chunks of fic from both the writer and the alpha, so that by the time the fic is done, anywhere from 1% to sometimes 49% of the writing is from the alpha (with your fic in mind, not their own way they wanted the story to go), and the rest of it was at least helped along by the alpha.
It was very rewarding to do this for other writers. I enjoyed it a lot. And having an alpha myself was such a treat. I can’t even explain it to you. It’s an awesome experience, and one I’d love every writer to experience.
What it Does for Beginners
New writers are vulnerable and don’t know their way around. An alpha would take them under their wing and help them along, helping them find where and how to post, how to use warnings, summaries, tags, etc. If a writer got bad feedback, the alpha was there to listen and encourage. If they got good feedback, an alpha was there to celebrate right along with them.
In my opinion, it made for more confident writers, because they were prepared for some of the shit writers get, and alphas stopped them from ever making newbie mistakes in the first place that get some writers flamed and ridiculed. Not that I’m condoning flaming, but the truth is it happens.
All in all, I’d love for the concept of Alphas to come back.
This this this this this this this!!
We live in a world of grammar and spelling checkers that can do a reasonably good job of proofing your work. But an Alpha reader, someone who understands concrit, who can say whoa, wtf are you doing here? Or holy crap! genius! - those are like diamonds, like gold, like a parking space right in front of the restaurant when you’re already running ten minutes late. I am so, so grateful to @buffyscribbles for all of her help and support for my writing. It has made oceans of difference and, IMO, has led to some of my favorite stories being written.
Bring back the Alphas, please. They mean everything to the writers.
I would love an Alpha – I’ve never explicitly had one, though I can think of several people who I’d call this if asked specifically.
*edited as I shouldn’t comment on anything at 4am.
I…have been reading and writing fanfiction since the 1990s and have never heard of this or the difference from a beta before. Just that sometimes people had different betas for different things. Because the alpha, if the term was ever (never heard it) used, was the author.
Huh. This is already how I beta (by request). I am an AlphaBeta, the packleader of the betaing.
(Your picture was not posted)
