Oh my. I so adore and admire the fic writers in the Mentalist fandom whose first language isn't English, but who write their fic in it. There's one, who sometimes asks me to beta for her - she's so much fun to get into "that's technically correct but there are about four different ways to say it, depending on the region, and that character from that region would never say it that way unless they were making fun of someone from somewhere else," type discussions.

I will admit, I occasionally find it charming when the author is writing outside of their native tongue, and their native constructions slip through in such a way as to make me wish I could read their writing in their primary language.

And by occasionally, I mean, there are authors I follow JUST for that.

(Then there are the authors who are more fluent in English than I am, and I am filled with envy at their grasp of multiple tongues.)

why the fuck wouldn't you get a native speaker to beta?

Considering the non-zero number of people I've seen throw out requests for betas and seeming get no reply--because it's hard? I just scrolled by a post on my dash where someone was trying to illustrate how "just call and ask!" is entirely non-trivial, and "can a random stranger take on the responsibility of improving my story?" even more so.

I'd have an art beta more often if I knew how to get someone I could work well with.

Sometimes just finding*a* beta is hard, but finding one where you "get" each other is even more challenging.

So, the moral of the story is "be the change you want to see in fandom." Fair enough. I can post a beta offer when I get back to a real computer, once I figure out where.

I think that it is more productive to ask in a more targetted way, than it is to broadcast an appeal for a beta reader. I have scrolled right past broader requests on LiveJournal, but will volunteer at certain forums. And when specifically asked, the closest I have come to saying no is "I'm up to my ears in something right now, so I would not be able to get to it until next week - if you can't find anyone else who can do it sooner, let me know.'" Which is how I have come to beta read for one or two projects that I really did not like. Of course, not liking something because I don't like the main character or the pairing but otherwise well-written is a different animal than not liking something because it is very badly written indeed.

So, the moral of the story is "be the change you want to see in fandom." Fair enough. I can post a beta offer when I get back to a real computer, once I figure out where.

It's why I beta. Well that and I get to read stories early from authors I adore sometimes. It's not all altruism.

I come from a workshopping and group background, and I've been told I'm a good beta. I've been working with a writer for more than a year whose grammar issues are *legion*, but who's an amazing yarn spinner. I just got her BB draft a few weeks ago, and I just sat there grinning like a loon. It's not perfect, but she's actually absorbed all the stuff I've lobbed at her, and is using it. She's had an amazing attitude, and it's really paid off.

There's another writer whose BB I beta'd, almost not worth the candle, except as Cass says, getting to read a good writer's story early. A half-dozen tense lapses and typos, a couple of re-ordering of phrases in a sentence for flow and sense-making, and a minor discussion about intensity. A joy, really.

One or two betas I've had have been so enthusiastic about my fic that they killed my writing process. They wanted to deconstruct everything and plumb the depths of character motivation for everyone and I haven't been able to write a word since.

I don't know if it was legitimate muse-killing or they hit me hard with the reality-stick that what I was attempting to write was so far beyond my capabilities.

Although, I'd rather have been able to put out a subpar fic completed than an abaondoned WIP. I know readers might disagree.

My WIP is nearly collapsed under the weight of expectations as well. I keep trying to drag it along.