Your authors' style and how to navigate through them

One of the things that surprised me at first, but now amuses and is endearing to me, about working as a beta for so many different people, from such varied backgrounds, is how unique each author is. Not just in personality or taste in genre, or even fandom, but in how little things matter to one in a completely different way to another.

I’ve had an author obsess over a particular sentence for hours, changing and rewriting it and scrapping it altogether, only to write it again mostly identical to the original version, when the whole sentence was very much irrelevant to the grand scheme of things. Another would act like an excited puppy, jumping up and down in the file, editing here and there, giving life to the story, putting their energy into, with a final result of spectacular proportions.

Some would like their commas in a particular way, others would not use them at all, or use it everywhere! One sat me down and explained everything about proper comma usage depending on a scene, dialogue, action, motion, or the tempo, for hours. There’s another one who simply loves using ellipsis, even when it’s definitely not needed, but it’s done in such an endearing way, it’s hard to just edit and delete it.

These things may seem small, and not at all important for the vast majority of people, some of these ‘styles’ might be grammatically wrong, but to them? They matter. And because they matter, as a beta, it’s your job, your obligation to understand and operate under these circumstances. You obviously can offer suggestions, argue points, dislike their styles, plead your case, but ultimately, they are the authors, they have the final say, and they are the ones who are flamed, badgered, or made fun of.

So you gotta do what you can to help them along, offer good advice, and, when requested, explain how certain things might be perceived. Ask questions; why they do what they do, the way they are doing it; should you also do it, or stop them from doing it? If they want to know how to improve a certain aspect of their writing, and whether they want your help with it.

This mostly comes up after working with them for a while, when you understand and can see how they work. So for new authors, the sudden influx of quirks and habits can be a bit much for a beta, and the best way to deal with that is by simply being honest and asking every imaginable question you might have, what they are ok with or not; explain to them how you usually work, if they are ok with that or not. In essence, do not be afraid or intimidated by your authors. They are people the same way, and have the same doubts, issues, and are prone to second-guessing themselves as you or anyone else.

Ask questions, be honest, be polite, and don’t be afraid.